On the occasion of qUINT's latest issue of their Lifestyle Magazine, they stopped by our showroom to have a chat with Besnik and Burim Miftari.
In the section below from the magazine, you can read the entire interview:
We visited BLS founders Besnik and Burim Miftari and had a chat in their showroom in inner Copenhagen. A brand where you can feel their passion and personalities throughout, which is certainly one of the reasons for their great success today. In the following interview, you can read about their challenges throughout their journey and get some good advice if you dream of starting a brand yourself.
What was the primary inspiration behind the creation of BLS and what motivated you to start it?
We thought that many in the fashion industry took themselves very seriously, and we wanted to provoke them a little. In addition, we thought that many of the established Danish brands made the same kind of clothes at the time, and it was a good way to get noticed to start with. All of our friends were doing music or something else creative, so we wanted to do our own thing along with going to school. Unfortunately, none of us had talent as musicians, but style and fashion had always been our great passion, so it was in the cards to go in that direction. When we kept saying “Bedøvende (non-caring) Lifestyle', we got the idea to print it on T-shirts, and it became a movement.
How has your personal background influenced the design process and creative direction for BLS?
At first, we didn't think it was in our favor. The fashion industry was much more pretentious, and the unknown was not something you wanted to associate with in the market. As the community came to the top of the agenda and the internet gave brands like us free rein to express our own identity and do as we saw fit, it became easier. Then it became a huge advantage because we could do things that other brands couldn't, and we could base our creative narrative on certain environments and provide an approach to a world that you don't know about.
How would you define BLS? And how is that reflected in your design and marketing strategies?
We are opposed to the words "as usual". Every time we've done something big, it's always started with. "Well, we don't usually do that", so our answer has always been: "Exactly, because if you are going to work with us, you have to do something you don't usually do, otherwise we don't need to be involved. Otherwise, we don't create anything new and different, and that's what we're huge supporters of". We are a brand that thinks creatively, from design to marketing.
Can you share something about your design process? How do you create your collections and what is your creative approach to creating new collections?
The collections are most often created in the context of everyday life and based on the things that inspire us or fill the media, as well as what we do and deal with on a daily basis. During the pandemic, we for example were not able to visit our family for several years, which was then expressed in the collection we now deliver at SS24 – Besa collection. The collection is a tribute to our ancestors and culture. In line with that is also the new collection that we are presenting during fashion week, the Diaspora Collection, which is about people with a background who do not live in their home country, but are abroad. In this way, we can also talk to different cultures and social strata by basing it on ourselves. For example, there is also a huge Danish Diaspora abroad, that you just forget.
Bonus info: On the son Polar Opposites, Canadian rapper Drake also shared the same fascination, promoting Albanian culture with a giant Albanian eagle on the back of his jacket. It created a huge interaction with the audience in Denmark who knew about it, and gave it a huge stamp of approval that it's actually not just us who think it's cool - there are more!
How do you navigate in a competitive industry? What makes BLS unique compared to others?
It's the old saying: "Be yourself because everyone else is taken". With that said, it's also about doing what we feel is right for us. But we also come to make things ourselves that are trend-based, and most often we just see that these products don't work for us, even if they do for others. So it's about daring to go left when everyone goes right – and we've done that for the 12 years the brand has existed, and it works for us.
What role do society and its subcultures play in BLS? How do you incorporate these elements into your designs or mission?
It means a lot, and we want to be the voice for the people who have no voice. We celebrate differences instead of trying to ignore them. It is important to us that the fashion image is not just dictated, but that you also base it on subcultures and what goes on in the life of everyday heroes. Many subcultures have also become popular culture, and typically trends start in subcultures. It is BLS DNA to convey just that, what is going on in society, and what history we ourselves have. We are very keen on our collections being built around real stories; whether it is personal or societal and not just something random. Therefore, it plays a big role for BLS to be able to convey this storytelling, which shines through in everything from the content to the clothes. The collections typically begin with a story, and from there, it picks up speed and gets a common thread. It is characterized by much of the music we hear and the films we watch, as well as the people around us of creative souls, and all this is incorporated into our designs and mission.
Can you share something about your design process? How do you create your collections and what is your creative approach to creating new collections?
The collections are most often created in the context of everyday life and based on the things that inspire us or fill the media, as well as what we do and deal with on a daily basis. During the pandemic, we for example were not able to visit our family for several years, which was then expressed in the collection we now deliver at SS24 – Besa collection. The collection is a tribute to our ancestors and culture. In line with that is also the new collection that we are presenting during fashion week, the Diaspora Collection, which is about people with a background who do not live in their home country, but are abroad. In this way, we can also talk to different cultures and social strata by basing it on ourselves. For example, there is also a huge Danish Diaspora abroad, that you just forget.
Bonus info: On the son Polar Opposites, Canadian rapper Drake also shared the same fascination, promoting Albanian culture with a giant Albanian eagle on the back of his jacket. It created a huge interaction with the audience in Denmark who knew about it, and gave it a huge stamp of approval that it's actually not just us who think it's cool - there are more!
How do you navigate in a competitive industry? What makes BLS unique compared to others?
It's the old saying: "Be yourself because everyone else is taken". With that said, it's also about doing what we feel is right for us. But we also come to make things ourselves that are trend-based, and most often we just see that these products don't work for us, even if they do for others. So it's about daring to go left when everyone goes right – and we've done that for the 12 years the brand has existed, and it works for us.
What role do society and its subcultures play in BLS? How do you incorporate these elements into your designs or mission?
It means a lot, and we want to be the voice for the people who have no voice. We celebrate differences instead of trying to ignore them. It is important to us that the fashion image is not just dictated, but that you also base it on subcultures and what goes on in the life of everyday heroes. Many subcultures have also become popular culture, and typically trends start in subcultures. It is BLS DNA to convey just that, what is going on in society, and what history we ourselves have. We are very keen on our collections being built around real stories; whether it is personal or societal and not just something random. Therefore, it plays a big role for BLS to be able to convey this storytelling, which shines through in everything from the content to the clothes. The collections typically begin with a story, and from there, it picks up speed and gets a common thread. It is characterized by much of the music we hear and the films we watch, as well as the people around us of creative souls, and all this is incorporated into our designs and mission.
