SHIFT WORK

Older brings its uniformalism to furniture design

- ROSA BERTOLI

In 2013, Letizia Caramia and Morten Thuesen launched Older, a brand that would turn the concept of hospitality uniforms upside down. The pair, Italian and Danish respectively, who had met while working at Alexander McQueen in London, joined forces on the project to explore a new approach to fashion. ‘Older was born as a result of us having grown tired of a fashion system we believed lacked ideology, sustainability, and the ability to make our dream,’ say the designers. ‘As we are both very interested in architecture, gastronomy, and wine, we were thinking how we could merge these fields. The answer became uniforms.’

Their first commission came from Restaurant 108 in Copenhagen (part of the Noma group). More soon followed, and Older is now known across the industry for its asymmetric silhouettes, the quality of its materials, well-considered details such as fastenings and pockets, and a pragmatic approach to functionality. The pair work with a smart bio-cotton fabric they have developed themselves and sustainability is a strong focus throughout the design and production processes.

So far, their clients include art institutions such as Copenhagen Contemporary and Tate Modern, as well as restaurants ranging from the Snøhetta-designed Under (see W*251) to Massimo Bottura’s Refettorio. For Fjordenhus in Vejle, Denmark, Olafur Eliasson’s first building project, containing offices and public exhibition space, they designed not just bespoke uniforms but ‘objects to accompany the spatial experience of the building’, including textile sculptures and specially engineered napkins that roll and fold into a neat design. They cite the project as the highlight of their journey so far and the inspiration for their next chapter. ‘Through this collaboration, we were catapulted into the idea of opening up our design universe even further,’ they say.