Avenir, in its definition, is the future. Our work today takes from yesterday to ensure tomorrow, emphasized Avenir founder Sophie Claussen. We talked to her about the daily shared human experience and how it shaped the idea behind her latest collection shown at Berlin Fashion Week. Cover image: Boris Marberg
AVENIR SPRING/SUMMER 2025: “COMMUTING”
Amidst Berlin’s concrete buildings, Avenir showed a fun and playful collection based on some very (!) recognizable characters. Avenir’s latest collection, shown at Berlin Fashion Week, is aimed at the city’s commuters: each individual is unique, unfamiliar to one another, yet connected through a shared daily ritual. Whether in Berlin, London, Tokyo, or New York, they all share commuting experiences. With the collection, Avenir unites the anonymous faces in the crowd and the different personalities, styles, and routines contributing to commuter culture. The team’s fascination focused on people’s daily journey with strangers, sharing the smallest of spaces and pursuing the same goal: to reach our own.
Sophie Claussen previously worked at Rejina Pyo before starting Avenir in 2020. Pyo inspired Claussen to start her brand. “She’s an inspiring entrepreneur. I love her style and way of working. The vibe at the company was great, and her passion was beyond anything. That kind of energy works contagiously. I wanted to create that for myself as well. It was a great way to learn on the job; she leads by example.”
IN CONVERSATION WITH SOPHIE CLAUSSEN
Avenir’s Spring/Summer 2025 collection is about the modern commuter. Can you explain the idea behind the collection? Who is this modern commuter?
“We were looking for themes and concepts that speak to anyone. Avenir is a sustainable brand centered around circularity and sustainability. Hence, climate change is a big topic for us. The modern commuter, based in metropolitan cities like Tokyo, Berlin, London, and New York, doesn’t take a car to work. The commuter can be any age and any gender. A nine-to-five job isn’t the golden standard; it can be anything. Furthermore, the collection is about the urban space and how people use it.”
Was practicality a concern?
“Well, we used several commuter stereotypes, a little exaggerated here and there. Therefore, the clothes didn’t have to be practical overall, but some looks had comfortable elements. The clothes have to suit an urban lifestyle. We tried to feature many characters, enabling us to create a large collection – which wasn’t the idea initially.”
How did you incorporate Berlin’s architecture into the designs?
“I was inspired by the shapes of typical Berlin buildings. For example, we created fractured denim, consisting of squares that depict windows of the massive buildings the city has a lot of. It took one week to create the fabric for the denim blazer and another week to make the garment. Furthermore, the collection features geometric lines inspired by the city’s architecture, roads, and streets.”
And what about the circularity in this collection?
“Circularity is at the core of our brand. We use denim that has had a life before. This time, I was sponsored by eBay, and they also provided some pre-used materials, as well as Ricovo – a platform on which you can find surplus fabrics within Europe. Here, you can order a certain amount of meters to make sure there’s enough to produce a collection from it. It enables us to create on a larger scale instead of one-of-a-kinds, enlarging our impact. With ecological and social consequences at the core of our work, Avenir is dedicated to developing collections from pre-existing materials. Honest working conditions are one of the basic premises. Our main strength lies in circular production, focusing on upcycling and waste reduction in our designs.”
And what do you do with the leftovers of the clothes you produce yourself?
“If we have leftovers, we try to bring them back in. Last season, I created a striped dress. It had a tiny production flaw. We repaired it for the show, adding a panel to the side – it sold well in this form. One day, I would like to build an archive to resell. It would be great for customers to return the clothes they don’t want or need anymore so that we can give them a second life. But so far, we haven’t had any returns.”
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