The Bite Magazine Issue 17

Images courtesy of South Lane Stockhol m E ven before he reached the age of 18, South Lane Stockholm founder Filip Bjernebo had an entrepre- neurial mind. He started his first web project in 2005 at the age of 17, whilst still in grade school and then travelled around the world in search of creative inspiration before undertaking studies at university. Using experiences from his adventures abroad as well as minimalist Swedish aesthetic, Bjernebo launched two experimental start-ups in luxury and fashion respectively. After some time he sold his fledging accesso- ries brand and enrolled at the prestigious Cass Business School in London before developing the foundation to create South Lane as a lifestyle brand. Whether it’s the relaxed, vintage vibe of the Södermalm dis- trict; the chic, classic detailing of Parisian architecture; or the grittier, urban indus- trial flavour of east London’s Shoreditch district, Bjernebo is able to draw inspira- tion from the pulse of his environment, regardless of where it is. Artistically, at the core of all his designs are the fundamen- tals of Scandinavian aesthetics as found in the clean and functional works of Swedish artist Eva Löfdahl and the satirical uncon- formity of inspired works of modern art such as artists Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollock. When South Lane first introduced the AVANT collection two years ago, it took the brand in a completely different direc- tion from its street-savvy designs. For the first time, it included leather accesso- ries, in addition to three new timepieces that combined the creative genius of avant-garde detailing with Scandinavia’s traditional minimalist aesthetic. The innovative collection comprised of three Swiss-made 38mm watches with matte stainless steel dials featuring varying screw details, sketch-print surfaces and inter- changeable straps made from fine Italian leather in black calf and brown cracked, and metallic ostrich skin. After relocat- ing to east London in 2013, the brand’s influences were drawn from Shoreditch’s bustling atmosphere and raw energy. This included its abandoned warehouse spaces turned urban business hubs; exposed brick and pipe detailing of Brick Lane shops and hideaway bars, and the vintage industrial furnishings revamp of local eateries and galleries around Redchurch Street. Today, the AVANT collection is more refined, innovative and cutting edge whilst still embracing the bustling, urban scene of east London. Within the collection for men, you will find abstract pieces such as the AVANT Pure Black, Diffuse Splash, Pure Metallic Green, Silent Zip, and Emerge Black watches, each with their own diverse faces. The majority of the timepieces are designed with Ronda 762 movement, 38mm black matte stain- less steel, 20mm calf leather strap and 5 ATM waterproof. The AVANT Diffuse Watch in Black and Metallic Green each have their own colour strap that makes the watch extra special and stand-out. If you wish to have some form of splash on your timepiece, the AVANT Pure Splash Watch will provide this as well as the Silent Splash, Surface Splash, Emerge Splash and Diffuse Splash watches. Meanwhile, the Avant Transcend designs have a larger 42mm watch face in black matte stainless steel and include Silent Zip, Emerge Zip, Pure Zip, Silent Black and Emerge Black, with a unique zip design on the strap. The good thing about this collection is that each style has a choice of three designs apart from the Transcend collection which has five. The Diffuse and Pure watches are available in Black, Green Ostrich, and Splash, whilst the Surface, Emerge and Silent watches look distinctive in Black, Splash, and Zip. The women’s collection mirrors the men’s designs. Last year, South Lane collaborated with high-end fashion concept store Luisa Via Roma to produce three unique limited watch straps. A Florence-based brand that features over 600 designer brands and emerging designs from some of the fashion world’s most promising newcomers, it was the perfect opportunity for South Lane whose AVANT watch collection had successfully debuted in November 2014. The South Lane and LVR collection fea- tured inventive takes on existing materials already used for AVANT and also debuted new calf, suede and ostrich swatch pat- terns, silver colouring and a removable leather ‘patches’ that allowed the wearer to change the look of the strap. The AVANT collection also features a Card Holder made from calf skin with paint splash; and Silence Sneaker with white or black sole and made from wash calf leather. South Lane Stockholm collections can be found in stores such as Luisa Via Roma, Autograph Menswear, Clerkenwell Col- lections and AIDA Shoreditch in Europe; Boutique Philippe Dubuc, RAWK and The Webster at Bal Harbour in North America; Hankyu Department Store and Online HK Ltd in Asia; and Salam Studios and BLAQ Concept Store in the Middle East; as well as online sites at Harvey Nichols, Luisa Via Roma, Farfetch and Style. www.south-lane.com bite watches