All photos courtesy of Monki
Last year in October, while on a trip to Copenhagen to visit family, I had spent a day shopping and walking around the city center, trying to check out the latest Scandinavian fashions. There was one particular concept store I had managed to stumble into that totally blew me away -
MONKI.
My first impression of the store made me think I was transported back to England in 1968. Did I step into famed swinging sixties store Granny Takes A trip on King Road, London; or did Sid & Marty Krofft (creators of groovy TV shows
H.R. Pufnstuf and
The Bugaloos) go into interior design, and I just didn't know about it?
The more I wandered around the shop with sheer amazement in my eyes, the more I got to analyze the small details of the interior set up and the products that were organized all over the place. Then I realized - I had entered into my own personal retail heaven. A store that could combine the aesthetics from my two favorite decades where my own style is heavily influenced from - a mix of sharp, geometric contrasts and clean lines of the 60s, as well as the over-sized, boldly structured garments of the 80s. Somehow Monki has managed to take inspiration from these two decades yet spin them with a fun, youthful, and modern twist that will surely appeal to ladies who like to make a statement without being over the top.
Even though Monki was started in Sweden, a lot of the inspiration for their clothes come from the streets of Toyko - and you know what, it works! It's not gawdy, nor tacky stuff here - it's smart, colorful clothes that have an underlying chicness and sophistication. It should also be noted that Monki is the little sister of Weekday (home to hip denim label Cheap Monday), another great concept store based out of Sweden.
If you don't happen to live in Sweden or Denmark, you can also find Monki stores in Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Finland, and Hong Kong. There are no plans for Monki to open up in the United States for next year, but you never know... Fingers crossed we can get at least an online store set up for us Yanks in the mean time!
