The Korff Kounsil: Purist Denim and Thoughtful Knits
Rikke Korff believes in singular, iconic products. Her two labels—The Furies and Skargorn, under umbrella company The Korff Kounsil—are built on being the absolute best at something very simple.
The Furies’ women’s knits are designed to be like dressed-up tops and pants but in jersey knit fabric, without the discomfort of being restricted in slacks and a blouse. A former designer for Levi’s Red label in Europe for 10 years, Korff launched her Skargorn men’s and women’s denim line in stores for Fall ’11, featuring jeans in “proper denim construction.”
“I think there are a lot of industries that could learn from the denim business,” Korff said. “That was what we were trying to do here—use that level of skill and kind of approach to problem solving in trying to make a perfect product.”
Korff modeled The Furies’ women’s knit tops, bottoms and dresses after a minimalist, Japanese-inspired, graceful style. Everything is made from two kinds of fabric, a 40-single jersey knit and spandex/jersey knit, which is used for top layers and bottoms.
“The idea was basically to look at how men wear T-shirts. They get it on and they’re done. Females don’t have that many options like that,” Korff said. “We wanted to do something that felt very progressive and young and at the same time also was doing something exciting for a consumer who is a little more mature and also doesn’t have a perfect body.” Wholesale price points for The Furies range from $28 to $38 for tops and up to $60 for a special dress.
Denim is Korff’s true sandbox for playing. Thanks to her tenure at Levi’s, the designer can easily unwind into a tangent about the difference between cutting a denim pattern on the centigrade versus on the side grade—and the historical basis for both.
In Skargorn’s tough slim-cut jeans in blacks and inky blue hues, the distinguishing factors can barely be seen unless the customer knows to look for it. The inside pant seams are triple-needle stitched for a clean finish on the inside and out. She uses a special dye process that gives an extra layer of splotchy hue to give the jeans a very subtle dimension. “When you have unwashed product, it’s very flat. The staining really makes it much more dirty, gritty, and it gives the product life immediately,” Korff said. Wholesale price points for Skargorn range from $44 to $63 for jeans and $22 to $28 for tops. Skargorn T-shirts are made in custom-knit 20-single cotton jersey to duplicate the “Hanes Beefy Tees” and then are heavily washed—just like an authentic decaying vintage T-shirt.
“We need that feeling of a ripped shirt, but it can’t be a ripped shirt,” Korff said. “It’s that little rip you have in your neck. If it’s placed right, it can be very sexy. … We wanted to keep it simple and basic in a way, but it needed to offer something fresh to the market.”
Both The Furies and Skargorn are sold at American Rag and Urban Outfitters. The Furies is also sold at limited Nordstrom stores, and Skargorn is sold at limited Madewell stores.
For more information, contact the Namaste Showroom in suite 326 at The Cooper Design Space in Los Angeles or call (888) 226-6120. —Rhea Cortado
