2_1_ScanMag_71_Dec_2014_Text_MADS_Scan Magazine 1 29/11/2014 12:10 Page 17
Scan Magazine | Design | Duck Denmark
“I’m very fortunate to have a great team to help me,” Phillip (right) explains. ”I continue to learn a lot from them. I’m lucky to be where I’m at today.”
Young and dynamic – in both style and business Benjamin Phillip from Aalborg, Denmark, has always had an interest in fashion and a head for business. “I produced 50 t-shirts to start off with, and when they were sold I made 100 more from the profits, and it just took off from there,” he explains. He set up his own clothing brand, Duck Denmark, at the age of 16, and today, four years later, he runs a successful online clothing store as well as a shop selling his own range of high-quality streetwear-style clothing.
cus point is to make the production process as ethical as possible. Duck Denmark already uses environmentally friendly materials, and the next step is to ensure excellent working conditions throughout the production process. “I love a challenge,” Phillip adds, explaining: “I find that if you take small steps everything usually works itself out. I’m still a young guy with a lot of time and a lot of plans.”
By Louise Older Steffensen | Photos: Benjamin Lee Rønning Lassen, Duck Denmark
As a dynamic entrepreneurial teen, Phillip bought cool, used clothes from the older students and sold them to the younger years at school. He spent spare evenings designing his own fresh urban clothing line, and with a lot of hard work and support from good friends, Phillip saw Duck Denmark grow into a contemporary, ethically conscious online brand that has quickly gained popularity throughout Denmark and beyond.
something that didn’t exist yesterday – that’s a really cool feeling.” The first Duck Denmark-specific store opened in Aalborg last year, adding an interesting new dynamic to the business. “It’s great fun and very fulfilling for me to go into the store and speak to people who are fans of my designs,” Phillip enthuses, “it’s a much more personal approach to business. Those meetings often inspire me when designing my new collections.”
“I love the whole creative process, from designing an item to holding the finished product in my hands,” says Phillip. “I can go to work today and come home with
While the primary focus is naturally on developing the physical shop at the moment, Phillip isn’t planning on resting on his laurels any time soon. One future fo-
For more information, please visit: www.duckdenmark.dk
Issue 71 | December 2014 | 17