Scan Magazine | Design Profile | NÜ Denmark
Our design DNA remains our own After 21 years in the industry, the raw, feminine and sophisticated Danish fashion brand NÜ Denmark is here to stay. But though the brand remains true to its successful design DNA, the people behind it are not afraid to make the changes necessary to stay on top of a rapidly changing fashion market.
is managed by creative director Jannie Schacksen and CEO René T. Jensen, while Lars Schacksen sits on the board.
By Signe Hansen | Photos: NÜ Denmark
Due to NÜ Denmark’s immediate success and the two founders’ focus on the creative side of the business, sales were never a main priority within the company. But that has changed with the arrival of Jensen, who is renewing the brand’s relationship with dealers and customers through social media, concept stores and web sales. However, though inspired by younger brands’ “naivety and fresh approach to things”, one aspect remains unchanged, and that is NÜ Denmark’s distinct design signature. “NÜ Denmark is defined by our strong and recognisable design DNA, and that will remain the foundation for our
Founded by Jannie and Lars Schacksen in 1997, NÜ Denmark today has dealers, agents and fans in most of Europe. However, though the brand is now worn by women from all walks of life, the founders were originally aiming at a much smaller market: hairdressers. “As a hairdresser, Jannie struggled to find satisfying clothes that met her need for pockets for scissors and knives. That’s why she and Lars, who was in the textile industry, decided to start a fashion brand with clothes specifically designed for 16 | Issue 106 | November 2017
hairdressers,” explains René T. Jensen, who became CEO of the company last year. “It became a gigantic success, and it was not just the hairdressers, but their customers too, who wanted to wear the designs. That’s how NÜ Denmark, which was back then just NÜ, came about, and then it just took off.” The brand kept growing and was named a Gazelle company by the financial daily newspaper Børsen five times, most recently in 2010. Today, the company
A bit stubborn