Above: The mind behind the brand, Kine Haugen. Photo: Heidi Kierulf
Basic Italian elegance in Oslo Kine Haugen has always lived by the philosophy that she wants few, but nice, highquality things in all aspects of her life. “I have always had a classical and clean style, whether I dress myself, other people or rooms,” says Haugen, who has a background in interior design. By Andrea Bærland | Photos: Erik Krafft
“I have never cared about trends; when I find something I love, I want to continue buying that product,” Haugen says, explaining that time and again she has been disappointed that her favourite products have been discontinued. After meeting several like-minded shoppers equally frustrated that their favourite products are suddenly out of fashion, she decided to take matters into her own hands and fill that gap in the market. With a love for Italy, fluency in the language and contacts within the industry, Haugen chose the country widely known and respected for its tailoring traditions as her place of production. “Having such a close-knit relationship with the manufacturers has given me the opportunity to place special orders, and several regular customers have their own prefer40 | Issue 87 | April 2016
ences on file at the factory in Italy,” she says. Another far-away country Haugen takes inspiration from is India, where she gets fabrics dyed and printed according to Indian block print traditions. When STORIES by KINE was launched in 2014, Haugen’s first project was to improve the ultimate basic: the shirt. “In my opinion, at least one of these five elements tends to be wrong with shirts: the length, the cut, the buttons, the cuff or the collar,” Haugen explains. In her view, the shirt should be long enough to look good over trousers, but also long enough to tuck in well and stay there. The cut should give a feminine silhouette and the cuffs and collar should be small and feminine. “And the buttons need to be placed so you avoid that awkward gap across the chest,” Haugen says firmly.
Since her restructuring of the classical shirt, the brand has grown to include other types of basic wear garments as well. “My focus is now on keeping the core of my brand as small and timeless as it is. I want to continue to be a place people can return to and find their favourites year after year, but I’ll also continue to import unique items from every corner of the world to complement them,” Haugen says of the future. And should a STORIES BY KINE item become the favourite of someone in another corner of the world, Haugen’s very own online shop, shipping worldwide, is set to go live this spring. “While I do have selected retailers across the country, I want the boutique on Frogner in Oslo to become a place where people can come and hear the stories behind their clothes, somewhere we can all share our enthusiasm for great craftsmanship and design,” Haugen concludes. For more information, please visit: storiesbykine.com