This year, Naja Lauf celebrates her 25th anniversary. It is the story of a designer who, from the beginning, has insisted on delivering a thoroughly crafted quality product and is full of goodwill. Through challenges, changing times in the industry, and unwavering faith in her design skills, Naja Lauf has created a brand that continues to have its relevance.
In the vast factory halls of Prato, textile and leather suppliers sat side by side with sewing workshops. For centuries, the Tuscan town just outside Florence was an epicenter for textile production for large parts of the world. It was precisely the “Made in Italy” label that drove designer Naja Lauf, who, with a love for high-quality fabrics, went to Prato in 2000. She brought with her 250,000 Danish kroner borrowed from the bank and a dream of creating her own brand focusing on thorough design in top-quality materials. Amid rolls of textiles and local Italian craftsmen, the foundation for her first collection was laid – dresses, denim, knitwear, coats, and leather belts, which she soon after presented in Denmark.
“It was the materials that drove me. I knew this was where I needed to start. I got the collection home and personally drove it around Denmark. I had worked for Mads Nørgaard for six years, so many people knew me from there – and they wanted more from my hand,” Naja Lauf recounts about the beginning of her business. The collection was well received, giving her the courage to continue:
“I found enough backbone to approach an investor who came on board, and I continued production in Italy.”
The subsequent years felt like a whirlwind of success: Naja Lauf was widely covered in newspapers and women’s magazines, became one of Queen Mary’s preferred brands, delivered strong sales figures, and won the Alt for Damerne’s Guldknap award in 2005 for her timeless and quality-conscious designs. The award boosted sales, secured her a sales representative, and led to 80 retailers in Denmark alone. There was significant focus on her clothing, her personality, and her pronounced sense of aesthetics.
“We really got into gear during that period, with a total of eight employees. I spent much of my time as director looking after the staff and holding meetings with them, so I had to go in on weekends to do my designs. But after a few years of that setup, I told my then-investor, Peter Asschenfeldt, that I needed a managing director – and preferably one who also wanted to be a co-owner.”
In 2007, a new director joined the company, receiving a 51 percent ownership stake.
Ugly motives and a bad feeling
After several years of success and a double-digit million turnover, things went wrong:
“I discovered that the new director was going behind my back with my designs, and I thereby lost control over the collections’ expression. But that wasn’t the chain of command I had outlined when we started together. I was supposed to be responsible for design, and she for everything else.”
In 2008, Naja Lauf left the company she had created. The company continued under her name and the director’s leadership.
“It was a very strange time. It took only a year before the director declared bankruptcy with the Naja Lauf brand. By 2009, I had my brand back. I had many loyal private customers in North Zealand who were willing to invest. So, I started small with a limited liability company where approximately 40 women invested a total of 500,000 kroner in B shares, thus crowdfunding the new Naja Lauf,” the founder explains about the turbulent period.
Rebuilding
Quietly and with relentless effort, she rebuilt her brand. There was no money for employees, and Naja Lauf did everything herself – except sales. She managed the business through countless Excel sheets and meticulous systems. She shared storage space with a local children’s clothing company and neatly packaged orders with silk ribbons and handwritten notes to send from the post office. She restarted production in Eastern Europe with Italian and French fabrics. She cut out all PR; there was neither time nor money for it. During that time, she became known as “the secret brand.” Gradually, the business grew – especially the outerwear generated profits.
“I knew I could do almost everything myself. Things rarely went wrong, and I had a good overview. In that way, there’s something efficient about being a one-woman operation. But it was hopeless not to have the means to hire someone, as growing requires upfront investment in advance orders before money comes in. I was constantly working, and that takes its toll,” Naja Lauf reflects.
After running the business alone for eight years, Naja Lauf decided in the spring of 2018 to sell 80 percent of her company to the Danish Fashion Society, which also owns stakes in brands such as Lovechild, Mark Kenly Domino Tan, and Rue de Tokyo.
“I was ready for that, and I could sense that we shared the same vision. At Fashion Society, my brand fits well with the rest of their portfolio of Danish brands, which are strong in terms of design. Today, I am the creative director of the Naja Lauf brand and can focus on the design. It also means I can now take vacations and have weekends off,” she adds with a laugh.
The true value
The industry has changed over the past 25 years. Consumers, stores, and fashion trends have shifted. However, some things have remained constant for Naja Lauf, and these have been defining:
“The best part for me has been maintaining the quality and a certain standard in the clothing I create. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have devoted my life to it. It’s a great adventure and privilege for me to use myself in this way – to have an idea sparked by nature, the environment, or even a movie trip and turn it into something tangible. During the ups and downs, it’s always reassured me to think that what’s inside me is where the real value lies.”
As creative director, Naja Lauf is deeply aware of current issues such as climate change, shifting consumption patterns, wars, and rising costs. She continues to source fabrics from Italy, France, and Portugal. The situation gives her a desire to rethink the brand, as the market has changed. Lauf herself believes her collections are too extensive, producing four annual collections comprising 200-250 styles in total. She wants to minimize overproduction and avoid fabric waste. She aims to create groups of styles that will never go on sale and use leftover buttons from factory productions.
“I have so many ideas and so much desire to continue working in the industry with these challenges. I want to keep working for many years to come. Creating clothing of such high quality and in Europe fits well with the current zeitgeist, where people buy good-quality items that can last for years in their wardrobe. My focus is on the product. That’s what’s important to me. It has driven me for over 25 years.”
