The North Zealand children’s clothing brand Ver de Terre, which translates to ‘earthworm’ in French, marks its 30th anniversary with a generational renewal and an expansion into a new major market.
Ver de Terre is French for earthworm. But when it comes to designing and producing outerwear for children and adults, Ver de Terre is as rain-soaked Danish as an earthworm can be. Ver de Terre has recently celebrated its 30th anniversary and has undergone generational renewal. Founder and owner Karin Brandt has expanded the company with Alexander Brandt and Josephine Laustsen, both children of the founder.
“We owe them everything, for they are the reason Ver de Terre began as a business. When they were small, playful children, it wasn’t easy to get a little girl in a dress into a stiff nylon flight suit. Since then, it has been a wonderful journey with colours and uncompromising quality, as the Danish weather can be grey, cold, and wet,” says Karin Brandt.
Since 1993, she has designed and run the business from the office in Charlottenlund. With education from the Kolding Design School and La Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture Parisienne, Karin Brandt has a strong professional design background and aesthetics. This drove her when in the early 1990s she had to realize that nice, classic flight suits for children were scarce: “Outerwear is a big investment for families with children, so good quality is crucial, but in my universe, quality can well be combined with classic aesthetics. And you can always add a fun hat or a pair of colourful mittens,” says Karin Brandt.
With her vision for her products established, Ver de Terre became a reality – and what started as single-item productions for her children quickly spread to her social circle, and soon there was demand from near and far. Initially, production took place in sewing rooms in Copenhagen and later in North Jutland, but with increasing interest, it was important to seek production partners abroad with greater capacity and more experience and specialization in technical outerwear to ensure the highest possible quality. Today, Ver de Terre is still driven by the strong design profile and responsible principles around production conditions and quality.
Collections born for the north American market
After 30 years of success, particularly in the Danish market, the first steps into the American market have been taken: “I think it’s important to have the base in order before expanding. And we do. From the new office in Washington DC, Josephine will continue and expand the adventure in the American market. We have high expectations, as the North American market is large. Both weather- and climate-wise – with rain, cold, and especially snow – it can be more challenging than in Denmark. But our collections are born for it. And with our skiwear collection, we also focus on states with skiing.”
The company is in the early stages of their American adventure. Ver de Terre participates in the Playtime children’s clothing fair in New York in February, and they are working purposefully with strategy and marketing. Josephine Laustsen has moved to the USA with her family, so in that way, there is already an investment in the new market. The combination of a new market and generational renewal is a perfect match for the founder: “People have always thought we were a big company. But for many years, it was just me, and I wore all the hats. Now, so much new energy has come into Ver de Terre with Josephine and Alexander, and they have already achieved so much in a short time. They give themselves 120 percent, bring so much new knowledge, and have free rein to structure. It has already strengthened and improved Ver de Terre in so many areas,” concludes Karin Brandt.
