Dropping in on Designer Wayne Sørensen

“Content might be king, but hype is currently retail’s high priest,” according to Forbes contributor Katie Baron, who explores “drop culture” in a feature for the publication. “Luxury is caressing streetwear tactics to stay relevant/solvent to younger consumers,” Baron writes. “There’s also a slower, arguably more sophisticated version of the drop experience to chew on. See British-born menswear brand SØRENSEN, a label founded by New Zealander Wayne Sørensen.”

Sørensen, formerly a product developer at Burberry and design director of Orlebar Brown, adds “a neat arc to the story”.

“Offering a stealthier, sophisticated and ironically old-school slant on the phenomenon, SØRENSEN also largely rejects seasons in favour of product ‘issues’ – a release structure conceptually reminiscent of fanzines. Unlike the other concepts there’s no instant pressure to purchase; it’s a long-lead interpretation of drop culture designed to entice those more seduced by the long haul. Think personal collectors and connoisseurs rather than the fast-turnaround of resales or flipping, as it’s known in the business.

“‘Our interpretation of drop shipments derives from our quieter approach to newness – issues vs. seasons. Since launching two years ago, our early customers have really connected with our framework of working archetypes [these include the dancer, the engineer, the driver and the painter], which inform the thinking behind each of our pieces. They appreciate that they can come back to the same silhouettes every six or 12 months but via new issues,’ Sørensen says. ‘Now, with our first retail store in Los Angeles we also have the platform to do smaller runs for our local customers, effectively micro issues, so we’re dropping newness with much more regularity but based on the same sense of creating an archive of sorts.’”

Sørensen is originally from Whangarei. He now lives in Portugal.

Original article by Katie Baron, Forbes, October 29, 2018.

Photo by Chris Baker.