«Reusing and repairing are longer processes than creating a mass production» – Baserange

«When we started the brand, we agreed that we would do it in the cleanest way possible. You don’t want to create a business that would harm nature» – Blandine de Verdelhan and Marie-Louise Mogensen

Baserange

Baserange built a brand with an international team in the ten years since its inception. The two main parts of the brain are located in Toulouse, France, responding to administrative tasks and led by Blandine de Verdelhan, and in Copenhagen, Denmark, with Marie-Louise Mogensen responsible for creative ideas.

Expanding to the Americas, where designer Giovanna and photographer Dan McMahon are located, they are responsible for seasonal lookbooks. «We send a collection to him and Giovanna; they cast people and shoot in their homes to have the feeling of a real person». Giovanna used to model for the brand, but then transitioned into a designer. Dan was recommended by a group of friends and colleagues in New York. 

The production process

«It started with an underwear line – something between sportswear and lingerie. With that, we’ve had minimalistic and oversized clothing. Our first material was a bamboo jersey, which has now transformed to Tencel».

There are six suppliers with whom Baserange has been working for a decade. They strictly use materials with a low carbon footprint, an ethical end of life cycle and are biodegradable. The suppliers are all located in Portugal, Turkey or France — in order to reduce transportation. Traceability is also accounted for in order to not break a chain of ethical production. «There is constant communication with suppliers, as often materials could originate from regions with poor working conditions». The dyeing process could be harmful to the employees; clean factories would disclose a certification to prove their process. 

«We don’t need 20-30 new fabrics each season; most of our collection contains carry-over items. Using leftover fabric scraps, we are making new items in collaboration with Net-a-Porter. So there is minimal waste».

Likeminded team

«When we started the brand, we agreed that we would do it in the cleanest way possible. You don’t want to create a business that would harm nature».

«We created this business together, without being together. It’s divided between us – Mogensen has all the creative aspects, and I cover the business aspects» de Verdelhan states. People work for Baserange from everywhere, however, after the COVID-19 pandemic, Mogensen wants to have a place where people meet and work together.  Baserange recently opened a store in Copenhagen; in the back, a creative team works on future collections. Employees are free to work on their own daily schedules, providing all deadlines are met per season. 

In each city where Baserange has a store, partners are assisting with operations. «If someone has a connection to our brand, we want to show that we connect and understand their city». The Baserange team has plans to open a store in the US and France, besides the already existing ones in Denmark, Japan, and Korea. 

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There is no pressure to expand as Baserange remains privately owned. «We don’t want to grow at any cost as we’d like to stay eco-conscious. But we can do our best and be as honest and transparent as possible».The systems people have created need to shift. Mass consumption and volumes we can see aren’t suitable for any form of life. 

«It is evident how stressed resources and supply chains are. People have to feed an unhealthy form of pace and extraction. We need to change our narratives and growth systems. At Baserange, we focus on smaller scales, having more time and being in contact with the environmental and human resources. We extract and reuse resources. Because reusing and repairing are processes that take longer than creating within an industrial mass production framework». 

Mogensen claims, «it has to be about the individual pieces, not large quantities at once». That’s a shift for Baserange. It is about communities where ‘success’ is measured by the ability to share and reuse resources. So-called ‘waste’ is one of them. 

«Our goal is to have clean production, reduce the use of chemicals, plastics, and as little air transportation as possible. We plan to continue expressing the vision of Baserange customers as we did at the same pace and manner».

Creative Process

«The creative process for the lookbook has been an ongoing conversation since we began from the first collection. For instance, for the summer 2023 shoot, we will work with more abstract silhouettes between people and our surroundings in non-visible space».

Baserange usually creates a personal narrative for their lookbook, allowing humans to be as they are. Clothes shouldn’t restrict how each person sees. Instead, they should ‘live’ their everyday lives in the image. 

«For the clothes and styling, you will often see that we work with abstraction and layers. That is also part of working with movement, uninhibited relationship with our clothes within daily lives and society».

Buddhism integrated into fashion

In 2019 Baserange staged a ceremonial presentation inspired by Zen Buddhist D.T. Suzuki. Models, dancers, friends, and collaborators each performed as spiritual characters. 

The text The Hands by D.T. Suzuki is about how easily we get distracted or detached from ourselves and our surroundings and become less grounded.

The text begins with this: «The illness of the modern man comes from his forgetting the loving, inspiring, and creative use of the hands». It’s a reminder to slow down and take time to do nothing and be present. 

Baserange questioned their practice by initiating this presentation. 

«Cultivating connections and shared resources are full of hope and joy. It’s an ongoing dedication as it’s so easy to feel insecure. We become guarded and beguile ourselves to think that we need bigger and more things».

Baserange clothes are shot for Lampoon by Andrew Mailliard

Photography: Andrew Mailliard
Styling: Ana Tess
Grooming: Roberto Alvarado Jr., Art Department
Talent: Alyssa @Industry Models

Baserange, Blandine de Verdelhan and Marie-Louise Mogensen

Blandine de Verdelhan has a degree in chemistry and engineering. She worked for a workwear brand after school. Later, she received a master’s degree in the fashion business in EFM in Paris, leading her to a job in New York. After seven years there, she met Marie-Louise Mogensen, who already had a womenswear brand. Together they transformed it into Baserange. 

Ana Tess