My guest on this episode of the Danish-language podcast Den Nye Standard is Søren Le Schmidt, tailor, designer and founder of the brand that bears his name. We talk about the fashion industry, about challenging your creativity, about work-life balance, and about how you build success as a designer in Denmark.
Søren describes himself as very focused and dedicated. He always works fast and makes use of every hour in the day. For Søren, the work is also a passion and a hobby, so he never gets tired of what he does. It matters to him that his clients feel heard and seen, and he loves creating designs made for the individual client. For Søren, the most important thing has always been to give each client an experience of their own rather than mass-producing his designs.
The first encounter with creativity
In the episode, Søren takes us on a journey from his first encounter with creativity to his career today as one of Denmark’s hottest designers. At six, Søren sewed his first suit, which still hangs in his office. He tells us how his grandparents’ sewing room became a real mecca, where as a boy he could explore his creativity and grow. Søren grew up in a family full of love and room to experiment. So being the quirky, offbeat boy in West Jutland with a different hobby from the other boys his age was never a problem. Søren has always believed that as long as you’re at peace with what you do, other people’s opinions don’t matter.
Holding on to that creativity is exactly what the Danish school system should get better at celebrating, Søren believes. In his view, society should give children better conditions to explore their creativity and keep it alive.
“Designing is easy. It’s everything else about running your own business that’s hard”
Søren tells us he trained as a tailor because his interest has always been in construction. When the brand was new, Søren discovered that his style was very graphic, architectural and minimalist. In his own words, that helped kickstart his success, because it was new on the Danish fashion scene when it came to red carpet design. Søren explains that he chose to train as a tailor rather than a designer because, with the right craft in place, he could more easily take everything apart and design according to the rules of the craft.
Before Søren started his brand in 2018, he completed the first part of a business economics programme. He wanted to learn business law and business economics because he knew they would matter once he was running his own business. Today, Søren explains, he has a team of skilled people around him who take care of everything that comes with being self-employed, so he can focus on what he’s best at: being a tailor and designer.
“A shared calendar is God’s gift to a relationship”
The conversation moves on to work-life balance. Søren’s working week hasn’t always looked the way it does now. He tells us that before he became a father, he worked every weekend because it was easiest for his clients. Now that he’s a dad, other priorities come first. Every Sunday, Søren and his wife draw up a rota for the week with time for themselves and time together. That’s how life comes together for the Le Schmidt family. Søren is so fond of the shared calendar that he calls it God’s gift to a relationship. It gives structure both at home and at work.
For Søren, there’s no doubt about which priority matters most. Family comes first, which is why he doesn’t take on big projects without agreeing it with his wife. Søren explains that he loves what he does and feels privileged, because his hobby is his job and it pays the rent. He has always enjoyed going to work, but at home he wants to be 100% present. So the computer stays at work when the day is done.