Exclusive Interview With Julius Langkilde, CEO Of Danish Eye-wear Brand Christopher Cloos.
Christopher Cloos is a go-to brand for anyone looking to get luxury sunglasses to experience simple, vintage-inspired frame shapes. When searching for eyewear, always go for a product that matches your lifestyle and personality and Christopher Cloos makes sure there is a style for everyone in their various collections.
Christopher Cloos is a Danish Eyewear Company originating from the South of France, with HQ in Copenhagen.
Brief Backstory:
Christopher Cloos was Founded in 2017. Christopher Cloos came about when the co-founders were in the south of France for a holiday.
Christopher Cloos is the story of meeting an enigmatic man at a beach club in the South of France.
At the elegant Paloma Beach Club, the two founders became acquainted with an intriguing man from Monaco who had an extraordinary taste for the good life. He was a man of the world who never settled for less than the best.
The man introduced himself as 'Christopher Cloos' and the founders were immediately struck by his fondness for timeless sunglasses. He told the founders that he would always be found with a classic pair of sunglasses and a smile on his face as he indulged himself in the life of a 'Bon Vivant'.
Full of inspiration, they decided to create their own line of affordable sunglasses reflected by the style of Christopher Cloos.
We recently interviewed business entrepreneur, Julius Langkilde the CEO of The Company, and he talked about the company's achievements, development, upcoming projects, and his vision for the future of the company.
My name is Julius, and I am 29 years old. I have previously worked briefly in management consulting, but it has always been my dream to be an entrepreneur, so I am glad things turned out this way!
When did you initially launch "Christopher Cloos" and what was the initial response?
We launched in the summer of 2017 with very limited resources - we grew slowly in the first couple of months, but got momentum in December of 2017, and we haven’t looked back since!
How did you get into designing eyewear?
I always say that I entered through the backdoor. One of the original co-founders of the company sought other ways from the beginning so I took his place instead. The vision and foundation for the company was laid already, so my idea is to continue this minimalistic approach while keeping our Danish roots in our design.
Tell me more about what makes you passionate about eyewear?
I love that it is a product that is on people’s faces. It’s such a central part of any outfit - and if we can achieve our mission of dressing 1,000,000 faces across the planet with our eyewear, it will be an incredible achievement
What does being sustainable/ethical mean to you and your brand? and how do you see it influencing the fashion industry over the next five years?
Our products are 100 % sustainable and made from biodegradable materials, so we have thoroughly integrated this into our product and business model. besides selling a 100 % sustainable product, we believe that the fashion industry will continue to evolve in this direction. As long as we can do our part, we can remain a proud brand.
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| Cloos x Brady - Original. Photography| Kevin OBrien |
What message do you want to convey with your latest collection?
What is your research and design process when you create a collection?
We find inspiration from old classics, either movies, paintings, surroundings, or experiences; then we move to the drawing board, sometimes with external designers, sometimes with brand ambassadors and their designers! It’s a lot of fun. Post design, the drawings are turned into real frames on a sample level. And once approved along with the story of each collection, these frames become reality in larger batches ready to be sold worldwide.
How do you see the future of eyewear?
While there are interesting initiatives out there in terms of better polarisation and “headphones” in the temples, I think the next frontier will happen in the prescription section. High sophisticated scanners have already been made for AI eye exams and these scanners could be placed anywhere; airports, resorts, and more.
What advice would you give to someone starting up a fashion or eyewear business?
Be extremely patient. I wouldn’t call it a very saturated market, but people are still very reliant on physical stores which makes it tougher to compete online. In this day and age where advertising costs have skyrocketed, this is an even more difficult task to solve.
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| Photo| Jeppe Carlsen |
How would you describe your brand aesthetics and Personal Style?
Minimalistic, but with a flair for classic style and aesthetics - and that goes for both the brand and me!
Which designers have been the biggest influence on you?
Karl Lagerfeld certainly comes to mind as he gave so much spark to the world of design. While we might not have the same design appeal as him, we like to think that we have the same mindset when it comes to advertising.
How do you come up with the shapes and concepts for each design?
Classic styles have more of a round shape to them or at least round edges, so we want to stay true to our core principles when it comes to the actual shapes of any frame.
Which collection or collaboration are you most proud of and why?
Well, every collaboration has something special to it, so it would be unfair to choose any name over another - but I am a personal fan of Tom Brady, so we can leave it at that ;-).
What is the future for Christopher Cloos?
Once we have dressed 1,000,000 faces across the planet, we will see if we want to increase that target and take on another journey. We aim to complete this during 2024, so it will be interesting to see what happens beyond that ;-)
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| Photography| Jeppe Carlsen |
How do you define success for yourself as an entrepreneur?
When you can look back on a healthy life with great experiences and just knowing that it’s been a fantastic journey with so many learnings along the way.
What is the top quality or value that you feel helped you become a successful entrepreneur?
It’s still early in my personal journey so I would like to stress that it would be premature to define myself as a successful entrepreneur - but I can answer how we got to this point: dedication, persistence, and an everyday instinct of never giving up. And you need to have a good product!
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| Photographer| Zoey Grossman|@zoeygrossman | Elsa Hosk Wearing Glasses from her "Fourth Collection" |
What are you fascinated by at the moment and how does it feed into your work?
We have a very interesting project in the works that takes our design and product to a new level without compromising on the existing collection. It will be released just in time for the holiday season this year.
What is the biggest lesson that you have learned since you started your company?
That I am here to make sure everything succeeds, and you have to take 100 % responsibility for the successes or failures of the company.
If you could go back and tell yourself one thing before beginning your career what would it be?
Wait a few years! Enjoy your youth while you still have it!
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