Heliot Emil, the Danish brand founded six years ago by brothers Victor and Julius Juul, made its Paris debut for fall 2022 with a rigorous collection that was built for the future—and looked like it. The label’s popular “liquid metal” material was back, this time used for a total look, and some of the models wore hoof-like 3D-printed shoes. The same technology was used for jewelry and a fragile, no-waste knit dress. Layering and straps read as utilitarian rather than kinky, perhaps because there was a faint militaristic air to the proceedings. When creating the collection, titled “Solitary Uniform,” Julius had been looking at all sorts of codified dress, from business attire to active sportswear. Working with a Milanese knitwear company, he even introduced elements of medieval armor, and managed to give them a futuristic twist.
That the Juuls came to fashion in a roundabout way seems to be to their benefit: It allows them to see the big picture and communicate a consistent and clear vision. “I’ve always believed you can create the universe [of the brand], and then you can add onto it with the products,” Julius said on a call. “If you have the products, but nobody understands the broader vision, it’s very hard for people to see where it’s going.”
Having studied creative communication, Julius ended up in advertising in New York, working to create concepts for brands big and small, including Calvin Klein and, for a short spell in 2013, Hood by Air. Throughout the following year, the art director was busy with Kanye West’s Donda project. Having always been interested in clothing, he found a mentor in his then studio mate, the dressmaker Kevin Johnn, who gave the Dane a crash course in fashion design. In 2016, Julius joined forces with his brother, who studied business, to launch Heliot Emil, which was named after their great-grandfather.
The brand started with menswear, which it showed on models of both genders. About two years ago, Heliot Emil introduced womenswear, which quickly came to represent the bulk of the business. This fall collection included some of the skin-baring, strappy dressing that can be found in almost every collection. Stronger, and more signature, were sharply cut pants, like a knit pair with a carabiner-like metal pendant, or slim cargos with stud details. Puffers with over vests could be styled in many ways, including with a set of puffer sleeves. Some of the exactness of the tailoring came from laser-cut and fused edges; binding straps and curved seams played the constructed against the organic. Soft versus hard was another dichotomy at play here; fuzzy knitwear added a bit of texture to the streamlined pieces, as did the rubber that was painted over an otherwise delicate pulled gauze slip dress.
The imperfect presence of the hand in that piece was welcome in a collection that was at once cocooning and at times a bit aggressive, though perhaps that reading was influenced by current events. (Earlier this week, Heliot Emil said that it would be donating 100% of profits on fall 2022 to Ukrainian relief through UNICEF.) In any case, the contradictory aesthetic that defines the label is “industrial elegance,” Julius said, “so, seeing metal combined with suiting, or seeing leather combined with dresses, and mixing those two into a universe is what we are trying to shape with the brand.” There are few better locations to chase after elegance than the capital of France. The designer said he sees Paris as a “magical place where people appreciate creativity on a whole other level . . . a place where you can do something just because it’s cool or it’s interesting.” The city didn’t disappoint: Heliot Emil received a warm welcome for their forward-thinking designs.
