By Malene Birger | brands introduction

Oct 22, 2024

Malene herself is a pioneer in quiet luxury. While the aughts were dominated by trends like Y2K millennium babes and McBling, Malene was already establishing her quiet luxury brand. She predates brands like The Row and Toteme. If Jil Sander represents the first generation, Malene belongs to the second, overlapping with Phoebe Philo in the latter part of her career, while The Row and Toteme are the third generation, each separated by about 20 years.

Jil Sander founded her renowned designer brand in 1968 and sold 75% of her shares to Prada in 1999, leaving dramatically a year later. After brief returns, the brand changed hands twice and is now owned by Japan’s Onward Holdings, headquartered in Milan, Italy. Jil Sander’s tenure lasted from 1973–2005 and 2012–2013.

Jil Sander is now around 80 years old, and Malene is over 60. Both have moved on from their brands, which have since evolved from their original styles. This article focuses on the current brand styles.

As a Danish brand, By Malene Birger didn’t leverage social media due to the founder’s near-retirement age when it rose to prominence. Unlike Jil Sander, which was acquired by a luxury group, By Malene Birger’s audience remains mostly Nordic, with global recognition trailing behind fellow Nordic brand Toteme.

When Malene was still leading By Malene Birger, the brand emphasized black, simplicity, and modernity — what we now recognize as Scandinavian sophisticated minimalism. Her everyday wardrobe was predominantly black. Under new creative directors, the brand has incorporated many bohemian elements, softening the designs. While still luxurious and sophisticated, there are many exquisite pieces for those who want to go beyond traditional black, white, and gray.

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Danish designer Malene Birger, born in 1962, founded By Malene Birger in 2003 at the age of 40. As a Danish brand, it naturally embodied a Nordic cool and minimalist style, Scandinavian sophisticated minimalism, even before Phoebe Philo’s tenure at Celine (2008–2018).

Before this, Malene Birger co-founded Day Birger & Mikkelsen with Keld Mikkelsen in 1997, a brand that remains operational in Denmark. Compared to By Malene Birger, Day Birger & Mikkelsen’s designs are more mainstream and accessible, targeting everyday consumers with simpler, more basic designs. Malene Birger left this brand in 2002.

The brand often offers 50–60% off sales during summer. By Malene Birger also discounts heavily in July, so it’s worth checking various websites for deals.

By the time she founded the brand, Malene already had extensive experience and resources in the fashion industry:

In 1989, she studied fashion design at the Danish Design School.
She began her career as a fashion designer at Carli Gry, later becoming the head of women’s wear at Marc O’Polo in Sweden until 1996.
In 1997, she co-founded Day Birger & Mikkelsen, winning the Danish Design Award in 2002.
After leaving Day Birger & Mikkelsen in 2002, she founded By Malene Birger in 2003, winning the Guldknappen, Denmark’s top fashion award, in 2004, and the Scandinavian Design Award in 2005.
By Malene Birger received the Costume Norway Annual Award in 2008.

Malene Birger left her namesake brand in 2014, with Christina Exsteen taking over as creative director. In 2015, she founded The World of Malene Birger, a design consultancy firm focusing on interior design, technology, and various artistic endeavors. Birger has since pursued interests in ceramics, sculpture, art, and jewelry design.

Even while active in fashion, Birger spent her free time drawing and studying interior design and art. After retiring, she continued these hobbies. For Birger, stagnation was never an option, moving from fashion brands to a design consultancy, from fashion to art. She emphasizes, “Inspiration comes from work, not from waiting.”

Recently, she moved to an old house in Felanitx, Spain, which serves as both her studio and residence. The ground floor is a gallery showcasing her art, primarily black-and-white abstract shapes drawn with rough brushstrokes.

What an ideal retirement!

In 2020, Maja Dixdotter became the creative director, and Ellen Dixdotter took over as CEO.

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Current By Malene Birger brand philosophy:

BY MALENE BIRGER is a Danish womenswear label that infuses sophisticated Scandinavian minimalism with a vivacious, bohemian ease. Meticulously designed with long-lasting fabrics, feminine details and enduring silhouettes, the house’s collections are luxuriously utilitarian.

Practicality, good fabrics, simple classic cuts, attention to detail, and showcasing women’s strength are common standards for quiet luxury brands today.

By Malene Birger combines the cool Nordic style with the relaxed ease of bohemian fashion. Colors often include more bohemian hues like beige, brown, and red, instead of the Nordic black, white, and gray. Bohemian elements such as crochet and tassels are also present.

Creative director Maja Dixdotter, in an interview with Olivela (similar to Lane Crawford, a collection store for luxury brands) about the 2024 Spring/Summer collection, stated that her design inspiration comes from her travels (especially flea markets and vintage shops), Pinterest, and her friends.

This year’s 2024 SS collection was inspired by a Mediterranean vacation, walking through sun-baked marble squares to hundred-year-old villa balconies overlooking the Mediterranean.

Describing this scene, I instantly recalled watching Freud’s Biography. Before starting his career in psychoanalysis, Freud also spent time in Spain, viewing the scenery from a balcony. What captivated him wasn’t the sea but a girl walking by — he was young then. My recent encounter with Freud was three months ago while reading Think Through Fashion, which collected Freud’s main theories and indirect views on fashion.

The kaftan is a highlight of the 2024 SS collection, as shown in the bottom right of the image above. Maja mentioned she wears kaftans almost year-round, layering them over swimsuits during the day and accessorizing with gold necklaces for evening dinners. Linen naturally wrinkles, making it easy to pack for travel.

It’s July now, and Europeans are likely on their month-long vacations to Côte d’Azur in France or Amalfi Coast in Italy. Of all climates, I love the Mediterranean the most — sunny and bright, uplifting, dry, and low humidity.

Back to the article, besides the brand philosophy reflected in the clothing, store design is also an integral part of By Malene Birger.

The brand operates direct stores in Copenhagen and Stockholm, with 2 and 3 stores, respectively. Other countries have stores through distributors.

Compared to Toteme | 11 Signature Pieces, By Malene Birger’s stores focus more on intimacy and ease.

As mentioned in the brand style introduction, By Malene Birger blends Scandinavian simplicity with Bohemian ease, creating a softer overall environment. Price-wise, BMB is slightly more affordable than Toteme, reflecting its lesser brand influence.

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Among tank tops, I personally like the Debbia Top and Amani Tank Top. The Debbia Top has been released in similar styles in previous years, featuring noticeable fringe and tassels.

Aside from the Amani series tank tops, there is also the Anisa series, but the Amani has a more precise fit.

By Malene Birger’s swimsuits come in two styles that I particularly like. There are only three styles in total, each available in black and white. The black color appears more striking than the white.

For summer dresses, I particularly like the Lovelo Maxi Dress, available in black and gray. The rightmost dress with a stronger design element isn’t available on the official website.

The two dresses in the bottom row have a more vacation vibe, and similar designs are plentiful on Taobao.

Many dresses are like robes, very oversized and not suitable for Asians. I won’t include pictures of those; they resemble hospital gowns. By Malene Birger’s clothes are well-suited for those over 180cm. Considering the overall height in Northern Europe, the oversized styles are fitting for taller figures.

These three tops are my favorites. As mentioned earlier, the current By Malene Birger combines Bohemian elements, with color schemes more focused on softer cream and beige tones. These tops, along with the outfits shown in the previous model images, feature my favorite colors.

The second set is better suited for taller figures, while the third set is more fitting for slender bodies. The first set is more suitable for average figures.

For winter coats, I love these two classic styles: a coat and a poncho. They have timeless designs that exude luxury and elegance, best suited for taller individuals.

Although Malene herself has not been designing for the brand for nearly ten years, By Malene Birger’s styles and quality remain consistent. The brand gained some recognition in 2023, with many fashion bloggers on Instagram wearing its clothes.

While most minimalist, quiet luxury brands favor black, white, and gray with modern, cool designs, By Malene Birger incorporates the relaxed ease of Bohemian style. The brand’s unique blend of warm cream tones in minimalistic designs and store aesthetics makes it a distinctive and continuously appealing brand. Despite the predominantly cotton fabrics and occasional wool, the designs and cuts make By Malene Birger a consistently high-quality minimalist brand worth following.

Postscript

Although the dog days of summer are approaching, recent rains in Beijing have brought a hint of autumn coolness.

Writing about the stories of these brand founders is fascinating. It gives me insight into different people’s fashion lives, almost like reading mini-biographies. These real-life stories and stages can provide us, the younger generation, with some guidance and inspiration.