Between The Lines 009: Heliot Emil
Industrial Elegance with Julius Juul
Words: Siân Toolan
Since its inception in 2017, HELIOT EMIL has established a unique design language in its ready-to-wear collections of form-fitting functionality. The product of brothers Julius and Victor Juul, the Copenhagen-based brand blends the familiar with the futuristic in technical tailoring. Now, with a venture into furniture well under way, we sat down with co-founder and creative director Julius to discuss his innovative approach, the universe of HELIOT EMIL, and how exactly he defines good footwear design..…
Originating as a self-funded side project, Julius and Victor set out to create “a feeling, an aesthetic, a universe”, in which products were essentially the by-product. HELIOT EMIL, named after the pair’s great- grandfather, would build upon the mutual interests of its founders, in fashion, architecture and communities, while questioning the standardised processes of making. Fostering a brand rooted in concept, with a solid identity and following is no mean feat, but a challenge for which they were prepared. Having worked as an art director for various high-profile clients in New York, Julius scored a design role at Shayne Oliver’s Hood By Air at its peak, before moving onto Kanye West’s creative agency, Donda. It was at Hood By Air he was introduced to “the processes of creating garments and objects” whilst bearing witness to Oliver’s “nonconformist approach”, his sense of artistry, and the power of design in creating a movement, beyond clothing. This approach was seconded by his experience at Donda and close work with YEEZY. With Victor completing his degree in business, the brothers put their heads, and varied skillsets, together and debuted HELIOT EMIL’s first collection in Milan during SS17.
Carabiner Chelsea Boots & AW21 Layered Pieces
Whilst their first collection nodded to club culture and techno music in its marriage of streetwear and metal hardware, it equally took cues from functionalist architecture and industrial machinery. This fascination with industrialisation and technology, and even “the beauty in exposed engines or pipes”, developed into HELIOT EMIL’s specifically Scandinavian, monochrome and minimalist aesthetic. As Julius discusses, the brand’s consistent use of muted block colours enables a greater appreciation for the construction, textiles or utilitarian technicalities of a garment. Whether they are juxtaposing technical track pants with sartorial style or combining cargo shorts with luxury leather, each collection appears to jump off from the last, engaging with new concepts through the lens of HELIOT EMIL. At its core, the brand’s universe is concerned with investigating form and function through experimental combinations of technical and tactical materials with form-giving, softer silhouettes. “This is something we like to call industrial elegance”, explains Julius, and is perhaps best demonstrated in their recent sculptural take on footwear.
‘Permanent Metamorphosis’ SS22 Invitation
Plucking elements from workwear, leisurewear or sportswear, HELIOT EMIL manages to re-imagine and elevate practical clothing and offer us a wardrobe for the future. It’s not that every individual garment is elegant in the form of a feminine silhouette, but rather an elegance that pertains to technicality or innovative textile development. An elegant way of thinking. Their SS20 collection, ‘Torqued Ellipse’, embodies Richard Serra’s logic-defying steel sculptures of the same name. Through asymmetry, sharp cut-outs and the stand-out piece of metamorphic silver ‘Liquid Metal Trousers’, HELIOT EMIL delivered a refined and unexpected show. The trousers, that suggest the appearance of liquid mercury as they reflect light, are a polyester viscose blend devised by the brand and their textile specialists. HELIOT EMIL may have become synonymous with carabiners and their ‘HE’ motif, but it is their futuristic approach to material that establishes their unmistakable design language.
Liquid Metal Trousers, Carabiner Phone Sling & Square Metal Ankle-Heel Boots
HELIOT EMIL’s investment in material development began with “absolutely no experience”, as Julius puts it. Whilst he believes that understanding the traditional approaches to design are a great foundation, he explains “it’s a blessing and a curse to be schooled in something, as you can feel like you’re limiting your ways of thinking”. Working closely with experts in textile manufacturing, Julius’ approach is all about asking questions, “taking things out of their traditional context” and designing with an open-mind. In the case of the ‘Liquid Metal Trousers’, that sold out rapidly, have continued into each season, and were adapted into a jacket for AW20 Womenswear, this approach clearly pulled off.
‘Unstable Equilibrium’ AW21 Paris Fashion Week Show
HELIOT EMIL’s forward-thinking outlook is not limited to materials, but their entire brand identity. When venturing into new arenas, “it is not a fashion brand trying to do something in a category”, but rather this category is another possible outcome of their universe. They’ve moved into the categories of accessories or jewellery, but the brand is not limited by fashion or wearability, as they’ve just dropped their first piece of HELIOT EMIL furniture, soon to be followed by a full collection. This collection, just as any other, follows the HELIOT EMIL blueprint: sculptural, blending simple elegance with industrial interlocking aluminium in the form of a bench, dining table, desk, and chair. If we weren’t excited enough already, the collection of furniture will include efforts in homeware, from a vase to a coffee drip tray. “It's very important that we don't bite off more than we can chew,” says Julius. Whilst the brand, and Julius himself, have a vast skill set, they do not plan to venture into unknown territory prematurely. “We’ve found that slowly going into the market allows us to practice, expand our vision and see how we can make an impact there”. This is precisely their attitude to footwear.
Womens Prototype Development AW21
For SS21, HELIOT EMIL made its first solo venture into footwear design. They had put a spin on the Diemme hiking boot for AW20, and Julius recalls designing the Hood By Air shoe boxes and packaging, but SS21 embraced their “absolute first take” on three individual shoes. “In footwear, there are some fundamentals that need to be in place, and it's interesting to work and find an angle on those boundaries” explains Julius. The HELIOT EMIL structured ‘Chelsea Boots’ with Vibram rubber sole and carabiner detail were a long-time coming, but it was their Women’s ‘Sandal’ and ‘Ankle-High Boots’ that caught our attention. Both efforts feature sleek soft uppers of black leather, set on a stacked, squared-off shaped sole, with a rough brushed stainless steel heel and steel toe cap. “It's sort of like a boiled-down version of the entire aesthetic of HELIOT EMIL in a shoe”. They’re that sweet spot between simple and overdone, or elegance and brutality, sitting confidently in the universe of hardware, harnesses, buckles, and aluminium furniture. Like furniture, or arguably a good sneaker, they’ve got that collectibility factor, functioning as a sculptural object. They’re that good that the Men’s take on these squared steel-toe boots is set to be released for SS22, featuring a smaller heel base.
Chunky Layered Mules, Metal Heel Sandals, Hiking Boots & Rubber Boots
As a confessed sneaker-collector in his youth, Julius undoubtedly knows what makes a good shoe, and what he likes. “I look for something that feels unique but not so much so that it feels gimmicky”. He discusses the chunky split-soled adidas x Raf Simons Ozweego, released before uncool was covetable, “they had that subtle spark of difference or newness but without reaching into crazy”. His recent picks include the PRADA Cloudbust Thunder, featuring a complex jagged sole and recently updated in technical fabric, and the infamous Bottega Veneta tire rubber-trimmed leather Chelsea boots. All of which we can easily see integrated into the aesthetic sensibilities of HELIOT EMIL. We’d love to envision a full footwear collection by HELIOT EMIL, though we have a suspicion that Julius would have a trick or two up his sleeve. While he refuses to give much away, he tells us “we definitely want to make sneakers, but I think we still have a lot to master”.
Salomon Concept Sneaker AW19
While they may be newcomers in the footwear arena, one thing HELIOT EMIL has mastered is creating engaging digital content. As many brands rushed to digitalise during the global pandemic, HELIOT EMIL was ahead of the curve, having cultivated immersive digital and accessible runways since its conception. Both AW18’s ‘Intended Consequences’ and AW20’s ‘Amorphous Solid’ placed its viewer in the centre of a 360- degree space, with the ability to manoeuvre around the universe via a gyroscope on their phone or computer. As they were able to move in multiple directions and irregular patterns, each digital showroom visitor had a unique and self-directed experience, with intimate interactions with the garments. In their most recent show, AW21’s ‘Unstable Equilibrium’, the brand delved deeper into the possibilities of technology. The collection contrasted the notions of balance and imbalance with asymmetrical pattern cutting, minimal and excessive layering, and the idea of artificially generated randomness. Asking “is it possible to make something appear unstable while being stable?”, HELIOT EMIL utilised the unpredictable nature of artificial intelligence to generate content for the show’s film. These complex and audience-focused shows are more than displays of finalised ready-to-wear collections, but artistic ventures in themselves. The art direction and accessible content, are all creative outputs of the HELIOT EMIL universe which looks to support a “feeling of community”.
PRE SS22 Layered Blazer with Removable Harness & Mario Botta Seconda Chair at Heliot Emil HQ
The takeaway from the last year is that brands need to engage and value their consumers, opting for more accessible and inclusive spaces. HELIOT EMIL’s interest in technology is as much to do with community as it is to do with artistry or material development. “We try to create a community where people can feel like they're part of our world, just as much as someone who might be sitting front row at Paris Fashion Week” explains Julius. Through social media, the brand seeks to share its processes and conversations, outside of the show notes. They’ve even gone so far as to create an Instagram ‘Close Friends’ List, in which their most engaged followers are privy to the behind-the-scenes of HELIOT EMIL, with upcoming projects and opportunities to ask questions. “It adds an extra layer into the universe; a new level of trust and involvement”. It’s easy to see why, all things considered, that HELIOT EMIL does not define itself as a fashion brand, but more of a conceptual modus operandi.
Julius on set BTS from AW21 show
As its founder and head designer explains, the universe of HELIOT EMIL is “not linear”. It is not tied down to one category or way of thinking. It is a multi-faceted brand, “with a clear vision in terms of innovation within the industry”, and the design world at large. With a limitless approach to creation, brothers Julius and Victor Juul unite technical innovation with craftsmanship, care, and community and, as so far, have offered a fresh perspective on modern fashion, film, furniture, and footwear. Currently working on some exciting, albeit topsecret, collaborations, HELIOT EMIL ultimately stands for interconnectedness, at a time we need it most.