New couples would take on a joint role at a luxury fashion brand during a global disaster – and still talk to each other.
But Joseph co-creative directors Anna and Frederik Dyhr are not your average couple. And not only are they still very much together, they’re celebrating after helping turn around the fortunes of the British fashion house. Despite all odds, the label has just posted a profit for the first time in eight years – rising to £400,000 after losses of £8.9 million.
The new autumn/winter collection embodies this year’s ‘quiet luxury’ trend, which Vogue describes as ‘Sienna Miller in Anatomy of a Scandal meets off-duty Olsen twins’. The timeless tailored trousers, teal satin skirts and cinnamon-cashmere sweaters are catnip for regulars (Kylie Minogue, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Heidi Klum are fans), who aren’t shy about parting with £350 for a skirt or £500 for a jacket.
So how has this design duo thrived during a pandemic and cost-of-living crisis that has fallen on many in the industry?
The memorable 1980s advertising campaign for Joseph Tricot Knitwer put the brand on the world stage
From their studio in Paris, near the house they share with their son and daughter, aged 12 and 14, and two dogs (comically a gigantic St. Bernard Cross and a small Jack Russell), Anna and Frederik are old-fashionedly modest about the financial turnaround of the company.
“We only played a small role,” says Frederik, a youthful 46 in black vintage Joseph pants and T-shirt. ‘Being in a pressure situation forced us to be pragmatic. We looked at what we wanted to focus on and, more importantly, what we didn’t want to focus on.’
While the world wore sweatpants, the Dyhrs kept their grit and price point and stayed true to Joseph’s DNA. Basically, they designed more of the signature sweaters, which were picked up. “We’ve given our knitwear a new dimension and focused on the basics,” explains Anna, who exudes the brand’s essence with oversized glasses, an understated jacket and a silk satin skirt.
We were forced to figure out what we were good at so we could play to our strengths
Post-Covid they reread the room and switched to smart tailoring, dresses and suits to tie in with our return to the office and ‘going out’.
The ‘buy less, buy better’ philosophy fits well with Joseph customers, who choose to invest in the brand despite the financial climate. “There is less price resistance as long as the garment feels timeless,” says Frederik. ‘This resonates with our customers.’
The couple are typical global citizens.
They met 25 years ago when they shared a taxi home from a concert while living in Florence. Anna is Swedish, Frederik is from Denmark. They recently lived in Amsterdam and spent 13 years on and off in Britain, where their children were born. They describe London as ‘our second home’.
Together they have built up 40 years of experience in the sector, with assignments at Bottega Veneta, Lanvin, Burberry, Tommy Hilfiger and Uniqlo. They never intended to work together. But when the opportunity arose in October 2020, despite being in lockdown for six months and the children being homeschooled (which, like real Scandis, they split 50/50), they took it.
Frederik laughs at the suggestion that they have driven each other crazy.
‘For the first three months it was like falling in love all over again: “You’re amazing!” “No, you’re great!” Then another three months go by and suddenly you’re looking at each other like, “Why are you doing it like this?” and it is negative. But after six months it stagnated. We were forced to figure out what we were good at so we could divide and conquer and play to our strengths. I make it sound easy, but it didn’t happen overnight!’
They look and sound the same and have the comfortable familiarity of a couple finishing each other’s sentences. Even their birthdays are a day apart: “I bake the cake for him,” says Anna, who is two years older than Frederik, “and he recycles it for me the next day.”
But they emphasize that they are different people: ‘Anna is much more creative and visual. She sees everything in photos, while I am more boring,” says Frederik. “But we complement each other,” Anna emphasizes. ‘It flows organically, as it were.’
One thing that is non-negotiable is staying true to the philosophy of Joseph Ettedgui, the visionary retailer who grew the brand from a small shop on King’s Road in London’s Chelsea to global recognition. Not only was he a supporter of designers like Katharine Hamnett, Azzedine Alaïa and Kenzo, but he was also one of the first to combine a store and a restaurant. Joe’s Café on Sloane Street is fondly remembered by fashion writer Sarah Bailey as the epitome of the 1980s, with its ‘drop-dead cool and sophistication – everyone wears matte black’.
In honor of Ettedgui, who died in 2010 at the age of 74, and in particular his iconic knitwear – playfully captured by photographer Pamela Hanson for the 1987 advertising campaign – the label is launching a limited-edition capsule collection next month. “There was a friendly atmosphere when Joseph was there and this is a tribute to his knitting,” says Frederik.
We were forced to figure out what we were good at so we could play to our strengths
Meanwhile, this month marks the 40th anniversary of the Joseph label itself (originally Joseph Tricot), created as a collection of timeless luxury essentials for your wardrobe. Fittingly, the new campaign features supermodel Amber Valletta, photographed by legendary photographer Peter Lindbergh, 13 years after she fronted the brand’s celebrated autumn/winter campaign.
At 49 years old, Valletta seems more relevant than ever. “The Joseph Woman is timeless,” says Anna. ‘She has a strong sense of quality and a certain effortlessness in the way she carries herself, with a great expectation of excellence and attention to detail.’
Frederik agrees that their core customer is more likely to be in Valletta’s stage of life than in their twenties, saying: ‘She’s at a point where she knows what she wants and isn’t changeable from season to season . It was exciting to work with Amber again because she speaks naturally to the brand – that idea of style without age.”
Apart from a glass of champagne to celebrate Joseph’s renaissance, Anna and Frederik don’t let things go to their heads. “Our celebration is the fact that we can open new stores and work on new concepts,” says Frederik. ‘For us it’s just a matter of doing it. It doesn’t sound sexy, does it?’ Maybe not, but it sure sounds successful.