For @neptune_papers tenth issue titled “Icons”, founder Dag Granath reflects on the raison d’etre of Atelier Saman Amel through the interaction with a very special client @bengorham :
“Ben Gorham is a person who does not seek your attention nor your respect, yet he gets both. Ben is a longtime client, friend and a person we admire for his integrity, generosity and uniquely personal sense of style. Like any great mentor or client, he is a great supporter and critic at the same time. Always looking carefully and always making choices with intent. On occasions, we sit with fifteen fabric swatches on the table; all charcoal, all woolen flannel. For most people the sheer number of options becomes too much to handle (the burden of free will that lies heavy on the shoulders of men ever since Adam first bit the apple in the Garden of Eden seems particularly hefty when faced with cloth books, it seems). Here, Ben trusts his taste.
Taste… what a peculiar concept it is. So much weight is put into the word. It’s so serious. And it’s big business to have “good taste”! Many years ago, during one of our first meetings with Ben we touched on the topic of taste. He said that us that “in the age of social media, ‘good taste’ is a commodity available to anyone. The challenge is not to have taste that is good, but to truly develop your own taste”.”
For @neptune_papers tenth issue titled “Icons”, founder Dag Granath reflects on the raison d’etre of Atelier Saman Amel through the interaction with a very special client @bengorham :
“The world of Saman Amel revolves around the atelier. Today, the process of visiting a physical space and having a garment made for you custom is at odds with the shopping habits or indeed even culture in the larger sense. In a world of speed, digitization and experiences steered by algorithms, the atelier experience emphasizes the personal encounter, physical touch and craftsmanship which is inherently slow. In the atelier experience, the fitting is the most intimate; shared by client and maker.”
The world of Saman Amel revolves around the atelier. Today, the process of visiting a physical space and having a garment custom made for you is at odds with the shopping habits or indeed even culture in the larger sense. In a world of speed, digitization and experiences steered by algorithms, the atelier experience emphasizes the personal encounter, physical touch and craftsmanship which is inherently slow. In the atelier experience, the fitting is the most intimate shared by client and maker.
The Stockholm atelier is eclectic in terms of design and features a wider variety of references; Finnish classics from Saarinen and Aalto, Italian elusiveness from Giordani and some cheeky elements of Scandinavian arts and craft. Objects of great character and history that sit side by side artworks of equal greatness yet more recent history. Claes Nordenhake (founder of Galerie Nordenhake) once said that the work of the gallerist is equal parts travelling salesman and elementary school teacher. The experience of art starts as a feeling and the work exists only in its own right. Yet, the work is an entry point into a conversation that gives the experience body and context. The more time you spend with the works, the more they become of the flesh and you sense the effect they have on you. We are surrounded by images – most of them digital – that only exist in front of you for a short time. It is all very ephemeral while living with art is the exact opposite. If you see something every day and you still cannot stop looking at it – much like your favorite jacket you want to wear almost every day – you know if is truly great.
Slide 1: A 1920’s lamp by Simon Gate by Orrefors hangs above an Alvar Andersson for Hyresgästernas Möbelaffär 1930’s table and a set of “Tulip” chairs by Eero Saarinen (circa 1965).
Slide 2: A set of 1917 chairs designed by Eliel Saarinen for the Munksnäs Hotel compliment custom woodwork.
Step into the Swedish tailored world of @samanamel and their Stockholm atelier with words from co-founder @daggranath and photography by @henriklundell in print in our Issue Ten.
“After a morning spent in the study, supervised only by The Duke, the household’s moving snowdrift of a dog, and Pedro, his half-blind, coffee-colored sidekick, there is lunch, then a visit to the cacti on the roof garden”
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Aris Fioretos is wearing Camillo silk crewneck in sky blue. Explore the full story and shop online via link in bio.
@hlvmpartnership
“Breathe on their selling sails a prosp’rous wind,
And smooth their passage to the ports assign’d!”
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Aris Fioretos is wearing Nehru raw silk jacket in black, City Slipper deerskin in black and made to measure linen and silk trousers in black. Explore the full story and shop online via link in bio.
@hlvmpartnership
”»And now the happy harbor is in view,« Virgil has Aeneas sigh with relief as his fleet reaches the coast of Apulia: Minerva’s temple then salutes our sight, Plac’d, as a landmark, on the mountain’s height.”
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Aris Fioretos is wearing Camp washed silk shirt jacket in sky blue and Alio raw silk drawstring trousers in ivory. Explore the full story and shop online via link in bio.
@hlvmpartnership
“At dawn, a drowsy walk takes me along corridors walled with floor-to-ceiling bookcases whose mesh screens turn vertical titles into moiré puzzles, down stairs guarded by African figurines and lined with textiles from Central Asia, across the commanding courtyard, through a back gate, and eventually into the olive grove, where the earth, still moist from the night’s drizzle, quickens the senses”
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Aris Fioretos is wearing the Nehru raw silk jacket in burgundy, City Mocs suede in burgundy and made to measure linen and silk trousers in beige. Explore the full story and shop online via link in bio.
@hlvmpartnership
“They were greeted by Minerva, we are welcomed by Lady Athena, custodian of the convento once built by Franciscan monks as a refuge in plague-ridden Europe. Plundered four centuries later, then turned into a tobacco factory, the monastery was rescued from neglect by her and her husband as one millennium gave way to another, and transformed into an arc of honey-colored stone — filled, as far as I am able to tell, with practically every artifact needed to save human culture should the world experience a new flood, including fourteen tons of printed matter.”
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Aris Fioretos is wearing the Camp Long raw silk shirt jacket in ivory and Alio raw silk drawstring trousers in ivory. Explore the full story and shop online via link in bio.
@hlvmpartnership
“Dispatch from a Happy Harbor”, travel notes written by Aris Fioretos for #samanamel with reflections on a week at the convento. Read the story, explore the campaign and shop the collection online Friday, May 8th.
Resort SS26 ready to wear edit. Launching exclusively online in limited numbers on Friday, May 8th. A story led by our friend, writer Aris Fioretos, who sought shelter in the convento to lay his hand on his new novel.
#samanamel #ResortSS26
Resort SS26 ready to wear edit. Launching exclusively online in limited numbers on Friday, May 8th. A story led by our friend, writer Aris Fioretos, who sought shelter in the convento to lay his hand on his new novel.
#samanamel #ResortSS26
For the final trunk shows of the season, the atelier is visiting New York (May 11-20) and Zürich (June 15-16). While New York is fully booked, waiting list inquiries are accepted via [email protected]. For more details on process and pricing, feel free to contact us.
#samanamel
