A conversation with Ellen, Head of Design at OAS, on spring/summer 26 – Raw Reflections, and how the instinct of creating a personal style started in her childhood. And the time she opened a vintage shop in Italy.

Tell us a bit about your background as a designer, how did it start?
I started designing clothes at a very young age. With four older sisters, hand-me-downs were endless, and the only way to develop my own style was to cut them up and reshape them. That instinct to remake and personalize things has stayed with me ever since.

Later, I studied fashion in Italy, where I lived for six years. During that time, I opened a vintage shop and a design collective with friends, focused on remaking existing pieces. Since then, I’ve lived in New York, London, and Istanbul, before eventually returning to my hometown, Stockholm. I’ve been at OAS for two and a half years now, and this sunny, free-spirited universe truly feels like home. It reflects a duality I’m deeply drawn to – Scandinavian calm infused with Mediterranean warmth.

We couldn't be luckier to have you as a colleague and designer. Let's get into the collection, what's the core idea behind Raw Reflections?
We always start with the print ideas. For Raw Reflections, we looked closely at Art Brut – an art movement that emerged after the Second World War as a reaction against the establishment, at a time when only a privileged few had access to formal art education. What drew us in was its free, autodidact expression and raw sense of creativity.
As a contrast to our very crafty, tactile DNA fabrics, we paired these prints with something softer and more sensual such as fluid lyocell blends and transparent voiles. That tension between raw expression and lightness became a key part of the collection’s identity.