July 08, 2024

Driven by Curiosity: Erik Torstensson on Brand Building

36 minutes

FRAME cofounder and chief creative director, Erik Torstensson, is a pioneering figure in the fashion industry. He created Mr. Porter, co-founded and led creative agencies Saturday Group and Wednesday Agency, and co-founded and helmed Industrie magazine. With a keen eye for branding and digital strategy, Torstensson has successfully deployed unique marketing and communication approaches across his roles. He’s driven FRAME's global reach through culture-catching campaigns and collaborations, often fronted by top talents like Gisele Bündchen, Karlie Kloss, and Amelia Gray. As an outside-of-the-box thinker, he shares insights into conscious design, digital strategy, brand partnerships, and his recent obsession with AI. Consistently setting new standards for what’s contemporary, Torstensson advocates for curiosity, naivety, and the restless courage that comes from using an outsider's perspective to his advantage.

Episode Highlights:

Growing up as an only child on a farm in the Swedish countryside, Torstensson remarks on the importance of boredom to his creative development and the necessity of simply finding something to do.

Slow-paced life didn’t suit him. He began to enjoy traveling, dancing, and skateboarding, which held both collaborative and independent creative potential.

After working at interiors magazine Wallpaper, Torstensson helped launch Industrie and Man About Town magazines—the former had cover stars like Anna Wintour, Edward Enninful, and Naomi Campbell.

Outside of quantitative efforts in brand identity, ad campaigns, and editorial work, Torstensson says, “It’s not really about you. It’s about who you work with, who you surround yourself with.”

FRAME was a community-led “passion project” stemming from Industrie. It was built not necessarily on denim but on the idea of perfecting any single product with a particular aesthetic in mind, in this case, “the FRAME woman.”

Working on a budget to produce and market FRAME’s aesthetic has led Torstensson to think out of the box.

Torstensson discusses a brand’s life cycle and its different versions, from starting out as a hot newcomer to becoming more organized and productive to later cutting through the media landscape with more sensational marketing.

On the level of scale and production, AI gave Torstensson a great new tool he likens to Photoshop, making him quicker and more effective.

Having a strong team, a partnership with Jens Grede, and the luxury of slowing down have gone hand in hand with an increase in confidence in his work over the years.

He foregrounds the importance of knowing your strengths and leaning into them, going with your personal passions—“Just do it.”

Torstensson recommends reevaluating what’s contemporary and what will last every five years or so, not being afraid, and learning to evolve.

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