'Anything that costs you your peace is too expensive'
CAMILLA SKOVGAARD
Fashion and Footwear Designer.
Our founder, the late Camilla Skovgaard was born in Denmark. She pursued her passion for fashion and conscious living with her brand Of Origin which endeavoured to reduce waste and use only sustainable materials.
Her career began in women’s couture in Dubai at the age of 20 designing for the region’s Sheikhs’ wives and daughters. After 7 years in the UAE Camilla moved to London in 2000 to study the craft of shoe making. Her eponymous shoe line took shape during her MA and Saks Fifth Avenue in the US bought her first collection while she was still a student.
CAMILLA SKOVGAARD shoes were embraced by fashions most influential editors and tastemakers including Halle Berry, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kristin Stewart. Her shoes were stocked in 33 countries, sold in Saks Fifth Avenue US, Harvey Nichols London, Symphony Dubai, Joyce Hong Kong and Net-a-Porter and in numerous other stores.
Several years later, Camilla began to question why there was a need for an insatiable and continuous production of footwear. To what extent did the world need another black fashion shoe? Every three months saw a new collection, yet another black shoe with its many hidden components taking generations to break down. Fashion items on average are only worn 7 times before being discarded, eventually ending up clogging landfill sites. Add to this the fashion collections of hundreds of independent designers and the cycle never ends. Did the sales really merit the full cycle costs? The animals, the chemicals, the waste, the surplus productions, the heap of CO2 airfreights? It no longer made any sense to Camilla. It was a dream she no longer had a zest for. So she quit.
Camilla moved to Ibiza igniting a complete change of lifestyle. Along with her 3 dogs and 2 cats she began living a simple existence for the next few years, surrounded by nature. This change in lifestyle enhanced her awareness of sustainability and a more wholesome life evolved. Enjoying this alternative way of living and working, she gained a new perspective on life.
At this slower pace and away from the traditional fashion race Camilla began to indulge her passion once again for design and photography. This time it was to be different. This time her vision was for her brand not to have an environmental cost for our planet.
.OO. was born
.OO. aims to reduce waste cycle where possible, including the need to import materials from elsewhere.
Both fibres are from the bast family – soft, flexible and strong with renewable crops growing in just 100 days. They require minimal water, pesticides and fertilisers in cultivation, unlike cotton. The materials are biodegradable and part of a re-alignment back to essential values, less waste, calmer living and quality.
Jute and flax are amongst the oldest fibres in the world dating back 5000 B.C. – hereof, in part along with the style of design, the name Of ORIGIN.
Of ORIGIN originates out of the Ibizan campo (countryside). Inspired by the centuries old unchanged Ibizan architecture and rural landscape.
We aim for a persistent unity in material, shape and artisan execution. Designs made for every day living. No particular period styles, no bells or whistles but a simple expression of basic human needs and limited means, creating a happy marriage between the natural and man-made.
.OO. is not about fashion, nor the body conscious or seasonal collections. Instead it is an organic continuity at a slower pace.
.OO. is simplicity, nature and back to essentials.