Inspirations
It can stem simply from a furious desire for escape or a need to share a personal story. Or, as has sometimes been the case recently, from a desire to approach issues that go beyond a clothing brand and directly affect us in a poetic way. Each time, what comes to us at the very beginning is the imagery that will go behind the chosen theme, the film that will emerge from it, which most often appears to us in flashes of different scenes.
This then leads to a lexical field, then an inspiration moodboard that will set the tone for the collection. All this preliminary research will lead to the creation of key pieces, and then more globally, to a collection plan. In parallel, constant monitoring allows us to meet artists from all walks of life, to interact with them and work hand in hand. This collaborative aspect is indeed the primary essence of the brand and still represents at least 50% of our pieces today.
Collaborations
Artistic collaboration is a cornerstone of the Olow adventure. In fact, it was from a shared passion for the arts that the project was born. In its twenty years of existence, the brand has collaborated with no fewer than 200 artists, from all walks of life and media, from established international artists like Jean Jullien to recent graduates, as well as painters, photographers, tattoo artists, graphic designers, etc.
Since 2024, and the Autumn-Winter Canopée season, Olow has decided to drastically reduce the number of artists collaborating per collection, going from around twenty to just 4 or 5. The idea? To go further and truly work hand-in-hand, to bring real coherence to themes and develop their narrative. It's also a way to push creative boundaries, step out of our comfort zones, and explore unknown, often more artisanal, paths.
Artistic residency
Following on logically from what we initiated by reducing the number of artistic collaborations per collection, the idea of organizing creative residencies was born.
For the Fall-Winter 2026 collection, "Invisible Happiness," we took a new step. Tired of remote exchanges and collaboration too dictated by digital means, we felt the need to return to the essentials: presence, shared time, collective experimentation.
We thus invited the selected artists to a multi-day workshop, conceived as a true creative laboratory. This immersion allowed us to confront our universes, refine our intentions, and collectively build the foundations of the collection. These residencies have become the sensitive starting point for each collaboration. They anchor the themes in living material and generate a common energy that permeates the entire collection.
More than a process, it's a philosophy: taking time, seeking together, and bringing forth the narrative of the collection. With "Invisible Happiness," we confirm a simple conviction: creativity gains depth when experienced collectively.
