I confess I have a #GirlCrush on top model Freja Beha Erichsen. Even inbetween fashion shows she pulls off a seriously cool and reduced look: Black leather jackets, biker boots and skinny jeans with basic tops and shirts. The dress she’s wearing in the HUGO Spring 2012 campaign is much more elegant, of course, but it pretty much reflects Freja’s own “less is more” style philosophy. And this is exactly the reason why we picked her to star in the HUGO Spring 2012 campaign, which celebrates the new feminine minimalism. The dress Freja is sporting in the HUGO Spring 2012 campaign ads is one of my favorite pieces from the collection and now available in our stores.

Arrived in the city of love and fashion yesterday. It was such a rainy day and I instantly had to think of the movie “Midnight in Paris”. Paris in the rain is just so romantic, so let’s ignore the fact that I am here for business meetings for a moment and talk about fashion and love in Paris. Right at the end of Paris Fashion Week the city is abuzz with fashionistas from all over the world. Strolling down the Champs-Elysées, Avenue Montaigne or Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré you can watch impeccably dressed editors, bloggers and wannabes shop the latest designer collections. Though the best place for fashion people watching is still the Jardin des Tuileries – at least during fashion week. Click, flash – this is the place to get caught on camera with the likes of Anna Della Russo, Emanuelle Alt and Anna Wintour. But what about Paris, the city of love? With the HUGO BOSS Love Story we are not only celebrating “la mode”, but also “L’amour” in our store on Champs-Elysées. If you happen to be in Paris, come by and discover the love story of the two characters Juliette and Louis in the shop windows, browse their favorite pieces in the store and send a note to your sweetheart on one of the HUGO BOSS Love Story postcards. I’ve just sent one to mine and now I’m off to the next meeting. Wanna keep in touch? I’m excited to read your thoughts on twitter and instagram. Bisous-Bisous!

Fall/Winter is pretty dark. I’m not only referring to the weather and lack of daylight, but also to the Fall/Winter wardrobe. You have to admit that black, grey, dark blue and brown are the dominant colors – at least if you are not Bryanboy or do not work in the fashion industry. Don’t get me wrong – there’s no harm in owning lots of basics in the colors stated above, but with spring around the corner you should seriously think about pop colors as an option to light up the darkness in your closet. So here are two popping items from the HUGO Spring 2012 menswear collection.

It’s been a couple of weeks since the whirlwind tour of Milan and Paris for the bi-annual menswear shows, and even though all of the spring collections have yet to arrive in shops I’m already thinking about shopping the autumn/winter 2012 runways… (Maybe it’s not such a bad idea actually, what with the sub-zero temperatures currently gripping Europe.) Some of the key trends I jotted down in my notebook during the shows were extreme layering, statement jumpers with quirky animal motifs (foxes, dinosaurs or fish – take your pick!) and lots of Victorian dandy formalwear – think Gary Oldman in Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula. The hot topics of conversation? British newcomer model Jake Shortall, whose short red hair and striking features lit up runways all over town, and the new trend for soundtracks that featured people speaking rather than singing. Coming soon to an iPod near you!

Image courtesy of Damien Neva.

There is nothing quite so epic as a campaign shoot, and the HUGO Spring 2012 campaign has definitely gone down in my books as one of the best ever, thanks to our amazing campaign girl, the effortlessly cool Miss Freja Beha Erichsen. (I’m extra biased on how gorgeous Freja is since she’s Danish like me!) Freja was on top form on the day of our shoot, cracking jokes and entertaining everyone with her very Danish sense of humour, and I think that really comes across in the cool yet playful images. One of my favourite looks from the campaign is Freja in the black and white dress with the plunging v-shaped neckline and razor-sharp shoulders. Graphic and almost futuristic in its slickness, it’s such a key piece from the collection – inspired by the Empire State Building in New York, where HUGO’s creative director Eyan Allen has recently moved.