Oskar Metsavaht, the designer behind Brazilian powerhouse brand Osklen, hasn't followed a conventional career path. A physician by training and an avid surfer, skateboarder, and snowboarder, he entered the design world in 1989, creating activewear for fellow fans of his favorite sports. A decade later, he began to evolve a high-end effort that introduced elements of luxe to his signature aesthetic. Now, nearly 20 years after he first began, he has seven flagship stores, including outposts in New York, Tokyo, Rome, and Geneva, and has become perhaps the most successful designer to expand beyond Brazil's borders. He took a break from São Paulo fashion week to share some insights about his journey so far.
What made you want to go into design?
For me art means the creative process, not the purpose of what you're doing. To me medicine is an art, not a science. I was a successful physician, but the lifestyle didn't agree with me. I wanted to find a way to express my ideas.
How did Osklen come about?
In the beginning Osklen was a lifestyle brand. Jackets for snowboarding, bikinis, T-shirts for surfers. But then, in the nineties, when I looked at the kind of lifestyle my tribe had, it seemed cool and special, and Okslen began to be more involved with "fashion." I decided that I had a style, and I only had to channel that style into a fashion language. It was a very gradual evolution.
So what defines your tastes then?
I'm a surfer, I like to snowboard and skateboard. I like to wake up early and go surfing, but I also like to go out late at night. I like art exhibits, but I also like reading skateboarding magazines. I am an environmentalist—not eco-granola, but scientific and informed.
Who are some of your favorite fellow Brazilian designers?
Reinaldo Lourenço and Gloria Coelho. Reinaldo's work is feminine in the best way and modern. Gloria's work is very strong. For swimwear, Lenny. Her work has a sophisticated elegance but with a Brazilian feel.
How do you see Brazilian fashion evolving?
I think we're like Italy was 30 years ago. We're learning to work with the industrial process and to produce the best quality. We have good self-esteem, we see that we can do something original. The generation before mine would just copy.
What do you think needs to happen in order for Brazil to make a bigger impact globally?
If Japan is technology and France is high style and India is philosophy and spirituality, then Brazil has a chance to be the environmental and socially sustainable country. I'm sure everyone would love to buy products with a Made in Brazil label if they knew that these products were made to be sustainable. It might be more expensive, but I think this is the new luxury. We need to embrace these values.
Do you design with these values in mind?
Yes. It's funny—in my recent show I used a material that people didn't like, crocodile, and some people criticized this, saying, "Oh, it's not sustainable," etc., but they weren't informed. If there's one thing I hate, it's hypocrisy! There is actually an overabundance of crocodiles in some parts of Brazil , near the Amazon, and they have to control the population because they threaten the ecosystem and the people living close by. These indigenous people sell some of the skins, so purchasing them is actually sustaining these people as well as the environment.
—Sameer Reddy
Photo: Courtesy of Osklen
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Mischa Barton is definitely looking cute these days, particularly when she’s out with boyfriend Taylor Locke. They make a fun couple!
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