"I wanted to get people to feel that they could express individuality." Immerse yourself into the colourful and expressive world of Danish designer Stine Goya.
Stine Goya has been making clothes for herself and others for as long as she can remember: "When I was a child, I was extremely shy. As far as I can think back, I was spending most of my time by my sewing machine." By creating playful clothing, she found a way to express herself and her individuality regardless of her shyness. "It was very expressive, super colourful. Sometimes I think that it actually didn't really suit me," she says and continues: "It was almost like an unconscious thing for me when I was a child. That I could get a little bit out there by dressing in these crazy colours."
Experience the power and strength clothes could provide her, she sought to create a brand that would help people express themselves: "I wanted to get people to feel that they could express individuality." Goya had noticed that many people dress to hide their insecurities, but "I wanted to do the opposite," she explains. Stine Goya's biggest inspiration is, without a doubt, colour. Seeing the designer in her studio, finding a piece of clothing or even a surface without colour, is challenging. Goya explains: "I like to explore colour. It's beauty and how it resonates with us. Colour is universal, but it's also very personal," and continues: "For some people, it might be sharp with edges, but for me, it's very subtle, tender and almost like a meditation in a way."
"Good design can be many things, but for me, it's also been about having a red thread in what you're doing." Despite working with an extensive design team at her studio in Central Copenhagen, staying true to who and what you are is ever-present in Stine Goya's design process. For her, it's also crucial that people can relate to the values behind the brand: "Good design has to have some good values as well." In 2025 Stine Goya and her team want to have an entire collection made exclusively with responsible fabrics. "I think the designers' role in society now has changed, and I believe that we all have to think differently in the way we put clothes into the world." Changing how clothes are made is not an easy task, but Stine Goya sees this as an excellent challenge: "I don't feel like I have to compromise on anything."
Stine Goya (b. 1979) is a Danish fashion designer. She graduated from one of the most prestigious fashion schools in the world, Central Saint Martins, back in 2005. Goya started as a model, later worked as a stylist and as an editor for a Danish fashion magazine. Stine Goya launched her brand in 2006 and made her debut as a fashion designer at Copenhagen Fashion Week in 2007. Her designs are known to be playfully cut, colourful and for their artistic prints. In 2011 she won Danish Fashion Designer of the Year at Danish Fashion Awards. She won the Elle Style Awards Brand prize in 2017.
Stine Goya was interviewed by Roxanne Bagheshirin Lærkesen in October 2021 at her studio in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Camera: Simon Wehye and Rasmus Quistgaard
Produced and edited by: Roxanne Bagheshirin Lærkesen
Copyright: Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 2021
