Earlier this year I created a poll prompting everyone to ask some questions about Designed to Last. I answered a few already on Instagram, but I figured I would give some more detailed answers here.
In today’s edition of Designed to Last we’ll be covering:
How Designed to Last started
Dream interviews
Merch plans
Copenhagen design week
Much more
How did you start Designed to Last?
Originally, I started Designed to Last under a different name as a clothing store & archival resource. At the time, I was collecting old Yohji, Comme des Garçons, Margiela, Prada, and a few other brands. I started documenting old runway shows and doing collection reviews to help contextualize the product. This was probably around 2017 or so, and continued on for a few years.
Eventually, I started to get a bit bored of covering fashion, and noticed a lot of accounts regurgitating the same information. In early 2020, I changed the project name to Designed to Last and started focusing it more on architecture, interiors, and design.
The Instagram account was still relatively small then (under 10,000 followers or so), and was mostly being used as a personal archive. Suddenly in 2021 it started to grow exponentially. I was getting tens of thousands of new followers a month, and brands started reaching out to partner.
I started the first website for Designed to Last in 2022, and then made the transition to Substack in 2023 so that I could focus more on writing and culture.
Are you planning on releasing any merch?
I released some hats a few years ago, based on an old Herman Miller logo flip. I just found a box of some leftovers in the closet, and was considering throwing them up on the Shopify again - or potentially even giving some out to subscribers.
I’d love to do more merch in the future though, and I have a running list going of cool ideas. Hopefully I’ll be able to make more soon.
What did you eat for dinner last night?
At the time of answering this question I had just finished making a celery salad out of the Four Horsemen cookbook. I very rarely make exact recipes from cookbooks, but couldn’t get this one out of my head after eating it last November in NYC.
Is this your full time job?
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