An interview with Anna Teurnell
Why Anna Teurnell Wants her Clothes at TEURN Studios to become Vintage
written + interview ALBAN E. SMAJLI
Anna Teurnell once bought a Céline coat for its extraordinary shape, then sold it after one or two wears. Designed during Phoebe Philo’s tenure, it was made in heavy Melton wool but had no buttons. A warm coat she couldn’t close made little sense to her. At TEURN Studios, the Swedish label she launched in 2021, she designs tailoring she can wear on long walks with her dogs, then take to work with a change of shoes.
TEURN Studios
/FW26 Collection
TEURN Studios
/FW26 Collection
TEURN Studios
/FW26 Collection
Having helped establish &Other Stories and served as Marimekko’s creative director, Teurnell had spent years working within other brands’ identities. Her own label grew from a preference for menswear and for having a uniform she could return to every day. A cashmere sweater and sharp trousers might stay much the same from one day to the next; a pink shoe or something glittering could change the mood. She still recognises herself in the description “candy minimalism.” In June 2025, the company behind TEURN went bankrupt amid financing difficulties and unpaid wholesale accounts. Teurnell bought back the brand that August. Speaking to LE MILE as it returns, she is candid about her own decisions: “We were perhaps a little blinded by the sales and the interest in the brand, and growth began to take up too much space.” The collections are now smaller, with no standalone shop planned for the restart.
European manufacturing remains central to her plans; she wants customers to pay for the quality of the clothes without an enormous marketing premium. Familiar gabardine tailoring returns, intended to work with pieces customers already own. When buyers ask for more dresses, she makes only those she would wear herself. Her version of a useful wardrobe also includes clothes that take the eye a while to accept. For Autumn/Winter 2026, she has been working on low-waisted trousers with zips and a slightly punkish character. “Are they pretty? I’m not sure, but I think they’re cool.”
TEURN Studios
/FW26 Collection
TEURN Studios
/FW26 Collection
TEURN Studios
/FW26 Collection
When TEURN stopped producing new clothes, what did you miss first?
Anna Teurnell
I missed the process of creating a product from a vision, a need or simply a desire. Working through that process with skilled colleagues is what I love most. I find it meaningful to keep craftsmanship and manufacturing traditions alive, especially in Europe, and to make something of high quality with as few compromises as possible. It is fulfilling, and it is also a lot of fun.
In 2023 you said you wanted TEURN to become an “important and interesting fashion house.” Has losing the company, buying it back and starting again changed what that means to you?
Yes. I still have that ambition, but now I want to build it more carefully, with smaller collections and fewer compromises. What interests me most is everyday life: managing all the things you need to do while looking and feeling great. I do make pieces for more special occasions, but most of all I design for living your life: walking the dog, going to work, heading home with the kids, stopping at the playground, cooking dinner, then perhaps going out for a quick drink with a dear friend. That is the life I dress for.
I also hope to develop accessories further, because they can change a look so completely. Sharp trousers and a cashmere sweater can take you through much of that day. Change the shoes, perhaps add a sky-high heel, and the same clothes have a different energy.
“Every decision serves the product” is one of the clearest statements around the return. Looking back, where did the first TEURN occasionally lose sight of that?
We should have taken things more slowly. We were perhaps a little blinded by the sales and the interest in the brand, and growth began to take up too much space. Now I want to focus more closely on each individual piece: the fabric, the fit, the stitching and how it can be styled. Every detail should be considered and have a purpose. The customer should be able to see that care in the garment and feel it when wearing it.
We are starting with our own site and wholesale, without a store for now. I would love to have a store again, but it has to come at the right time. The business needs to give us the space to do this work properly.
Can “progressive luxury” still work in 2026 if you are producing with some of the same manufacturers as major luxury houses but trying to keep the final price substantially lower?
I believe it can, as long as we are honest about what quality costs. We know why high-end fashion is expensive, and we know why high-street fashion costs less. I want to work at a very high level of materials, construction and manufacturing, and charge what it actually takes to achieve that. I don’t want the customer to pay an enormous premium for marketing. The value should be real: something you can see and feel in the product, and experience in the world of TEURN.
That world of TEURN Studios matters to me too. I want our site to be inspiring, somewhere you enjoy spending time, discovering ideas and finding new ways to wear the clothes.
TEURN Studios
/founder Anna Teurnell
TEURN used to speak very explicitly about climate neutrality, recyclable constructions and choosing the lowest-impact material available. Now longevity is much more prominent. What changed?
I have become more careful with big claims. Material choices and how a garment is made still matter enormously, but no single material or construction makes a piece responsible by itself. Longevity is central to how I design: will you want to wear it often, care for it and return to it years from now? And if you no longer need it, could someone else be excited to buy it and wear it? I want TEURN pieces to have a life and a value beyond their first owner, perhaps even to become wonderful vintage finds one day. That takes quality, but also a design that remains interesting over time. It doesn’t replace the need to examine our impact and be transparent about it.
After H&M, Marimekko, ARKET and Filippa K, which habit from working inside large organisations became completely useless once the company was actually yours?
Waiting for permission! I started TEURN because I wanted to make what I really wanted to make and develop a design language of my own. That is an ongoing process; I don’t think it will ever be finished. I keep finding things I miss, things I like and new ways to approach them. It is a dialogue with myself, with the people I work with, like the team and the suppliers, and with the customer. That makes me happier and more creative, and it gives the work meaning.
Why not come back with ten perfect pieces? Why return with tailoring, leather, knitwear, accessories and jewellery all at once?
I wanted the collections to be more tightly edited, with fewer pieces and a clearer purpose for each one. At the same time, TEURN is a wardrobe, so tailoring, leather, knitwear and accessories need to work together. We will always have some recognisable TEURN pieces that return. They are important to our customers and make sense for the business, while new pieces add to the wardrobe and develop the look. The gabardine we use in our tailoring is a good example of that continuity. It is luxurious, easy to care for and something I hope customers will recognise. A new piece in that fabric can sit naturally alongside clothes they already own, including earlier TEURN.
Buyers kept asking you for more dresses while your own instinct pulled towards menswear and uniform dressing. Who won this time?
I listen to my inner voice. I won’t make dresses simply because there is a demand for them. I make a few, and I have to want to wear them myself. Right now I’m more interested in skirts. I love how Miuccia Prada has spoken about the skirt as a uniform. It is so easy to dress up or down: wear it with a jumper, a jacket or a blouse, and the feeling changes. That kind of versatility suits the way I live and design.
TEURN Studios
/FW26 Collection
TEURN Studios
/FW26 Collection
TEURN Studios
/FW26 Collection
You once said you like testing things that sit almost on the edge of being ugly. Which AW26 piece got closest?
I’m glad you noticed that! Something that feels a little ugly at first can also feel new; sometimes your eye needs time to adjust. For AW26, I’ve been working on some low-waisted, slightly punkish trousers with zippers. Are they pretty? I’m not sure, but I think they’re cool. I also like the look of puffy trousers tucked into riding boots, with a slightly Cossack feeling. I’ve noticed that I often add the unexpected or cooler element to the lower half of the body.
Does “Candy minimalism” still describe TEURN, or has the brand become less sweet since the restart?
I’m still quite OK with the expression. But what I recognise most in my work is the element of surprise. I often start with fairly normal clothes and a masculine, minimal look, then add something unexpected. It might be an accessory, glitter, pink or a pair of heels, something sweet or traditionally considered feminine. That small change can alter the whole mood. I think that is what “candy minimalism” was trying to capture.
Which TEURN piece do you actually wear often enough to prove your idea of repeating the same wardrobe with small adjustments?
I think I dress a little the way people often say men do: once I find my style, I want to wear almost the same look day after day. I find myself looking for versions of pieces I already own and love, just with something slightly new about them. It becomes a uniform I return to every day.
There are many examples. I take long walks with our dogs every day, often for hours, and I might wear, quite sporty utility trousers or jeans or our tailored trousers with a simple knit, like the V-neck cashmere sweater we are about to launch. I like all our trousers and wear them all the time. When I go to work, I can change into shoes with a heel, and suddenly the same basic look has a little glamour.
I also wear our pleated skirts, which are coming soon, with an oversized shirt or roomy jumper. That works for me at work and afterwards. I often choose flats with skirts and dresses, perhaps to balance the feminine side a little.
all images courtesy TEURN Studios, FW26 Collection
discover more: www.teurnstudios.com