While the individual collections vary in their expressions and inspirations, they all share a similar aesthetic outlook and basic philosophy. They are aimed at the strongwilled, independent urban woman, self-aware of her style and with a keen interest in design and aesthetics. Rützou-clothing is designed to be immediately recognizable, having a unique look and feel with strong details and ornaments, surprising fabric combinations, characteristic prints, and luxurious colours, and at the same time be highly flexible and adaptable. It is designed to be mixed and matched and can be fitted into the modern woman’s wardrobe, no matter the occasion. The clothes are both feminine and sensual and characterized by clean lines and bold details – they are marked by a duality, by a contrast between feminine and masculine, which allows for greater utility and a broader range of expressions.

 

Rützou currently produces 2 collections for women per season: a main and a mid collection. Rützou has gained a successful market position in Scandinavia and in Europe, where the brand is especially focusing on Great Britain, France and Spain. The United States is a new focus marked for Rützou. Rützou is also working with selected clients in other parts of the world. In 2006 the total turnover increased by 50% and the export represents over 60% of the total turnover.

 

Susanne Rützou has an extensive past within the Scandinavian design industry and has received numerous design awards in acknowledgements of her talent and accomplishments. Before starting Rützou, she worked with some of the most prominent brands in Scandinavian fashion and was part of founding Bruuns Bazaar, where she worked from 1994-99 as head of design and responsible for all creative decisions. “Fashion is about your attitude of life. Fashion should make people feel good, look their best and be comfortable. I don’t like people to look like fashion victims.” That sensibility won’t change for Susanne Rützou, the award-winning Danish designer of women’s fashions.

 

Other things have changed. Susanne’s latest designs mark a turning point for her Copenhagen-based company, Rützou. The latest collections are exquisitely contemporary and cosmopolitan. They also teem with contrasts, mixing various elements, structures, materials and prints. The result is a sensuous, eclectic image. Susanne’s latest designs also exemplify what Danish fashion is most renowned for: designoriented clothes priced within the means of everyday consumers. “Maybe I’m just growing up,” she says, “I’m less interested in trying to impress others with how many details I can cram in. Now it’s important for me to go to the essence of a collection.” It is a confidence borne by her varied experiences.

Rützou consumers are independent, urban and strong women eager to express themselves as individuals. They are idealistic and practical at the same time. They also share an attribute that Susanne calls “crucial” to her own life: to be intellectually curious and open – to the world, to change and to personal growth. Personal growth is constantly expressed in Susanne’s evolving designs, which she describes as having been simplified and updated with fresh, bold colours and crafted into excellent, functional articles that will stand the test of time. “The designs are less about impressing others, and more about expressing yourself,” Susanne adds, “It’s very much about being an individual. Your clothing should bring out your personality – not mine.” For Susanne, that sensibility will continue to result in exciting, evolving fashions, as practical as they are sensuous, for women in all their diversity