Tekla and Auralee team up on a ‘winter bath’ collection

The idea of ​​winter bathing, of diving into hot, steamy pools or plunging into icy waters, and perhaps ending with a sauna at the end of it all, was the inspiration behind a new collaboration between Copenhagen brand Tekla and Auralee, Ryota Iwai’s Tokyo fashion brand, which celebrated ten years in business earlier this year.

In particular, it was the ritual of the Japanese onsen – through which bathers immerse themselves in the thousands of healing geothermal pools spread across the country – that shaped the mood of the collection. “The collection is inspired by the experience of returning from an onsen on a cold night and the desire to take its gentle warmth with you,” says Tekla of the collaboration, which encompasses towels, loungewear and wrap-around outerwear (the brand is best known for its pajamas, bedding sets and home textiles, inspired by design titans from Alvar Aalto and Mies van der Rohe to Le Corbusier).

Tekla and Auralee team up for a collection made for winter bathing

“The collection represents the intersection of Japanese and Scandinavian bathing practices and celebrates the rituals that connect us,” Tekla founder and creative director Charlie Hedin told Wallpaper*. In Denmark, where Tekla was founded in 2017, there is a tradition of the ‘havnebadet’, or ‘harbour bath’, a series of piers across the country that allow bathers to jump into the sea or lakes, often followed by a long stay in the sauna during the winter months.

“Winter bathing in Scandinavia means being in nature – in the sea or in a lake,” says Hedin, who can often be seen swimming off the pier at Copenhagen’s La Banchina, a waterfront café and sauna in the Copenhagen neighborhood. Refshaleøen, in the city. “It’s something that has been relevant to Tekla since the beginning, informing our core terry universe. This relationship with nature was a connecting point when it came to the onsen bathing rituals that Auralee brought to the collaboration.’

Hedin and Iwai were also thinking about the role that textiles play in these bathing practices; how towels and robes become an essential element in the way you move through the onsen space. As such, the collection includes a special ‘onsen-sized’ version of Tekla’s terry towel, a narrow, elongated shape that has been designed to be wrapped around the head and secured by threading one end of the towel through the canvas tag that has been lengthened to the effect.

Elsewhere, quilted wraps are designed to wrap around the wearer and resemble the shape and softness of a dressing gown, while a range of new knitted accessories include super-soft cashmere baby socks and a sleep cap. Tekla’s playful pajamas come in hazy shades of ‘moss’ and ‘mist’, a reference to Iwai’s collections, where an intriguing use of color borders on pastels and softly faded tones, in often unexpected combinations. «We want to surround ourselves with fabrics and materials that inspire different emotions», says Hedin, noting the desire, in this collection, to evoke a feeling of «comfort and security».

“I’m thrilled that what started as a few casual conversations has blossomed into this special project together,” adds Iwai. ‘On a personal note, the ritual of bathing is what I love and value most, so finally being able to work on a project that celebrates this, along with the synergies between our brands and the cultures we come from, has been incredible.’