Founder of By Malene Birger to step down

Danish designer and founder of the fashion label By Malene Birger, has announced that she will be stepping down from her role as lead creator. Malene Birger will stay on for the next few months and mentor the current design and creative teams at the eponymous fashion label before focusing on developing

future creative projects for her new design company Birger1962, set to launch this year.

In 2003 Birger found the international global namesake brand, with backing from her investors IC Companys A/S. Then in 2010 she decided to sell her stake in the label to IC Companys. Birger has remained on-board since then, keeping the company's focus on developing the brand's identity, although the sale of her stake meant that Birger would eventually depart from the fashion label.

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Malene Birger to stay true to brands "signature style"

In a press statement released Friday, the company stressed that the “vision, beliefs and values communicated when the company was founded in 2003 will continue to live and be expressed by By Malene Birger's creative teams”. The company assured that the fashion house would remain loyal to the ongoing evolution of the brand's “distinctive design and signature style".

Birger herself commented that she was ready to head over “the creative keys” to her design manager, Christina Exsteen and the design team. She revealed that the two had been working closely together since the start of the fashion house and has been preparing for this day over the last three years.

The danish designer added: “I know that I will be leaving a well-establish and healthy brand with its own strong identity. And I am looking forward to future creative projects, with both By Malene Birger and Christina. Together we have worked hard on a strategy for By Malene Birger A/S, and I feel confident that the company will continue to have success and international respect.”

By Malene Birger CEO, Charlotte Egelund commented: “My main focus and ambition for the brand is to develop and enable By Malene Birger A/S to fully embrace its potential – an evolution with roots in, and respect for the original DNA and Universe...We are glad to say that recent results reinforce that we now have the right team to move forward; the new constellation opens up for new exciting possibilities.”

The design team is set to be guided by Birger until the Spring/Summer 2015 season, however possibilities for future collaborations between Birger1962 and By Malene Birger cannot be ruled out.

Photos: By Malene Birger SS 14 collection, Malene Birger