11 May Who am I, why am I here?

Some of you might be curious about the person behind Pleasant Dreams, so here’s a bit of trivia about your denim demoness du jour!

“I moved from Örebro to Gothenburg in 2004 to study pattern construction and sewing at Cutter’s Academy for two years. Since then, I’ve been with companies like Gina Tricot, Monki, Nudie Jeans, Dr. Denim and Junkyard, working with fitting. Besides this I’ve always been a heavy music enthusiast, going to shows and singing in my own band Night Viper between 2015 – 2020 (and from 2024 a new band, Skräcken). To me denim and rock culture are closely connected, but for some of the companies I worked for the rock image was more of a trend or a left over from the big retro-rock boom in the early 2010’s.

In 2014, after several crashes and breakdowns, I moved out to the countryside north of Gothenburg and have been here ever since. After the pandemic I felt the work environment got really harsh and decided to leave and start something of my own.

I’ve always been very passionate about jeans and wanted to make a pair that suited me perfectly; most of the vintage models I love for the washes and cut are way too narrow at the waist and provides the dreaded camel toe. Enter 1976. I made the pattern in a 3D program (CLO) where one can see the garment on a body right away. This is a really efficient way of working and saves a lot of time and samples.

My big three go tos when it comes to construction of jeans are: a front rise/crotch construction suitable for targeted gender, a straight looking side shape and a great ass.

I got in touch with an agent I worked with in the past and we found a supplier that was willing to take on a new client and with that, a very small quantity.

All it took was a proto sample and a counter sample to start production, which arrived in late February. I’m so pleased, proud and happy with them!

Proto sample and counter sample

My very dear friend Ann-Sofie Hoyles (Spiders, Madamm) has been a huge inspiration and help, and was the obvious choice of model for the photos. She’s Scandi coolness and French emotionality. She really got the essence of a modern rockstar, that still honours the connection to the past while making it all her own.

Photo: Anders Bergstedt

In the future, I will add on more washes to this core style and hopefully be able to present more denim models and tops too. It will take the time it takes and I will not work with collections the same way general brands do. The goal for Pleasant Dreams will never be to be big. Sure, I want to be able to make a living out of it, but I have no intention of ever chasing cheaper deals, jumping on hot trends or selling out in another way to earn a buck. In the end, this brand is something that reflects not only my design vision but ideals and hopefully represents a more sustainable way to run a business.”

/xoxo Sofie Lee