To each outfit repeater her own piece, by haus label

Is it feasible to establish a shared path between Europe and the United States? Karina Trofimova led us to believe that the answer to that is “yes”.

What started as a miraculous opportunity for Karina to study in the US for one year as an international student, turned into a journey now spanning fourteen years: founder of Haus Agency, a brand developer and consulter, Karina launched in 2021 her own brand Haus Label. The brand consists of a collection of timeless pieces that - just like her - are originally from Latvia and now based in New York City, and they are tailored for active, outfit-repeating individuals.

I met Karina in her LES (Lower East Side) studio, where between incense and soft music she showed me the first collection of Haus Label. While she enthusiastically explained her journey, I finally comprehended how always magical is when someone’s dreams come true.

Karina, you seem so committed to what you do. We are interested in learning more about the development of your new brand and the driving principle behind it.

I have always been an active person. I go everywhere biking or taking the subway. Since I am always in movement, I like dressing in a way that allows me to be active but also cool. I do brand consulting for other brands, but my dream has always been to create my own. One night I met up with a friend and I was wearing something just like our Haus Label’s tops, and she found that “very chic”. I started thinking that starting my own brand could be the right idea! The intention was to create pieces that could be worn in all environments and circumstances. I am also a minimalist who does not like to own too many clothes. From these concepts born the idea to have one piece that you could re-wear in many different ways. I developed this idea, I went back to Latvia during the Covid-19 pandemic, and from there I started to work on this idea. I am not a designer, and I didn’t attend any kind of design school. I just know what feels right to me, I just wanted to create something people can actually need and use (and in this case, reuse).

 Did you have a natural affinity for sustainability? That seems to be an essential element of your brand. Or did you make that decision at some point while creating the collection?

Sustainability is an unavoidable aspect of Haus Label. The production is still based in Latvia, my hometown, while the fabrics are from Italy. They are recycling ocean plastic fabrics. It takes more than a year to develop all processes, to figure out the fits, and the samples, and then we launched this past summer our first collection. The sizing goes from extra-small to double extra-large, and we are trying to launch even more sizes and new colors starting from next year. But I don’t want to be too carried away because I want to stick to the idea of basic things. Outfit repeater is our motto. «Haus Label is for the ambitious woman who values simplified decision-making. She has a lot on her plate. She doesn’t want to expend energy thinking about her outfits but understands the power of expressing herself through style.» These are the pillars.

You own a brand consulting; you help brands to develop their businesses and now you have your own one. Do you believe that the minimal clothing code is becoming more popular?

Honestly, I think it’s a very mixed bag. A lot of people do always want something new to wear every day. Because we produce in Latvia and we use very sustainable fabrics, our sale prices are slightly higher than the average activewear brands would be. People fatigue to understand the advantages and they keep purchasing cheap stuff. But I ensure you that once they get the advantage of our collection, they are not able to do without it.

What I really want for us, as Haus Label, is to educate people, explain why we are doing this in this way, and why it’s important. I strongly believe that if you buy our tops, bottoms, and underwear, you are going to wear them all the time, just like I do! The possibility to connect my Latvian roots to where I’ve lived for fourteen years (the US) makes the whole process super special to me.

Being at the studio, made me realize the potential of Karina’s collection. The amazing fit and flexibility to use it however you like just add to our admiration for them! «I create my tube top to be worn as a halter top, but then I saw this girl wearing it as one shoulder top and that was amazing! I create something but I discover every day how you can adapt it to each situation». It’s the advantage of a timeless minimal piece and of Haus Label.

In-store visits are available by appointment: sales@hauslabel.com