Since 2014, the Finland-based fashion brand has been traditionally connected to hockey - and sports in general. This is, of course, mostly due to the fact that Billebeino was founded by Ville Leino, an ex-NHL player for the Buffalo Sabres, and his friend Juhani Putkonen. However, during the last few years, Billebeino has been going through a serious re-branding and a facelift in the eyes of the broader streetwear community.

A little less than two years ago, Ville Leino and Jekku Berglund - the marketing manager for Billebeino - talked about their strategies for the few upcoming years on our very own HYPEND Podcast Season 1 Episode 9 “Billebeino” podcast episode. They were set on beginning to transform the brand to appeal more to the global fashion consumer. Therefore, it makes total sense for us to be checking in on what the team at Billebeino has achieved since they were guests in our recording studio here at Punavuori, Helsinki.

So without further ado, let’s take a deep dive into the latest campaign that Billebeino has done:

Just as Billebeino has always been inspired by the ability to tell powerful stories through the uniqueness of art and sports, Billebeino’s latest campaign “Spectrum” presents a broad range of spring and sunset-inspired apparel and accessories that further the brand’s late focus on rich, bold, and playful tones and materials respecting nature and the wider world around us. With bold and rather happy colors, Billebeino most surely wants to bring forth joy and confidence - while the colorful pieces celebrate classic and baggy fits, the playful color array allows people to mix and match the pieces as they wish to bring forth their unique personalities.

Always centering on functionality, aesthetics, and social responsibility, according to Billebeino’s website, their collections are responsibility-made with 40% of their garments made of Pure Waste fabrics - 100% recycled materials. The new collection apparently utilizes soft materials like combed cotton, wool, and cashmere over an array of pieces.

As highlighted in the campaign photos above, Billebeino has remained true to its words to take big steps toward becoming more appealing to global street style enthusiasts. For a brand with its Headquarters and pretty much its entire team in Helsinki, Finland, it’s pretty damn bold to shoot campaign photos in Red Rock, Arizona with some of the coolest and most sought-after models at the moment globally. Moreover, according to Billebeino’s social posts, the talented campaign - conceptualized by Jekku Berglund and the Billebeino team - was styled by Hanna Yohannz and shot by Henna Koskinen.

For example, a few searches online told us that Memu Contehm is originally from Sierra Leone Africa, and is an Australian model who is a strong supporter and promoter of the Black Lives Matter Movement. On the other hand, Nyang Reat’s Instagram feed reveals that he has been dominating the fashion scene lately by working for brands such as Balenciaga, Louis Vuitton, and Bottega Veneta.

It’s pretty sure to say that not many Nordic European-based brands would do campaigns on a scale as big as this, and who knows if it is even the best thing for Billebeino to be doing right now but there is no denying that Spectrum is yet another Win from Billebeino to take steps toward becoming a respected global brand. Let’s hope they keep furthering the brand’s future-focused global mindset through the new visual identity and direction.

Curated by:

Kasper Kasanen