The founder behind Danish brand Rytme has quietly been building a brand that stands for more than just selling product. We caught up with Christel Thue Høgsted ahead of the Red Socks Run for International Women's Day to find out more about the movement, the brand, and her mission-driven approach to life.

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If you had to sum it up in one sentence, what is Rytme? Why is it unique? 
How would you kind of summarise it?

Rytme does technical apparel for women's movement, focused on premium running apparel. Rytme is the Danish word for rhythm. It's meant to encourage you to follow your own rhythm rather than compare yourself to others - in sports and life in general. 

Your background is in sports product and sportswear design. 
Is that correct? 

I have a background in fashion design. I studied that from the age of 16. My passion has always been rooted in techniques and expressions. As I entered the fashion industry I realized I didn't feel aligned with that world, and really wanted to merge my passion for running with the skills I had developed in creating apparel, and direct my career towards sportswear. 

To follow that dream, I moved to Portland, Oregon, to study a Masters of Science in Sports Product Design, at the University of Oregon. There I came across a paper addressing the concept of “Shrink it and pink it”, which outlines the common product development process for sportswear where products are designed for men, and a women's version is later developed from it, meaning that women's needs and desires were, in general, never part of the design thinking. This was very surprising to me, and from there on it became my mission to change that. Simply by designing from a female perspective and asking women what they need and want in products. I worked in the sportswear industry for a few years before I felt confident enough to unfold my own vision.

Of course, sportswear is such a competitive market; it's cutthroat almost. What are some of the key things that you wanted with your brand to stand aside from others and that you wanted to build into the Rytme brand?

To me the essence of a good garment is that it has a great fit and is made in high quality material. Ideally having an interesting silhouette and details that makes it new without compromising function. I´m not just about creating something eye-catching and convincing people to buy it. It's important to me that when you put on the garment it feels really good, and that when you have worn it many times you still enjoy wearing it and become attached to the product - that's the ideal. 

This demands a lot of R/D work which is very expensive. The next product which will come from Rytme, went though 5 prototype rounds, standard is to do two. I just can't compromise on this as I am also the person who has to sell and market it. I just wouldn't be able to do that if I am not completely confident in the product. As a smaller brand, there's really no space for error. You just need to get it right. You can't mess up. It can almost ruin the brand. Of course, like everyone, there's always room for improvement, but at least you have to aim really high when you're a small challenger brand.

And am I right in thinking you also have an element of sustainability focus as well? As in, longevity of product so people aren't having to buy a new one every season. 
Is that correct? 

Yes. I am thinking in kits rather than collections. New products should work with the previous products so customers can build onto their kit over time. The focus is more on what would make sense for the customer rather than what would look good on a rail in a store.

Rytme is founded with the aim to design products without using virgin fossil based fibers without compromising the performance. It was very challenging to reach, but ended up working out. I am losing up the concept a bit as the industry is just not ready to go this far yet, but I am still questioning every process and really try to be considered. As a minimum, using recycled fibers and sourcing from textile manufacturers in Europe and Japan.

Do you see those [things that you have addressed] as common issues of other brands within the sportswear space and as big problems within the current industry? 

A major issue in the apparel industry is the high-minimum quantity orders for fabrics and units - it's even higher in sports apparel than fashion. This forces brands to produce more than they expect to be able to sell. As a small brand it's impossible to compete on price with the big brands producing styles in the thousands. In the end, consumers will still compare these products to each other when they're choosing at the store. I don't really know what the solution is. 

In terms of materials, we haven't really found solutions which can compete with the performance of synthetic fibres and that work on a commercial scale. Customers seem to really appreciate and notice high quality fabrics, but I am not convinced that they want to pay for it. European performance fabrics in general cost five-times the average price. 

Shopping is a political act. You decide if you want to support small independent brands or large corporations. You can compare it to buying organic vegetables or not - what path do you envision for our society?

Many big brands make great products at a tempting price. I hope customers start asking more questions - such as where is this produced? If it's not stated on the product page, the brand probably doesn't want to draw attention to it. I see this mostly on mid-price range brands actually - the really big players are more transparent. 

If you live in Europe, does it make sense to buy products produced overseas? From a sustainability perspective, but also considering human rights and which political systems are in power in that country. We have to ask ourselves these questions. I founded Rytme to create products aligned with the value that I stand for in life - I think that's the only path worth taking.

On that point, tell us more about the Red Socks Run initiative, where that came from and what you think it represents, firstly about your approach to sportswear and the wider societal issues and inequalities that we currently see? [Red Socks Run is a 5km run highlighting inequities for women within society, aiming to unite women and shift the narrative of these discussions. It is being hosted across the world on March 8th, with the London event happening at Runlimited @ 56 Baker Street]

Red Socks Run is a passion project I have brought to life through Rytme. 

It's a good example of what's possible when you are a small, independent brand. Rytme is only me which means I can speak my mind and communicate whatever I want through the brand. The only one that it can harm is myself and the brand that I 100% own; this gives me a freedom which feels very fulfilling.  As a company grows and other people's stakes are at hand, the communication often becomes vague because you don't want to offend anyone, and thereby lose potential customers. The down side of being a start-up is of course that you don't have the finance to do all the things you dream of creating. 

I came up with the idea for Red Socks Run around six-months ago, because I was frustrated with how slow the progress for women's rights is occurring. This is a global issue which the UN anticipates will take more than 130 years to solve at the current pace. Even from a very privileged part of the world – Denmark, where I am based – we haven't really seen a lot of progress over the last 50 years. 

The public conversation in Denmark is still circling around whether we even have issues, even though data clearly shows.  We still have a 13% pay gap between men and women, and if you think that sounds like nothing, it translates to women taking vacation from 12 November and the rest of the year! In Europe alone, 19-million women currently don't have abortion rights. (The EU has this month passed a law that is intended to change this.) 

The last time we had a big change within women's rights was in the '70s. In Denmark the women's rights movement was called Red Stockings Movement, or Rødstrømpebevægelsen in Danish. They fought for equal pay, abortion rights, better access to public transportation, and so much more we now take for granted. They had a massive impact and changed society in a way that we can still feel today.

Although they weren't actually wearing Red Socks in the 70s – it was just a name – I thought it would be fun to take the visual symbol of the Red Socks, a reference to their impact and use it to communicate the slow pace by hosting a casual run. 

The socks are also intended as a conversation starter, hoping more will speak about their personal experiences and even encourage women to take more actions and actively participate in creating change. I have yet to meet a man who felt comfortable or interested at all in speaking about gender equality issues. 

I want Red Socks Run to be an event that would unify women across political views which is why I haven't connected a specific issue to the project. It's my experience that many women's rights groups are not working together and I believe this is one of the reasons progress is happening at such a slow pace. 

Personally I would like to get involved with the protection of women's rights during pregnancy and maternity leave. Denmark is often celebrated as being a wonderful place to have children, but the birth rates are currently the lowest since 1982, the same goes for France where it hasn't been as low since WW 1. Compared to Sweden we have so much work to get done.

It's good to go into the history because my next question is on the significance of the Red Socks specifically, but you've covered that one, of course, which is really interesting to know that. 

It's great that you asked about the name Red Socks as this is a reference which only makes sense in Denmark, but the issues are global. Yet there are nuances to the issues depending on locations. Speaking with the women hosting the Red Socks Run in London I know that many women feel unsafe running in London at night. This is something I would never consider in Copenhagen. 

I think many of these challenges are often neglected because there are always more dramatic political conflicts which occupy us, but I believe we need to be able to solve the gender equality issues simultaneously - it is half of the population's rights we are talking about here, not a niche. 

To your point about different cities having different issues, I think that speaks to the overall point that you made earlier about uniting people from different backgrounds politically and socially: everyone's going to have a slightly different take, need, opinion, and that translates geographically with women in London having a certain need in terms of running and broader issues; Copenhagen having separate discussions. I really appreciate the way that you've handed it off to others to create this global feeling about the Red Socks Run for International Women's Day. Saying “I trust this partner in this city, this is the concept, this is what it means” for someone to take it forward. 

Yes the hosts in each city are given the freedom to host it as they think will make sense for their city and give it their own touch and perspective. We have created meeting points in Copenhagen, Århus, Oslo, London, San Francisco, Chamonix and Seoul. 

You can say many bad things about social media, but to be able to connect women across the world who share this mission is exciting. As a small brand, you don't really need everyone to like you. You just need a smaller group that gets it.

I hope it could grow into a yearly event, maybe even fundraise for a cause and have real impact. For it to grow into something really big I think it's important that the hosts keep having the freedom to shape the local event for their space.

I am very excited for the Red Socks Run in London. It's hosted by Molly and Abi from Runlimited, Kimiko from Hot Boys and Sarah from Taking Space - with Kristine Østergaard connecting us all.  I could never have been able to set this up from afar and I can't wait to see their version. They are a group of very smart and bad ass women!

What keeps inspiring you with Rytme and with movements like Red Socks? What is the number one thing that kind of keeps you going on the day-to-day? I can imagine it's extremely challenging, since you are the brand, it is solely yours. 
You've probably got a million different things that you have to do at any given moment. What's the main thing that keeps you going? 

Bringing a project like Red Socks Run to life and collaborating with other women around the world that want to push for the same agenda fuels me with energy. 

How I build Rytme and initiatives like Red Socks Run is probably not the smartest way to build a business, but it makes sense to me, because it's aligned with my values. It will either grow very slowly into something sustainable, or it will crash, and I'm kind of okay with that.

I like the nihilism of ‘if it burns, it burns, but I want to be as passionate about it and make the most of this’. I appreciate that honesty

I don't know if there's any other way, really. As you're saying, it's competitive and as a start-up there's no way you can compete with the big players. You need to stand for something. If you don't, it's not really worth the struggle.

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Rytme's Red Socks Run will happen on International Women's Day on the 8th March at Runlimited, 56 Baker Street. You can RSVP here.

For more about Rytme,  find them on Instagram and on their website.