For those who don't know you, who are you and what do you do?
I’m Bea Åkerlund. I’m a stylist, costume designer, creative director, and, as I like to call it, a fashion activist.

For over 30 years, I’ve created characters and visual worlds through fashion, working across music, film, performance and art. I’ve worked with some of the most iconic artists in the world, but I’m equally passionate about discovering the unknown designer making something original and pure.

My job has never really been about making someone look “pretty.” It’s about creating an image that makes you feel something. I like transformation. I like fantasy. And I definitely like too much.

Where did your creative journey begin, and how has your background shaped the work you do today?
I started very young, around 17, and I never went to fashion school. I basically learned by doing, fucking up, experimenting, and trusting my instincts. Being Swedish gave me a certain foundation... there is simplicity, functionality, and discipline in Scandinavian design, but I think I spent my entire career rebelling against that minimalism!

I’ve always been attracted to the opposite: drama, subculture, glamour, punk, religion, fetish, vintage, couture, street culture. Somehow all of those contradictions became my language. I didn't have rules because nobody taught me the rules. Looking back, that was probably one of my greatest advantages.

What do you consider your creative expertise, and how did you develop it over time?
Transformation. I think my expertise is seeing a person and understanding who they could become visually, sometimes before they can see it themselves. I’m very instinctive. I can walk into a room filled with thousands of pieces and somehow know exactly what belongs together. That comes from 30 years of looking, collecting, researching, travelling, working with designers, and constantly being curious. But I also know how to push without losing the person underneath. The clothes can't wear the artist. You have to find that place where my madness meets their identity.

That’s when the magic happens.

Is there a moment in your career where being truly honest or personal in your work made all the difference?
I think my whole career changed when I stopped apologising for being too much. Early on, people told me I was too wild, too extreme, that I should tone things down. For a while you listen because you think everyone else knows something you don't. Eventually I realised the thing they wanted me to remove was actually the thing that made me me. Once I trusted that, everything changed. The more personal and fearless I became with my work, the more people came to me specifically for that point of view. So now I tell young creatives listen to advice, but be very careful about editing out the thing that makes you different.

Do you have a favourite place or ritual that helps you tap into your creative flow?
I don't really have a ritual. Life is my mood board. Travel is huge for me. Flea markets, museums, churches, old movies, people on the street, music, a weird shop window, something completely inappropriate at exactly the right moment. I’m constantly taking pictures and collecting things. Sometimes the best ideas happen when I'm not looking for them. I think creativity comes from keeping your eyes open and allowing yourself to be curious.

Who or what has shaped your aesthetic eye the most?
I don't think it has ever been one person. My eye has been shaped by decades of everything — fashion history, music, cinema, art, religion, punk, goth, fetish, old Hollywood, street culture and the incredible designers and artists I've been lucky enough to work with. I love contradictions: beautiful and ugly, sacred and profane, couture and trash, masculine and feminine, darkness and humour.I'm also obsessed with craftsmanship. I can appreciate something incredibly refined and then fall in love with something completely fucked up because it has a soul. For me, perfection isn't necessarily interesting. Point of view is.

What exciting projects do you have on the horizon?
I feel like I'm entering a completely new chapter, which is exciting after doing this for more than 30 years. I'm making a very intentional return to film and costume design. I love styling, and it will always be part of me, but right now I'm craving the opportunity to build an entire character and world, not just an image. There are some conversations happening that I'm really excited about, and I'm also continuing to work with music, artists, emerging designers, and my own creative projects. At this point in my career, I don't feel like slowing down. I actually feel the opposite. I have more experience, more confidence, and probably fewer fucks to give.