“Creativity is how you reinvent yourself without changing your identity.”
In the ever-shifting landscape of Berlin fashion, Rosa Dahl emerges as a quietly radiating force—part storyteller, part artisan, entirely magnetic. SF1OG, a brand that turns nostalgia into texture, memory into motion, and history into something you can wear. I spoke with her about her childhood and beginnings in fashion, building a brand during a pandemic, and the emotional architecture of her latest collection—one that doesn’t just dress bodies, but surfaces our most unforgettable states of being. Her work moves between the rawness of youth culture and the refinement of historical dressmaking, drawing threads from her own past and weaving them into garments that feel both urgent and timeless. To encounter her work is to feel the soft ache of remembering, the beauty of longing, and the power of imagination when grounded in craft.
Rosa’s creative life began with a humble sense of need. Without the budget to chase trends, she turned to the needle and thread. “I wasn’t really able to afford that many clothes that I found cool,” she says. “So for me, the most interesting thing was being able to make my own clothes.” Her inspirations weren’t ads or runways, but YouTube, blogs, magazines, and the artisanal spirit transmitted through her parents. Sewing was an autodidactic pursuit, guided by Burda pattern magazines and an unwavering curiosity: “I really wanted to know how to do it, so I just followed the steps.”
SF1OG sprouted not in a boardroom, but in childhood restlessness and weekend sewing sessions. That determination carried her through fashion school, though the experience was more frustrating than fulfilling. “At one point, I thought maybe I should quit, because I wasn’t happy,” she admits. “But then I started making things just for myself again—and that’s how the brand really began.” What began as a bedroom hobby amid pandemic frustration soon became a collaborative vision when Jakob, her classmate and business-minded co-founder, came on board. As Rosa recalls,
“Jakob looked at me and said, You’re working on this piece for a week and selling it for €40—what’s wrong with you?” - Rosa Marga Dahl
Now, Rosa speaks of design with deliberate intention. Collections follow an ebb and flow—one-third unapologetically creativity and storytelling, two-thirds designed with a tighter marketability aspect in mind. “Commercial doesn’t just mean a plain T-shirt,” she reminds us. “It means something we can actually reproduce—something wearable, washable, and usable.”.
Rosa’s work feels haunted—in the loveliest sense—by memory and history. Raised in a small northern German village, she discovered the world through printed pages. “I only saw the world in magazines,” she recalls. That early distance created a creative openness—an appetite for both nostalgia and exploration. The SF1OG Spring/Summer 2026 collection exemplifies this beautifully. Inspired by “paintings of women who were going mad over being in love,” the collection is an elegy in lace, leather, and antique reimagining. In Berlin’s concrete corridors, set transformed into a forest of fabric pillars, models wove through textile willows and gothic whispers—into garments that felt emotionally unraveled and urgently alive. “This collection was primarily about romance for us. Not just in the classic sense… but also much more about the nostalgic romanticization of things you no longer have,” Rosa explains.
At SF1OG, sustainability isn’t a marketing angle—it is the foundation. “I’ve been working with unused materials since I was a kid,” Rosa says. Antique linens, deadstock fabrics, and second-hand finds are the building blocks of her collections. Many pieces feel like they’ve lived other lives before being reborn in her studio. Production, too, is thoughtful. Much of it is carried out in Poland in close collaboration with family-run workshops. For Rosa, sustainability means not only responsible sourcing but emotional resonance. “Sometimes the idea starts with the material,” she explains. “Other times it’s the idea first, and then we figure out how to make it sustainable.”
When asked whether she ever has time to reflect, Rosa’s answer is refreshingly grounded: “It’s always the next thing, the next thing… You don’t stop to think about it.” But what’s clear is that she’s no longer just making clothes. She’s building a legacy.
“The goal is to create a successful business that contributes something good,...And to keep pushing ourselves—to always rediscover new sides, new inspirations. That’s what makes it worth it.” - Rosa Marga Dahl
As the label grows internationally, particularly in Asia and North America, Rosa remains anchored by Berlin’s unique cultural energy. “People in Berlin really embrace freedom—in life and creatively. They might not spend the most money on clothes, but they’re deeply engaged. That energy is important.” For a designer whose work thrives on freedom, nostalgia, and reinvention, it seems the perfect place to keep growing. SF1OG is not only a brand but a living archive of Rosa’s imagination—one that continues to unfold, season by season, memory by memory.
