For more than two decades, Camilla Stærk and Helena Christensen have presided over Stærk&Christensen, a creative tour de force that seamlessly blends their individual visions into a compelling whole. Together, they’ve crafted a body of work that spans fashion, interiors, and architecture, all anchored by a shared passion for nature’s raw elements and the allure of timeless craftsmanship. Now, with the release of their latest venture, “In My Dream Last Night…”, the duo invites us into a vivid, sensory exploration of their creative journey. This beautifully made book offers an intimate look at their decades-long collaboration, weaving together the realms of fashion, design, and photography in a way that reflects their deep, personal connection to art and each other.
By Anetta Nowosielska
Helena, you’re widely recognized for your modeling career but have also gained extensive experience in the editorial and photography realms. Camilla, as an artist and designer, you’ve explored various industries through your work. Could you both share what defines your creative journeys and your ongoing collaborations?
HELENA: I was a photographer before I modeled, and that’s what I initially wanted to do as a job, but via the modeling business, I ended up doing so many different jobs—photography, design, and interior. I have learned so much and absorbed so much knowledge from everyone I’ve worked with, all on a creative and technical level. I was in the best photography school but also had the best fashion design teachers, and I’ve learned about history, cultures, architecture, furniture design, and art in so many forms. This is where Camilla and I cross over, our mutual love for and curiosity about art, music, design, interiors, and architecture. When you share a mutual love for all those topics, you get excited about creating together.
CAMILLA: I grew up immersed in the Danish furniture industry, with a mother who was also a horse breeder, shaping a unique blend of influences that guided my creative journey. While I pursued a path in fashion, launching my brand STÆRK with my thesis collection in London, I always knew my work would come full circle to incorporate my heritage, including elements like interiors, furniture, sculpture, and architecture. This formed an ever-evolving aesthetic universe driven by storytelling. Short films have always been a critical medium for expressing my abstract ideas and bringing my narratives to life. My work is deeply inspired by the saddles of my horseback-riding youth, the sharp surrealism of David Lynch, and the haunting glamour of old Hollywood and film noir. Helena and I share a passion for drawing inspiration from everything around us, letting it seep into our inner worlds. From the moment we met, we had a strong, unspoken creative communication—a rare and special bond that continues to inspire our work together.
You first connected during a Nylon magazine shoot, and ever since, you’ve collaborated on various projects, even establishing a studio together in New York. The studio’s artistic influences span from Danish design heritage to gothic elements and the allure of Old Hollywood. Could you share more about how you crafted such a unique style that blends these cultural influences? What are the key elements you aim to communicate through your work?
C: Our collaboration under Stærk&Christensen represents a shared aesthetic universe where our creative expressions converge. It is shaped by the influences that have always inspired us in our individual work and by memories from our Danish upbringings. And on Helena’s part, her mom is Peruvian too. Both of us left Denmark at a young age and have been influenced by adapting to and drawing inspiration from multiple cultures, still holding onto our roots. While our respective work and styles are quite different, there is common ground that we knew we needed to explore further.
As a small, women-led studio in the creative industry, how do you view your role and your work within the broader dialogue surrounding women’s empowerment?
H: We follow our hearts, minds, and passions. This is our personal empowerment, and hopefully, through our creations, we are able to convey the quiet strength that we wish for women everywhere to experience for themselves. Women are as powerful in their quiet, wise calmness as they are in their loud, collective, and rightful fight for equality.
You describe In My Dream Last Night… as a “visual journey of your long-standing friendship and creative bond”. What compelled you to create a book on this topic?
H: Exactly that; our friendship and deep bond are something worth celebrating and honoring. We are very grateful for this friendship and love the idea of a visual manifestation of it.
What do you hope readers will take away from being invited into your shared journey?
H: Rather than readers, we consider them viewers, as this is a visual book. If the photographs and film stills can capture the creative bond between us and spark curiosity or even awaken old memories in the viewers, that would be the greatest reward we could hope to achieve from this book.
Where does the title In My Dream Last Night… come from?
C: In My Dream Last Night… is the armature behind our ongoing short film and sound concept. We collaborate with friends who are artists from various fields and who continuously inspire us. The film pieces and the process of making them are a celebration of our pure love for creating, of friendships, and of the spirit of collaboration. Each piece is an intimate moment—surreal, raw, and as personal as the dream wants to take it.
In dreams, we can be free from boundaries and the fear of being vulnerable.
Each piece is a co-interpretation of the subject’s dream, envisioned through the spectrum of any or all of these dual installations: darkness – lightness, poetic – erotic, love – solitude.
What was different and exciting about the process of creating a book?
C: The goal of capturing the essence of our short films without using moving images was a wonderful challenge. The snapshots from our films and our photography throughout the years also narrate the story of a friendship that was forged through visual creation. We strived to convey this narrative through images and snippets, using minimal text so as not to detract from the opportunity to inspire new aspirations and surreal moments for the audience.
We hope our book can serve as an invitation to explore emotions, memories, fantasies, and dreams.
What is next?
C & H: ‘In My Dream Last Night…’ is an ongoing cinematic journey for us, constantly evolving and expanding. But we are focused on an architectural project that has been in the works for over three years. Stay tuned for more.
