The First Release: TEMESGEN’s Second Chapter
In Amharic, temesgen (ተመስገን) means gratitude, a name rooted in appreciation, reflection and connection. For the Stockholm-based label TEMESGEN, gratitude is not simply a word but a philosophy: a way of honoring where one comes from while imagining what can be built from that foundation.
At Guzangs, we have followed TEMESGEN since its earliest chapter. The label’s first collection caught our attention for the way it turned heritage into a contemporary language, carrying stories of identity, memory and belonging through fabric. With The First Release, Jimmie Temesgen Sandberg and Cordelia Joy O’Brien deepen that conversation. If the first collection was a homecoming, this second chapter is an invitation, opening the doors of TEMESGEN’s world through sound, ritual, space and garment.
Sandberg, the label’s creative director, and O’Brien, its head of design, founded TEMESGEN in 2024 as a cultural bridge between Ethiopia and Sweden, between inherited histories and imagined futures. Through fashion, the brand explores how heritage can be preserved, reinterpreted and carried forward.
Homecoming, the brand’s Spring/Summer 2026 collection presented at Stockholm Fashion Week, explored the deeply personal experience of returning to one’s roots and finding belonging between cultures. The First Release expands that narrative beyond the garments themselves, turning the collection into a full sensory world.
The presentation was conceived less as a fashion showcase than as an invitation into the world behind the clothes.
“We wanted guests to feel transported into the world of TEMESGEN,” Sandberg and O’Brien explain. “More than anything, we wanted to create a sense of presence, reflection and connection, an experience that felt both intimate and immersive.”
That world was built through the relationship between clothing, sound and space. The presentation treated its Ethiopian references not as decoration but as living elements to be felt in the room.
“Because TEMESGEN draws inspiration from Ethiopian heritage, it felt natural to incorporate Ethiopian music into the presentation,” they say. “Beyond setting the atmosphere, it added an emotional layer to the experience.”
The soundscape became an essential part of the storytelling. Composed for The First Release by musicians Markus Isberg and Surafel Aseres, it drew on Ethiopia’s musical traditions across regions, weaving together influences from Wolayta, Addis Ababa, Tigray, Wollo, Oromo and Gurage. More than accompaniment, the music became a journey through the cultural richness that shapes TEMESGEN’s identity.
The installation extended the narrative further, drawing on one of Ethiopia’s most significant communal traditions: the coffee ceremony. A symbol of gathering, hospitality and connection, the ceremony became the foundation for a space designed to feel intimate and familiar.
“We incorporated traditional elements including a bonna coffee pot, Ethiopian coffee cups, mesob baskets in different sizes and a range of cultural objects that many Ethiopians would instantly recognize from everyday life,” Sandberg and O’Brien share. “Our intention was to create an authentic environment that felt lived-in, familiar and welcoming. Together with the music, textiles and garments themselves, these elements helped create a complete experience where every detail contributed to a shared narrative.”
This reflects the foundation of TEMESGEN’s design language: garments are not simply objects to be worn but vessels carrying memory, history and emotion.
The collection itself continues the brand’s dialogue between Ethiopian heritage and Scandinavian restraint. Oversized outerwear, relaxed tailoring and wide-leg silhouettes cut from carefully sourced deadstock fabrics reflect TEMESGEN’s commitment to sustainability, craftsmanship and timeless design. Earth-toned palettes and refined construction balance softness and structure, tradition and modernity.
For TEMESGEN, every element exists in conversation. Fabric, silhouette, cultural reference and sound work together to tell one story. As the brand evolves, immersive presentations will remain central to its creative vision.
“We see presentation as an extension of the collection itself, not something separate from it,” Sandberg and O’Brien explain. “This was our first exploration of what a TEMESGEN experience can be, but we see endless possibilities in how we can continue to express our values, cultural influences and aesthetic universe through future presentations.”
With The First Release, TEMESGEN moves beyond fashion as something purely visual. It becomes an atmosphere, a memory, a gathering place. A story that began with a search for home is now making room for others to find it.