Anders Rahr has been the CEO of Copenhagen-based menswear brand No Nationality 07 (NN.07) since 2021. The fast-growing label is known for its modern-casual pieces, which include chore jackets, overshirts and relaxed, tailored trousers. You might recognise its signature brown-and-navy checked jackets, favoured by The Bear actor Jeremy Allen White. Since its television cameo, though, the brand has kept up the momentum by expanding its range and investing in physical retail. Working with Dutch design studio Contrair Collective, NN.07 has opened new shops in New York and London this year. Monocle meets Rahr to discuss the brand’s international ambitions.

Why was physical retail such a priority for you this year?
Offline retail has always played an important role in brand-building. Consumers are periodically swayed more towards online and then back towards the physical retail experience, so we believe in building a complete distribution model. NN.07 consumers usually work in the city and we already had communities in New York and London, so [opening shops in those cities] was only natural. We want to show the brand in its own environment.

Is there a common thread between NN.07 customers around the world?
They want to embody a style that is modern-casual, to wear something to work and then throughout the day. There’s an element of daily commuting too that influences the way that we design our clothes to be functional. We’re not a hype brand. We are design and quality-oriented rather than fashion-oriented.

And what’s next?
Five- or 10-year plans don’t work any more. Consumer behaviour is changing all the time. We try to have a vision about where we want to go and how we want to get there but you also need agility in business. [We aim for] sustainable growth but we also have ambition. It’s risky to go into retail in cities such as London or New York – but if there’s no risk, there’s no reward. These won’t be the last NN.07 shops you see either.
nn07.com