MEET COUPLE & ARTISTS
ph-any
June marks Pride Month — a time to honour queer voices, creative freedom, and stories led by feeling. In that spirit, we sat down with Patricia and Hedvig, the creative duo behind ph-any — a Stockholm-based studio where concept and emotion meet in quiet tension. Both come from art. Both move with instinct. Their collaboration began while rebranding cult Swedish label Deadwood. What started as a project turned into a process — and eventually, into a practice. In 2024, they founded ph-any to create space for something else: queer, female-led direction built on trust, sensitivity, and sharp perspective. Their work slips between fashion, music, and visual research — always anchored in feeling, never forced. Ph-any isn’t just what they do. It’s how they move through the world.
Interviewed by OpéraSPORT. Shot by ph-any.
OS: How did the idea of ph-any first take shape between the two of you - was there a moment, a conversation, or a shared need that sparked it?
P: I think the idea has been with us since before we even met. We met through common friends that wanted us to meet and create art together back when we were both in art school. We got the opportunity to work together full-time to rebrand Swedish fashion brand Deadwood back in 2022. During this time we reached our goals with the brand while getting requests to do rebranding work for others. We left the company in 2024 to start ph-any and has both been working full-time with ph-any ever since.
H: I’ve had starting my own business in mind for a long time, it has always been a dream I think. I remember summer 2023 as the start of ph-any just before we worked on Deadwood’s runway debut - after handling the production, art direction and pr on our own together with our best friend Sandro and colleague at the time - I feel we really understood what we were capable of on our own.
OS: The name „phy-any” holds a layered meaning - a play manifestation and expression. What does it mean for you now, as the studio begins to unfold?
P: We wanted a name that includes us both without being to attached to us if that makes sense? Simply put p is for Patricia, h is for Hedvig, any is for anything / anyone. In a future expansion we want ph-any to open doors for collaborators that can feel equally as important and key-players to the company.
H: Yeah and we really wanted a playful name that at the same time could resonate with our core - we played around with so many options before choosing ph-any. Today I think the name serves as a reminder that we believed in ourselves, our visions and growth.
OS: What did you both feel was missing in the creative landscape that you wanted to bring with ph-any?
H: We’ve seen a gap and demand in the industry to find people who can work close and 360 without being in-house and enhance the identity without replacing the core of brands/talents.
P: Definitely, our strength is being a multifaceted duo with a top-view kind of understanding for creative processes.
OS: What makes your collaboration work - how do your individual energies, discipline, or instinct complement each other?
P: We’re both multi-disciplinary people with so much that interests us both - when working together we’ve realized that we help channel but also expand our ideas constantly which is really exciting and fruitful.
H: A strong part in it is that we complement each other so well in our qualities. We trust each other and we’re inspired by each other - this is so important for our collaboration to work out, but also when working with others. When we share this passion for what we do it’s super empowering to be able to work together fully.
OS: Do you have rituals or shared habits that ground your creative process together?
P: With us there’s a constant snowballing effect from idea to execution - one of us has an idea which ends up bigger with us both pushing it, back and forth.
H: I completely agree, I think our ability to bounce ideas is key - communication is core in our work and private lives.
OS: How was building something from the ground up together shaped your relationship - both personality and professionally?
P: I think we were kind of pushing away the thought of that working professionally together would ever be a problem for us personally. Since we’ve met we’ve always bounced all kinds of work together when getting together, now we get to do this professionally which clears personal time to do other things together.
H: It’s so much fun creating something from scratch and go all-in on our passions and communicating these - I think it’s beautiful how ph-any has kinda become the embodiment of this.
OS: Your work moves between fashion, music, art, and social thought - how do you choose what stories to tell and which clients to work with?
P: Both us and our clients really appreciate the spectrum we move between, in the end it all comes down to the same thing if that makes sense? We’re drawn to working with people and clients with an open mind and dedication to create something beautiful together.
H: I think everything revolves around our clients core and our core - we always try to get a deep understanding of our clients needs and past to work forward together in all our projects. When we started ph-any it was important to take up space as queer women in the industries but also to work with clients supporting us in taking the space.
OS: You describe yourself as „creative extensions” to brands and talent. What does that role feel like in practice - are you more observers, translators, disruptors?
P: I would say we’re all of these - which creative extensions for us means.
H: We don’t see ourselves as masterminds in any sense rather a collaborative force.
OS: How do you weave social sciences and visual communication into your process - can you share an example where this blend created something unexpected?
P & H: We’re really hard on storytelling and concept in everything we do, always connecting these to known/own experiences, phenomenon, theories - blending in social sciences in this sense. Sometimes it might be more discrete and sometimes it’s more obvious. A recent example would be our work with artist Becky and the Birds - she’s a current dream client to us both with music that really push everything we do forward in a super exciting way. We’ve found an approach to work with her now that we wouldn’t have thought of if it wasn’t for her core, persona, stories and music inspiring the visual work we’ve done with her - which we’re forever grateful for.
OS: What’s currently inspiring you both - a colour, a book, a space, a conservation?
P: Currently I’m really inspired by voice-memo like music with melody and lyrics that sounds like an instinctive trail of thought such as NEW YORK, Smerz and Lolina.
H: Since forever I’ve been really interested in digital culture aswell as technology and how it affects us as humans but also as artists - without sounding like I’m pro-AI-art lol - i’m exploring ways to use new technology to push my own limits as an artist.
OS: How do you surroundings (like Stockholm or Copenhagen) influence your visual language and emotional tone?
H: I think everything you do is inspired of your surroundings whether you like it or not.
P: I really agree, I think we’re both really inspired by all the amazing people around us, their stories, personalities, energies and dreams.
OS: When the new project begins, do you start from the conceptual, the emotional, or the visual?
H: I think it depends, it’s different depending on client and project. When working with artists we’ll deepdive straight into the emotional.
P: Truly, I would say the emotional in majority of the projects we do, to reach a genuine core that’s present in the conceptual and visual.
OS: Is there a piece from the OperaSPORT collection that you felt spoke to your own design eye or emotional language?
P: The Marley Unisex Halfzip is a piece we both love!
H: Yeah it’s a kinda androgynous piece, perfect to wear as it is but also to play around and layer with.
OS: What does it mean to you to be a queer, female-empowered studio in today’s creative landscape - is it a responsibility, a freedom, a compass?
H: I think it pushes us to unapologetically take the space and believe in our potential, for all who came before us and all generations to come.
P: We talk a lot about the role models we needed when growing up. If we can believe in ourselves and take up the space we can hopefully inspire people to do the same.
H: Yes - the fact that we can work as a queer female empowered studio is really empowering.
OS: If ph-any could plant a cultural seed for the future of creative work - what would you hope grows from it?
P: We really want to be a humble and hardworking force, in industries that can be quite harsh we really want to be an example of that having fun, being kind and open-minded can get you further than being ego-driven and hierarchical.
H: I think people in our industries sometimes assume you to be kind of cold and reserved when being hardworking and having an interesting visual language. The best feeling is hearing people had fun and feel inspired when working together - It’s kind of bittersweet that this makes us somehow stand out to people we work with, but we’re grateful that it can hopefully put pressure on our industries too which is really important to us.
OS: What’s something soft, human, or sacred you always try to protect in your work?
H: To continue the previous question, I would say it is to make everyone we work with feel important, seen and appreciated.
P: I totally agree, we want the core of our clients and of us to always be the seed of anything that will grow.
OS: Is there a place in Copenhagen that makes you feel quietly inspired?
P: I love the layed-back and spontaneous vibe in Copenhagen, there’s so many good restaurants - I really wanna visit Posh Jah.
H: I used to live in Copenhagen and to be honest I’ve always admired the way of living and working there.
