Stockholm January 2010 Fashion in Sweden today – a brief introduction The Swedish fashion industry has gone from strength to strength over the past six years, with doubled exports. Known for its character of understatement, it is now maturing, daring to build a stronger profile. The foundation is simple lines as a reflection of Swedish design on the whole – functional and clean. It’s said that Swedish fashion tends to showcase – rather than upstage – the wearer. That is, if you don’t notice the details which make all the difference. Swedes want clothes that fit their lifestyle, daytime or evening – good-looking and cool, without being too conspicuous. This has proven to be a recipe for international success, as Swedish fashion is becoming renowned for its functionality, quality and price. Strong profile or not, functionality is key. Denim brands especially, such as Acne, Cheap Monday, Nudie and Hope, have been huge hits internationally. Newcomers like The Local Firm, Dr Denim and Denim Demon have continued to highlight the wearability of jeans – nowadays a must-have part of any Swede’s wardrobe. Well-made with clean lines and personal detailing, they have become the new ”little black dress”. There are styles for every individual; fully on-trend or just classic, with a few prominent details. Many contemporary Swedish collections are built up around a simple base wardrobe with mandatory jeans, tops and durable pieces. In combination with a creative twist and style consciousness, they create a unique and exotic feel. At the same time, Swedish fashion incorporates elements from Swedish culture by injecting symbolism and material objects; sometimes bordering on historicism and folklore, as in the cases of Odd Molly, Nygårdsanna and Ewa i Walla. Going beyond jeans, Swedish fashion design consists of clean styles, bold cuts, well considered designs, knitwear, perfect fits and casual wear. Swedish fashion labels – an overview At Fashion Week by Berns 2010 (among others): Acne Acne Jeans is a Swedish denim manufacturer and part of the Stockholm-based design firm “Ambition to Create Novel Expressions” (ACNE). Acne is a Swedish group of companies founded in 1996 in Stockholm. Today, Acne consists of companies within advertising, the web, film (commercials, feature films and TV), fashion, magazines and children’s toys. The denim offshoot was started in 1997 when Acne designed 100 pairs of jeans for distribution among friends, family and clients of the company. The products designed by Acne Jeans follow a minimalistic style, which also characterizes other Scandinavian fashions designers such as Filippa K. Today, Acne Jeans has more than ten stores in Scandinavia, Austria, France, Germany and the United States. In 2008/2009, Acne increased its turnover by 33% to MSEK 418 compared with the previous year. www.acnestudios.com Ann-Sofie Back Back’s first collection under her own label was launched in 2002, but her interest in fashion dates back to her childhood. Then it was about the function of clothes – to be accepted and appear “normal”. Today, the 1 London-based Back questions and challenges what is “normal”: trousers with a hood, a shirt buttoned up wrong or upper class clichés taken to their extreme. http://www.annsofieback.com/blog/ Lovisa Burfitt BURFITT was founded in 1998 by designer and illustrator Lovisa Burfitt. The BURFITT collection is designed by Lovisa Burfitt and includes jersey and woven pieces. All T-shirts are screen-printed by hand – with designs based on original illustrations by the designer – and sold in limited editions of 500 pieces. Each printed garment has a unique number on the neck label. http://www.burfitt.com/ Cheap Monday Today, Cheap Monday is a full-concept denim brand, though the first pair of denims with the characteristic skull logo only hit the market five years ago. That first pair, made of tight-fitting stretch denim, was originally made exclusively for the Weekday stores. The concept and design were a direct reaction to the increasingly expensive denim that flourished on the market at the time. It was an immediate success, and the collection, which now includes a wider denim range as well as tops, soon grew too big to be carried by the Weekday stores alone. www.weekday.se Camilla Norrback Camilla Norrback has been committed to creating ecologically sustainable garments while striving to maintain her artistic freedom as a designer, since 2002. The brand signature is luxurious materials with a high quality and feminine design with retro-romantic elements. www.camillanorrback.com Carin Wester The brand Carin Wester was established in 2003 and has received several fashion awards. Today, Carin Wester’s collection consists of a female line (“Carin Wester”), a male line (“Wester”) and a limited handmade line (“W”). The collections are sold in several stores in Sweden as well as in stores in Denmark, Finland, Norway, England, Germany, France, the US, Canada and Japan. Prior to this success, Carin Wester designed the women’s line at Paul & Friends for eight years. www.carinwester.com House of Dagmar Since the launch of the Dagmar label in spring 2005, its “arty chic” style has been widely recognized by the fashion industry and the press throughout Europe, the United States and Asia, and the label has received several prestigious awards. The company is run jointly by three sisters – all with prominent backgrounds in the Swedish and international fashion industry such as H&M. www.houseofdagmar.se Dr Denim Dr Denim was founded in 2004 by Alexander, Johannes and Mårten Graah on Sweden’s laid-back West Coast. The Dr Denim brand represents a deep passion for jeans and a conviction that denim is a science based on in-depth knowledge of denim, washes, patterns and denim’s history. The vision of the brand states joy as its fuel: “Joy – the joy of creating the coolest jeans.” www.drdenimjeans.com/ Diana Orving Diana Orving started her career as a designer in 2000 when she was just 15 years old and began selling her 2 designs in boutiques in Stockholm. Diana soon attracted attention for her ability to create garments with advanced cuts that were special yet easy to wear. Diana has no formal design training, but she has found her signature style in a design technique based on draping and an experimental approach to clothes and fashion. Diana emphasises the silhouette and works primarily with a toned-down range of colours, letting the different structures, lustre and translucency of the material create nuances. www.dianaorving.com Eva i Walla Inspiration from Swedish peasant romanticism, the 19 th century and modern haute couture has created a unique Swedish designer label that has attracted much attention from across the world. For over 15 years, the company Ewa i Walla has created sensual, feminine clothes with layer upon layer, offering a personal touch and individual expression. The company has approx 250 retailers around the world. www.ewaiwalla.se/ Filippa K Filippa K is an established and rapidly growing Swedish fashion label with a distinct design and brand profile that oozes style, simplicity and quality – men’s and women’s fashion that combines timeless design with a contemporary edge. Filippa K has approx 300 employees. It is represented by some 700 retailers throughout Scandinavia, Europe, North America and Australia. Filippa K also has a growing number of concept stores in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. www.filippa-k.com/ The Local Firm A newcomer in the Swedish jeans family, The Local Firm represents functional minimalism based on a combination of high-fashion attire and innovative jeans design. The Local Firm was founded in 2006 by Richard Hutchinson and Axel Nyhage, both former employees of Tiger Jeans. www.thelocalfirm.com Hope Hope is a Swedish fashion label for men and women created and run by the designers Ann Ringstrand and Stefan Söderberg. Hope’s signature style is low-key, clean, raw and authentic with ingenious, high-quality details. The design stems from a masculine platform and inspiration is derived from classic men’s wear and vintage uniforms. Innovative, traditional fabrics with subtle structures and patterns are sourced to achieve a unique and exclusive feel. The collections feature a limited number of garments and are designed with much attention and creative freedom to guarantee top-of-the-line quality and exquisite detailing. www.hope-sthlm.com/ Helena Quist Helena Quist has just finished her second year of the fashion design programme at the Swedish School of Textiles in Borås. In her latest project, Helena wanted to create a collage based on different cultural references. Helena Quist won the Mercedes-Benz Young Fashion Industry Award 2010. www.fashionweekbyberns.com/mercedes-benz-award Odeur Odeur is a Swedish brand created in 2006. Today, Odeur is designed by Petter Hollström and Gorjan Lauseger and has spread to a number of countries around the world, from Japan and China to shops in 3 Europe and the US. Odeur was originally an experimental project exploring the possibilities of replacing a traditional word logo with a signature scent integrated with the garments, as well as a graphic symbol – a picture of the scent which is itself androgynous – a white, light and clean fragrance. www.odeur.se Minimarket Minimarket is a Swedish clothing label designed by sisters Sofie, Pernilla and Jennifer Elvestedt. Minimarket has been a women’s wear label since 2006. The line has now been extended from just clothing to include accessories, with the focus on shoes. This autumn, Minimarket will launch the diffusion label “mini for many”, which will be sold in selected stores in Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Spain. www.minimarket.se/ Whyred Whyred embodies a grown-up, no-fuss approach to dressing with collection pieces that become classic wardrobe staples year after year.