Loading

Tag archives for Björn Borg

A royal baby will boost Swedish kids’ clothing

4 comments

 

Will Swedish fashion for kids have an upswing now that we've got a royal baby? Photo: Charlie Lee

 

I have a somewhat cool relationship with the Swedish – and Norwegian – royals (google me and see that I’ve been “slating” the style credentials of both princess Madelaine and princess Mette-Marit). But I have once met Crown Princess Victoria and must say I have a lot of respect for her; she’s extremely professional.

It can’t have escaped anyone that a royal baby has been delivered in Sweden and that her name is Estelle. She will soon be Sweden’s most fashionable baby.

This also seem to be what fashion companies are banking on. I might be harking on about Björn Borg, but this time it’s unavoidable since the company is launching a royal baby collection, in essence baby blue and pink babygros with crowns on them.

The market for upmarket baby and childrens clothes is increasingly seen as the next luxury segment to take off. Add royal babies to the mix (apart form Sweden there’s a new baby in Denmark and of course everyone is waiting for the British royals to confirm the rumours that the Duchess of Cambridge is indeed pregnant).

Sweden has at least one major kids brand and that is Polarn O. Pyret, known mainly for their stripes, and their graphic, clean, design-y look – but brands such as Acne also make clothes for children.

The most interesting scenario though is the growth of high quality clothes in the mid price sector, with a minimalist aesthetic or otherwise high design factor – mirroring the success of adult Swedish fashion brands. It might not be Marni for kids, but then again there will be a huge market for aspirational kids’ clothing (even larger than today). Among the Swedish brands that might be on everyone’s kids are Charlie Lee, by fashion veteran Lena Wallensteen, Modéerska Huset, a collection of colourful sustainable children’s wear, the ballerina flats by Mina, Mini Rodini, by Cassandra Rhodin who is a well-known fashion illustrator, and the slow clothing brand LUDD.

No matter what happens, that baby is going to be made into an aspirational fashion baby. That’s just how media work. I’m predicting a “get the royal baby look” article after her first appearance.

 

Daniel Björk - Fashion

February 24, 2012

The Swedish sensibility

2 comments

The invitation to the Björn Borg show. Photo: Björn Borg

 

A lot of my time, I’m not in Sweden, but in London. And when you get to the international scene, Sweden could sometimes seem a bit… hm… peripheral. At least it used to be that way. Because these days Swedish fashion is absolutely everywhere. London Fashion Week kicks off tonight with the opening of the new Cheap Monday store on Carnaby Street, while Björn Borg, the underwear brand, is putting on a fashion show at Battersea Power Station complete with performances by Robyn and Coco Sumner. This fashion show extravaganza will be livestreamed on MTV.co.uk.

Acne is showing their women’s wear line in London since a couple of season and it is one of the hottest tickets in town – the spring collection had the critics fawning and is sure to be another hit for the brand.

A few days ago, the Guardian ran an article about how “Scandinavian brands made ‘anti-cool’ fashionable”. Because behind Acne there are a lot of Swedish brands quietly moving onto the shelves of international stores. I noticed it myself where I lived until just a week ago, Windsor. In the more fashion-forward men’s stores in the town, Swedish brands were ubiquitous. From Acne to Our Legacy and Cheap Monday. These days even and old school geeky brand such as Fjällräven has some serious fashion cred. In fact, my intern here at Bon’s London office has one and she’s studying at Central Saint Martins.

To me, the success of Swedish fashion has a lot to do with the way style has moved into our everyday life in the last decade or so. Fashion is not just for parties or for the aristocracy; it is for everyone and every time, so what used to be Sweden’s Achilles heal is now its foremost strength. Having gotten used to making the most out of dressing for the Swedish weather and paired this knowledge with the practicality of Sweden’s fashion consumers (everything needs to be able to be washed in the washing machine, it shouldn’t cost too much, it should last a few seasons), Swedish fashion designers are well equipped for this new brave fashion world where we want to look fashionable all the time – yet still be presentable, professional and practical.

True, Swedish fashion is not only about this, but I believe this to be the core. And these days, when everyone talks about brand DNA, I think we can safely say that Swedish fashion has got it nailed.

Daniel Björk - Fashion

February 16, 2012

A template for Swedish fashion

2 comments

A design by Rohdi Heintz. Photo: Ragnar Lindeblad

Swedish fashion is not comparable to the great powers of style, like Italy or France, but it’s not the case that Sweden didn’t have any successful fashion designers before Acne, Cheap Monday or J. Lindeberg.

If we want to, we could point out that the first couture house, House of Worth, was bankrolled by Otto Bobergh, a wealthy Swedish gentleman. However, he dissolved the partnership early on and he wasn’t a designer.

The first Swedish designer who had an international career was Katja Geiger, designing under the moniker Katja of Sweden. Her style was very Scandinavian, a sophisticated simplicity with influences from folk art and textiles. The career of Katja of Sweden was mainly an American affair, after a big article in the New York Times in the late Forties put her on the map and her style was a reaction to the Parisian ladylike stiffness, a fashion for women with jobs and family and an active lifestyle – a legacy that is still strong as of this day.

The Worth connection returned with Sighsten Herrgård, who in 1969 designed the first menswear collection for the brand, then based in London. A few years before that, in 1966, he had won the Courtauld International Design Competition with a unisex overall, a style which became a signature for him. However, his international career faltered when he decided he wanted out of a contract with a big management company and he relaunched himself as a PR guru and founder of the model agency Stockholmsgruppen.

Besides Katja of Sweden, the most successful Swedish designer was Rohdi Heintz. In the Sixties, as the young head designer for ready-to-wear company Wettergren (Rohdi Heintz by Wettergren was sold at Barneys, Henri Bendel and Saks Fifth Avenue, among others) and as a guest designer for Jaeger of London, Heintz carved out a presence on the international scene. In the Seventies Heintz launched his eponymous line and a decade later he became head designer for Björn Borg. His decision to use the underwear style of the Swedish armed forces as a design model is probably the reason for why today’s Björn Borg is mainly seen as an underwear brand.

Looking at these three examples together, they seem like a template for much of Swedish fashion design. The sophisticated simplicity of Katja of Sweden, the egalitarian thrust of Sighsten Herrgård and the utility inspiration of Rohdi Heintz (who of course did so much more than underwear, but for the sake of argumentation, I simplify). This to me, seems like the bedrock of Swedish fashion, an aesthetic tradition that is still seen in today’s fashion design.

Daniel Björk - Fashion

March 21, 2011