Last Friday, Martin Bergström started off Swedish fashion week a little bit early (it’s on between January 31 and February 2) with a presentation at Wetterling Gallery. He’s never been afraid of patterns, dear Martin, in fact, they are his strength (as shown last year when he created the ‘UFO ant’ pattern for renowned design brand Carl Malmsten).
As you can see from the picture, he’s not afraid of colour either. Also, his clothes are not exactly minimalist, thereby diverging quite radically from the image people have of Swedish fashion.
I wrote in the presentation that I think the strength of Sweden’s fashion lies in it “being accessible without becoming boring”. By that I mean that its success stems from this. But Bergström, together with a few others I am sure I will have reason to come back to (such as crafts-obsessives Sandra Backlund and Helena Hörstedt) shows that Swedish fashion design is other things as well. Backlund won the fashion category at the Hyères festival in 2007, proving that Swedish fashion can compete also in areas that are more about traditional luxury and craft.
In fact, this is the next step for Swedish fashion designers. I’m sure there will come more brands, which manage to capitalise on that alluring mix of moderate pricing and stylish clothes that has been so successful, but in order to be a real player, Sweden’s fashion scene also has to bring something new and interesting to high fashion.
There is of course another possibility. The cool and well-priced fashion offered by Swedish designers could be more attuned to the way contemporary consumers dress, and it could also be the manner in which Sweden is participating on the international fashion scene.
But as a fashion person, as a fashion lover and fashion journalist, you want more. You want Swedish fashion to not only take the safe route, but also the one less travelled.
