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Tag archives for Our Legacy

The Swedish sensibility

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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

Let’s hear it for the boys

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Kocksgatan 17 in Stockholm

I’m a big fan of menswear. Not only do I love menswear-inspired pieces – my wardrobe is full of blazers, shirts and brogues – but I’m constantly inspired by the way stylish Swedish men in particular mix heritage or preppy pieces with edgier streetwear. And I have a sneaking suspicion that it has something to do with the carefully curated shops they frequent. So here is my list of the best menswear shops in Sweden:  Read more » >>

Sabrina Shim - Fashion

October 13, 2011

Online shops for Swedish fashion

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So you love Swedish fashion but you’re not sure how to get a hold of it? Or maybe you are just vaguely interested in Swedish fashion designers and want to find out more about the looks and the prices?

In any case, I decided to get you started. Fashion is many things: cultural phenomenon, artful endeavour, beauty ideal, and yes – shopping. So indulge should you find something that tickle your fancy.

The webshop for Tjallamalla.

Tjallamalla

Tjallamalla is a store on Södermalm in Stockholm and it’s been introducing young Swedish designers to the world for more than ten years. Shop cute clogs from There goes the neighbourhood or flowery dresses from Carin Wester.

Aplace web shop.

Aplace

The sleek style and selection at Aplace is a pretty good summary of Swedish design in general. It’s cool and mainly minimalist and sensual and most of the important brands are represented, from Hope to Diana Orving.

Nelly.com ships to the Nordic countries, Germany and the Netherlands.

Nelly.com

The Nelly selection covers more bases than just Sweden, and only ships to the Nordic countries and Germany and the Netherlands, but plans for a European rollout is in the works.

There are other ways to shop as well, since many of the smaller and more interesting brands have their own e-shops. This is true of the ultrahip menswear brand Our Legacy, as well as fashion favourites Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair (both menswear and womenswear), last year’s Guldknappen winners Hope (men and women), avant-garde designers Nakkna (men and women), artsy but wearable Diana Orving, up and coming denim brand The Local Firm and of course Acne.

Daniel Björk - Fashion

June 3, 2011

Old man style for young guys

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Three looks from Our Legacy SS 2011.

There was a time when Swedish men could be identified by the bad quality of their shoes. This has changed dramatically in the last 15 years or so – along with the increasing stylishness of the Swedish population.

But the last few years have been characterised by another development – the rise of the old man’s style.

Sweden might not be the only country in the world where this is so – fashion these days is rarely confined within national borders – but compared to many other countries, there seems to be a stronger tilt among the younger male generation towards the fashions of yesteryear.

A few years ago, it was the classic old, English gentleman who set the trend, with young guys adopting both cardigas and retro-framed glasses, bought at second hand store Herr Judit in Stockholm.

These days it’s more about what is internationally known as heritage fashion, a type of streetwear mimicking the styles of fishermen, factory workers, hunters, locomotive drivers or aircraft pilots.

In fact, one of Europe’s best shops of this type lies in Stockholm, the extremely researched Mr Mudd and Mr Gold. Exact replicas of old American army pea coats and sweaters fabricated on original 1920s vintage loop-wheeling looms fill the store.

Which brings us to Our Legacy, the Swedish brand that has a reputation internationally within this community. It began with T-shirts in 2005, but Our Legacy now sells in luxury departments stores such as Liberty in London as well as their own two stores in Stockholm.

It is also the only Swedish brand that has been featured in the Canadian bible for heritage fashion, Inventory Magazine.

Maybe this is the true Swedish men’s fashion look, sturdy and with a clear outdoorsy – yet urban – feel. Seems to sum up Sweden quite well, no?

Daniel Björk - Fashion

March 17, 2011

Swedish fashion abroad

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Ann-Sofie Back and her models at the end of the presentation of the autumn-winter collection 2011

When I started out in fashion Ann-Sofie Back was just a student at Central Saint Martins in London that the magazine I wrote for believed in so much that they put her on the cover of their final issue. Soon thereafter, her graduate collection was shot by Juergen Teller for Purple Magazine and Ann-Sofie Back was hailed as one of the ones to watch. This was in the early Noughties.

For a brief stint she showed in Paris but mainly she has remained in London, taking a break from showing once in a while. These days she seems to have found a way to structure her life and business that works – proper job at Cheap Monday; diffusion line BACK giving her a price point which works in Sweden; “proper” line Ann-Sofie Back Ateljé more focused.

You can tell this works just by looking at the clothes, which are more sophisticated, luxurious but also clearer in vision than I think they’ve been before.

I really thought it was a splendid collection she showed here in London on Sunday and while it was criticised by Tim Blanks at Style.com for being “unnecessarily severe”, he also said it was “positively esoteric” and compared her to Miuccia Prada.

Is it important for Swedish fashion to be seen at places like London Fashion Week? I sometimes think it would be good for Swedish brands to be subjected to the kind of competition and scrutiny you have on the international scene, but at the same time, the Swedish bubble also creates interesting stuff, like the menswear label Our Legacy which many think is the next big thing to come out of Sweden.

I know that I previously said that I believe the Swedish design identity needs to be broadened, but for a lot of brands there will naturally exist some kind of sensibility that is perhaps Scandinavian. Many small Swedish designers make their shoes in Argentina (because of an Argentinian woman living in Stockholm) and I’ve heard that the Swedish shoes for women are laughed at in the Argentinian factory and seen as frumpy-looking and ugly. This might make a lot of Swedish design uninteresting in latin countries, places with a warmer climate and more feminine design aesthetic.

At the same time, the woman of Swedish fashion is perhaps more on trend than ever before. The working woman look that evolved in the Seventies, and who has been brought back by designers like Phoebe Philo at Céline, Stella McCartney and Hannah MacGibbon at Chloé, fits very well with the Swedish mentality where women want to dress in a way that signals equality, independence, intelligence and natural beauty.

Acne is also a label which has recently started showing in London, in many ways marking a new era for the denim brand. The first real show at Kensington Palace last autumn was not so well received by fashion critics, in a way showing that the exoticism of Stockholm could work in your favour. It will be interesting to see how this added scrutiny changes Acne. In a way it is a question of identity that any company reaching this level faces: in what ways are you an international brand and in what ways are you still Swedish?

Daniel Björk - Fashion

February 23, 2011