Swedish fashion

Close to music and design, Swedish fashion has become one of the countries largest export successes. The 2000s decade saw a great increase of Swedish fashion companies. Swedish design has been described by many experts as being characterized by stylistic clean, strong cut, casual wear, minimalism and unisex, varying among fashion brands.^[1]

Some of the most famous brands who have grown the last ten years are Tiger of Sweden, Acne Jeans, Nudie Jeans, J.Lindeberg, Whyred, Gant, Filippa K, Hope, Our Legacy, Eton, Morris, Cheap Monday, WeSC, Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair, The Local Firm, Carin Wester, Ida Sjöstedt, Stylein, Odd Molly etc.

Another famous Swedish brand is Hennes & Mauritz, shortened H&M, which is well-known all over the globe.

Acne

Acne was founded in 1996 with an idea of creating 100 pair of unisex jeans. This was shooting in the magazine Swedish Elle. Soon after this Acne was carried by Sweden's leading boutiques.

After this Jonny Johansson, the creative director of Acne, branched out into other design genres. The first full collection was launched in 1998.

"Fashion is the best form of self-expression. We like to design pieces that together form the coolest wardrobe, but is ultimately wearable. It becomes one way of thinking as individual pieces, but together creates a strong, modern and considered statement." explains Jonny Johansson. Today Acne has stores and project in nine countries and the full team consists of over 200 members.^[2]

Whyred

Whyred's first collection was launched in 1999, the collection was made for men and in 2000 the first collection for women was released.

Whyred is a combination of clean lines, neat shapes and quirky details. The clothes are inspired by music and art scenes and the design concepts are generally appreciated by clients who have an intellectual appreciation for these genres of inspiration. The designs are faithful to the simplicity of postmodern aesthetics, Hjort, the creator, has created classic, wearable designs with a modern twist that are Whyred's signature.^[3]

Tiger of Sweden

Tiger of Sweden was founded in 1903. It marketed something completely new – mass-produced suits – and met with success. After some ups and downs the company redefined its profile in the late 1990s. The idea was to take suits out of the bank and into the street. In 1997, Tiger released its first women’s collection, followed in 2000 by the launch of Tiger Jeans.^[4]

H&M

Hennes & Mauritz was founded in 1947 in Västerås under the name "Hennes" by Erling Persson. Since then, it has grown to become one of the biggest clothing-companies in the world with over 2,300 stores in 41 countries around the globe, employing approximately 87,000. H&M also has an online store at hm.com.

H&M is known for its fast fashion available for all women, men, children and teens. It also has collaborated with many high-fashion brands, including Viktor & Rolf, Jimmy Choo, Lanvin, Comme des Garçons, Stella McCartney, Roberto Cavalli, Sonia Rykiel, Karl Lagerfeldt and Matthew Williamson. The brand has also worked with artists such as Madonna and Kylie Minogue to produce collections of clothing.

In 2011 H&M collaborated with fashion blogger Elin Kling and it partnered with Italian fashion house Versace public this year.

Apart from clothing, the company also sells cosmetics and home-textiles.

Filippa K

In 1993 Filippa Knutsson together with her colleague Patrik Kihlborg founded the fashion label Filippa K.

The philosophy of the brand is based on the concepts Style, Simplicity and Quality. "We apply these values to every detail of everything we do; the look and feel of our fashion, the design and ambiance of our stores, the direction of our shows, the artistic photographs of our ads and the way in which we meet our customers."^[5]

Today Filippa K is sold in 20 countries,^[6] has 40 brand stores in Europe and the United States, and is represented by more than 750 selected retailers worldwide.^[7]

Nudie Jeans

Nudie Jeans, founded in 2001, was one of Sweden’s fastest-growing fashion companies in the early 2000s. For the spring/summer 2013 season, 100 per cent of Nudie’s denim garments were made from organic cotton, fulfilling one of the company’s long-term goals.^[4]

Cheap Monday

In 2004 the brand Cheap Monday was founded by the same people that created Weekday. Cheap Monday was their in-house brand. But today Cheap Monday is an independent brand. It started up as a limited line of tight denim with a characteristic skull logo. Today it is a fashion brand who has an updated mix of garments for both men and women. Today Cheap Monday can be found in 30 countries and about 1500 stores all over the world.^[8]

The Local Firm

The Local Firm has a distinctive design which combines high fashion attire with innovative denim design.

The concept of The Local Firm is inspired by art, architecture and design from the former eastern bloc. "A contrast of status" in the concept of the design which combines garments and materials that distinguish themselves by contrasting one another.

The line carries both men's and women's garments and is full-ranged.^[9]

Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair

Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair, often shortened V Ave Shoe Repair, was found 2004 in Stockholm by Astrid Olsson and Lee Cotter. In 2006 V AVE S.R. was honored with the prize "New Coming Designer of the Year" by Men's Magazine Café for the brands first menswear line which was shown in the autumn of 2006. At the same time the first V Ave S.R. store was opened in Södermalm, Stockholm.

The duo has also been awarded with "Designer of the Year"-award by Swedish fashion organization Habit in 2007 and in 2009 they were awarded with Swedish ELLE's annual award "Designer of the Year".

Today the label ships fashion internationally from its online shop. It has also got several stand-alone stores around the world. The first one opened up in Singapore in 2010.

Hope

Hope, comprising the design duo of Ann Ringstrand and Stefan Söderberg, has long been synonymous with Swedish and Scandinavian style. The two specialise in clean, simple lines and well-made details, and seek to produce garments that last.^[4]

WeSC (WeAretheSuperlativeConspiracy)

WeSC (WeAretheSuperlativeConspiracy) was founded in 2000. Initially flourishing mainly in street and skateboarding subcultures, the brand soon became internationally known as a result of clever marketing. Instead of regular advertising, WeSC largely relied on famous actors and artists to wear and thereby promote their clothes. Today, the brand has stores in cities such as Tokyo, Paris and New York. wesc.com^[4]

Ida Sjöstedt

In August 2001 Ida Sjöstedt launched her first collection during Stockholm Fashion Week. Since then she has been showing on schedule, and she is also exhibiting in Paris during the prêt-a-porter weeks.

Her design philosophy have been described as tasteful kitsch or tongue-in-cheek elegance. Her aim is to create beautiful, sexy clothes for those who don't take dressing up too seriously—and who don't see fashion as something you must, instead more as something fun.^[10]

Carin Wester

2003 Carin Wester started her own brand, with her own name.^[6] The last decade she has received several prizes for her fashion.

Today her collection consists of a female line that are called Carin Wester, a male line that only are called Wester and the limited handmade line W. The collections are sold in several stores in Sweden as in stores in Denmark, Finland, Norway, England, Germany, France, United States, Canada and Japan.^[11]

Ann-Sofie Back

Ann-Sofie Back has attracted plenty of attention and made a notable international career. Back has also worked as a designer for Acne and is now creative director at Cheap Monday.^[4] Originally from Sweden, Ann-Sofie Back graduated from Central St Martins College in London in 1998. She’s worked at Acne (a brand we’re guessing is already in your wardrobe), and has three Designer of the Year awards on her mantelpiece.^[6]

Gudrun Sjödén

One of the pioneers of sustainable fashion is Gudrun Sjödén, who launched her company of the same name in 1976. Her business idea is to produce colourful home textiles and clothes in natural materials, featuring functional models that suit all ages and figures. Environmental thinking is part of all its collections.^[4]

Swedish Hasbeens

The shoe company Swedish Hasbeens entered the market in 2006. It produces sustainable handmade collections using traditional methods in small factories, emphasising respect for people and the environment. Swedish Hasbeens currently sells its footwear in 22 countries.^[4] Kylie Minogue, Michelle Williams, Lana del Rey, Sienna Miller and Sarah Jessica Parker have put this retro shoe brand firmly on the fashion map. Inspired by the super-stylish clogs rocked in the seventies, Swedish Hasbeens are fun, high-quality and ethically-produced footwear. The Hasbeens toffels, bags and belts are based on original 70s models and are made of ecologically prepared natural grain leather. They are still handmade in the same small Swedish factory used since the 70s.^[6]

Odd Molly

In March 2002 the freelance designer Karin Jimfeldt sat down with the word artist Per Holkneekt; 30 minutes after that meeting the brand Odd Molly was created.

The core idea of the company was to let uninhibited design intuition lead the way, bringing forward a fabulous and positive message to women. To make the clothes look great were not the only key ingredients, but also to make the user feel great, using the cornerstones of love-courage-integrity.

Odd Molly can today be found in 1,500 locations in 40 countries.^[12]

Nikolaj d'Étoiles

Nikolaj d'Étoiles is Sweden's leading brand for high-end men's clothing. Set to fly in the fashion industry in the year 2005, they have captured the markets of trendy men's apparels such as cardigans, sweaters, coats, jackets and shirts etc. They blend in the classics to the latest designs to achieve what can be termed as a unique and exquisite style of dressing for men. ^[13]

Stylein

Stylein was found in 2001 by current head-designer Elin Nyström meanwhile she studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, USA. 2003 Elin returned home to Sweden to base the label in Stockholm. Ever since the label has grown massively, both international and national. Through the years it has had collaborations with JC where they designed a mini-collection available for the public. Stylein has also had the opportunity to collaborate with the big virtual fashion site Stardoll where virtual copies of the Stylein collections could be bought by its members. Today it has got its atelier and showroom in Stockholm and the collections are sold internationally from its online shop.

Stylein is also sold in several shops and boutiques in Sweden, Belgium, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Italy, Ireland, Russia, Japan, Norway, South Korea, and Spain.

Camilla Wellton

Camilla Wellton was founded in 2009 by Swedish fashion designer Camilla Wellton. The Camilla Wellton brand is inspired by classical and casual outfit with a touch of Yoga influences. Camilla Wellton worked for years in Fashion industry and their work wit her eponym brand was very quickly rewarded by media and fashion industry. In 2010 she won the IKEA prize of the best Fashion Designer and was rewarded as the best Swedish designer at Jakarta Fashion Week in 2013 and won again the same prize in 2014 during the september edition of Paris Fashion Week. Well known for her ethical approach, Camilla Wellton was the first fashion designer ever to present a sustainable catwalk at Shangai Fashion Week in 2011.

References

^[1]

1. ↑ http://www.camillawellton.com/en/la-maison/our-story/