Sweden may not be the first destination that spring s to mind when it comes to shopping f or jeans, but perhaps it’s time it was. Gillian Wilkins gets to the bottom of the Scandinavian country’s denim industry
For most people, shopping for jeans is as overwhelming as it is complicated. A pair of jeans isn’t just a piece of clothing or fashion fix; some would say it’s more like a second skin and a modern framework for individuality. But the good news is that denim shopping couldn’t be easier.
In fact, you only need to look to one place for inspiration – Sweden.
Sweden has finally reached beyond its own clichés. In recent years, the country’s designers, musicians, artists and companies have achieved respect and worldwide acclaim. When it comes to denim, it has a portfolio of names that have risen to new heights, including Acne, Nudie, Filippa K and Cheap Monday. On the whole, these brands are a reaction to the market’s medium-and high-price denim labels, such as Paper Denim Cloth and Rogan.
The story behind denim’s success dates back to the 19th century, when Levi Strauss began making work overalls in San Francisco, USA. Modern ‘blue jeans’, as they became known, followed on to the mass market in the 1920s.
Two characteristics in particular have contributed to denim’s continued popularity within the fashion industry – attitude and longevity. The longer it lives, the more character it gets. Swedish jeans designers have succeeded in transforming functional clothing into a commercial trend by respecting the traditions of denim-making while adding new design ideas, expressing more than just blue-collar attitude.
While denim has been over-worked and over-washed in the past couple of seasons, current trends are shifting away from embellished, distressed fabrics towards plain pocket denim. This is nothing new for Scandinavian designers, who pride themselves on clean, minimal design as part of their cultural expression – take IKEA, for example, with its foundations of functionality, affordability and quality. The new Swedish style is all about quality fits and straight-to-the-point designs, while at the same time being very product-orientated. This is in contrast to Italian denim brands, for example, which are all about glamour.
“Sweden is a blue-denim country – we’re fastidious when it comes to fit and wash, and we change labels more often than other people,” says Maria Erixon, founder of the Nudie brand and former head designer of Lee. “We were one of the first countries to create denim fashions with clean, pure lines.”
Nudie (nudiejeans.com), which began in 2000, is at the top of Sweden’s jean pool. The company has a turnover of €20m, making it the most successful apparel company in Sweden. The brand emphasises functionality while making clear reference to its Swedishness on the labels, creating its own niche.
“Every man is unique,” says Erixon. “In the same way, every pair of jeans is unique – because it isn’t only created by the designer, but also by the person who wears it.”
Acne, headed by Johnny Johansson, is an internationally recognised creative collective unique for its diversity, which includes fashion design, graphic design,
Where to buy in Sweden
Department stores stocking Filippa K, Acne, Nudie and Cheap Monday
NK
A shopper’s heaven with all the goods you’d expect in a department store, minus the hassle and crowds. Hip, youthful and fun, you could probably shop at this store alone and nowhere else – it has a piece of everything you could possibly need. There are two stores, in Gothenburg and Stockholm.
Östra Larmgatan 5, SE 411 07, Gothenburg
Hamngatan 18-20, SE 111 47, Stockholm
Boutiques
Weekday
Streetwear specialists located in stores in Gothenburg and Stockholm. Expect a mixed clientele; you’ll find left-wing rockers shopping next to bankers and skater kids, so be prepared.
Södra Larmgatan 12, 411 16 Gothenburg, tel. +46 (0)31 711 5150
Olofsgatan 1, 111 36 Stockholm, tel. +46 (0)8 411 5150
film production and advertising, as well as product, business and concept development. Acne Jeans (acnejeans. com) began in 1997, when 100 pairs of jeans were designed and distributed to friends, family and clients. Since then, Johansson hasn’t looked back, developing Acne Jeans into a renowned label that’s in worldwide demand.
The collective has an annual turnover of €15m – a big chunk of which is contributed by its jeans brand.
Next in the denim line is Cheap Monday (cheapmonday.com), founded by Örjan Andersson in 1997. Its jeans are famous for the funky logo, unwashed stretch fabric, super-slim fit and, most importantly, customer-friendly retail price of €44. “When a pair of jeans is that cheap, you can buy them in the same way as you buy a T-shirt or belt,” says Andersson. “They’re more like impulse items, basically.
Cheap Monday jeans are distributed worldwide and around 200,000 pairs have been sold since March 2004. The best things about them is that they’re completely understated. “Our jeans are a reaction to the super-expensive stuff that became trendy a few years ago,”
film production and advertising, as well as product, business and concept development. Acne Jeans (acnejeans. com) began in 1997, when 100 pairs of jeans were designed and distributed to friends, family and clients. Since then, Johansson hasn’t looked back, developing Acne Jeans into a renowned label that’s in worldwide demand.
The collective has an annual turnover of €15m – a big chunk of which is contributed by its jeans brand.
Next in the denim line is Cheap Monday (cheapmonday.com), founded by Örjan Andersson in 1997. Its jeans are famous for the funky logo, unwashed stretch fabric, super-slim fit and, most importantly, customer-friendly retail price of €44. “When a pair of jeans is that cheap, you can buy them in the same way as you buy a T-shirt or belt,” says Andersson. “They’re more like impulse items, basically.
Cheap Monday jeans are distributed worldwide and around 200,000 pairs have been sold since March 2004. The best things about them is that they’re completely understated. “Our jeans are a reaction to the super-expensive stuff that became trendy a few years ago,” says Andersson. “We noticed there wasn’t a single decent brand making cheaper jeans.”
When Filippa Knutsson sought to bring sophistication and simplicity to contemporary fashion through her label Filippa K (filippa-k.se), she had a clear vision of the jeans she wanted to be part of the collection. “We wanted to create denim that became people’s favourites,” she explains. “Those beloved, well-fitting and clean denims you wear over and over again.
Since its launch in 1993, Filippa K has enjoyed an expansion that covers Stockholm, Gothenburg and Antwerp, as well as being distributed throughout Germany and further afield, to Australia and the US. It seems Sweden’s denim revolution is spreading…
Filippa K
Filippa K stores are carefully planned environments where fashion fans and customers can meet in an atmosphere that breathes style, simplicity and quality in every detail.
Hamnagatan 18-20, Stockholm, tel. + 46
(0)8 762 8812
Östra Hamngatan 42, Gothenburg, tel. +46
(0)31 710 1240
Steenhouwersvest 65, 2000 Antwerp, tel. +32 (0)3 232 88 18
Acne Jeans
The Acne Jeans studio is a simple and stylish shop to which Stockholm’s fashionistas flock to add volume to their wardrobes.
Hamngatan 10-14, 111 47 Stockholm, tel. +46 (0)8 203455
Nudie
JC Hötorget, Sergelarkaden, Stockholm, tel. +46
(0)8 440 2980
Solo
Fashion-orientated store with an avant garde jeans department. Stocks all the latest cutting-edge trends.
Kungsgatan 58, 411 08 Gothenburg, tel. +46 (0)31 774 180
FR »Tout est dans le jeans
Pour bien des gens, trouver des jeans est une tâche aussi ardue que compliquée. Les jeans sont bien souvent considérés comme plus qu’une simple pièce de tissu ou une griffe de mode – ils sont une deuxième peau et une structure moderne qui révèle l’individu. La bonne nouvelle c’est que pour trouver un denim en ce moment, il vous suffit de regarder du côté d’un pays qui semble être passé maître dans l’art de ce ‘basique ‘ : la Suède.
Le royaume de Suède a enfin dépassé ses propre clichés. Ces dernières années, le design, la musique, les artistes et les sociétés suédoises font un tabac sur la scène internationale. Et question denim, Stockholm voit l’éclosion de nouvelles griffes émergentes qui portent le design de ce vêtement banal vers de nouvelles hauteurs – Acne, Nudie, Filippa K et Cheap Monday. Ces marques ont été lancées en réaction aux labels à prix moyens et élevés, comme Paper Denim Cloth et Rogan, par exemple.
Les designers suédois ont réussi à créer leur propre style avec de nouveaux modèles qui prônent des valeurs tournées vers l’avant-garde, tout en respectant les anciennes traditions de la fabrication du denim. Ces dernières saisons, le look denim a été embelli et épuré, mais la tendance évolue vers le denim pleine poche. Le design suédois – ‘le look scandinave’ – s’affirme, aux lignes pures et minimales, comme partie intégrante de leur expression culturelle. Prenez IKEA par exemple, qui a basé ses fondements sur la fonctionnalité, le prix accessible et la qualité. La nouvelle génération des labels de denim suédois prône des qualités de confort et de style, et ils ont la cote auprès des utilisateurs, à la différence des labels italiens, notamment, qui ne jurent que par l’effet glamour.
NL » De perfecte jeans
Shoppen voor een nieuwe jeans? Geen makkelijke opdracht. Een jeans is dan ook niet zomaar een kledingstuk. Het is een tweede huid en een stukje persoonlijkheid in de vorm van een broek. Maar niet getreurd, want het kan ook eenvoudig. Kijk maar naar Zweden…
Zweden wist eindelijk zijn eigen clichés te overstijgen. De laatste jaren oogsten Zweedse designers, muzikanten, artiesten en bedrijven wereldwijde successen. En ook voor denim heeft Stockholm een hele reeks namen die met hun jeansontwerpen hoge toppen scheren – Acne, Nudie, Filippa K en Cheap Monday. Deze merken worden beschouwd al een reactie tegen dure midden- en topklasselabels als Paper Denim Cloth en Rogan.
Zweedse ontwerpers wisten hun eigen look te creëren met nieuwe creaties die verder gaan dan de nonchalante jeanslook, en tegelijkertijd de oude denimtradities respecteren. Terwijl de laatste seizoenen denim werd opgesmukt en kunstmatig verouderd, zien we nu een verschuiving naar neutraal denim. De minimale ontwerpen met zuivere lijnen sluiten aan bij de typische Scandinavische expressiecultuur. Denk aan IKEA, dat uitgaat van functionaliteit, betaalbaarheid en kwaliteit. De nieuwe golf van Zweedse denimmerken combineren een goede pasvorm en een ontwerp dat naar de essentie terugkeert. Daarbij ligt de nadruk op het product, in tegenstelling tot bijvoorbeeld Italiaanse jeansmerken, waar glamour de boventoon voert.
No comments yet.
