The summer months were once quiet for the fashion industry. Nowadays, the cycle of fashion shows continues throughout the summer with editors making visits to Helsinki, Berlin, Madrid, Copenhagen, and Oslo. Stockholm Fashion Week is the last stop on the summer tour, though by no means the least important.

Sweden boasts an impressive group of designers who are adept at offering singular sartorial ideas. Some have been in the game for 25 years while others’ experience hasn’t quite reached 5.

“The fashion week just ended here in Stockholm, and the interesting thing is that there is so many new and gifted talents that are showing here,” shared designer Ida Klamborn. “I would say there is a new generation of Swedish brands that are doing something interesting and pushing the Swedish fashion industry forward.”

Read Twin’s highlights from Stockholm Fashion Week this season.

Filippa K

Filippa Knutsson founded her brand Filippa K in Stockholm in 1993. In the 25 years she’s been in business she effectively placed the streamlined, minimalist aesthetic, and Scandinavian fashion, on the map. 

With stores in Sweden, Belgium, and the United States, amongst others, Knutsson is undoubtedly one of the tentpole fashion names drawing the international attention to the Swedish capital.

However, Knutsson isn’t one for theatrics. Her Spring 2019 show took place in an informal setting. Models completed a procession against a blank backdrop, posing individually for groups of attendees. The consolidated womenswear and menswear outing demonstrated why countless individuals choose her work. It’s not about groundbreaking ideas or revolutionary propositions—sometimes, once deftly executed, an airy jacket in neutral shades of dove, clay, and taupe, or crisp white trousers, can be considered a radical statement.

Stina Randestad

“My collection has a starting point in exploring and combining materials. The material comes first letting it decide the form of the garment,” explained Stina Randestad over email. The Stockholm-based designer presented her MA collection from the Swedish School of Textiles show at the school’s on-schedule group show. “The work, therefore, positions itself in the intersection of textile and fashion design, and shows an example of how a different design process can generate an interesting result.”

The designer’s use of colour was sublime. A juxtaposition between acidic brights and sober tonal hues. Meanwhile manipulated silhouettes and structures produced a mesmerising effect. Randestad belongs to a generation of designers willing themselves to express their creativity in an unconventional fashion. 

“The dream would be to continue making showpieces for special people on special occasions. I don’t know if that would be called a brand really? I want my future to be flexible,” Randestad said when asked about her future, adding: “One week I make a showpiece for a performance, and the next month I drop a small collection of printed shirts and then a collaboration with an interior brand.”

Amaze x NH(O)RM

Mathilda Nilsson and Hanna Rudebeck founded their label NH(O)RM in 2011. Like Randestad, they’re alumnae of the Swedish School of Textiles. For Spring 2019, the pair adopted an unconventional approach by partnering with the creative platform Amaze. 

Silk scarves were transformed into dresses, striped shirting was reimagined as decadent gowns while bicycle shorts were positively Elizabethan in aesthetic. The brand reworked the tropes of traditional beach dressing, making it into something subversive and transferable.

The show was a jubilant display of body positivity, racial diversity, stature, and composition. It turned the conventional runway on its head. In a way, it felt like Sweden’s answer to Eckhaus Latta, which is as much an inspired artful movement as it is a fashion house. 

Ida Klamborn

Ida Klamborn’s millennial-centric collection was another belonging to the set of shows who dispelled the default, perfectly-packaged Scandinavian lifestyle trend of polished silhouettes, clean lines, and tonal hues with an amalgamation of colour and texture.

For Spring 2019, she issued a colourful proclamation on summer dressing. Replete with jewel tones and abbreviated hemlines, Klamborn’s rendition of influencer-friendly, festival-ready clothes wouldn’t feel out of place on Kendall Jenner’s Instagram feed for all its silky separates and feathered frocks felt in line with the current iteration of youthful, feminine dressing.

As the designer explained: “I have always been interested in clothes as a kind of language. When I was a kid I was quite shy, so through clothes I could express myself without words. It was like a safe and fun space. This season it was about the ‘conflicted princess.’ I wanted to do new and more dynamic version of my childhood memories of those quite flat dimensional princesses from movies.”

Stand

Stand is one of the many contemporary Scandinavian brands vying for the attention of the international fashion pack. The brand closed out the three-day event at the Grand Hotel. Founded by Nellie Kamras in 2014, the brand’s focus is on accessibility, bringing the use of leather to an audience at a lower price. In recent years, the designer has added cashmere, fur, faux fur and wool to the mix to create a tactile experience. One glance at the show and it becomes clear Kamras is seeking satisfaction beyond the whims of Instagram trends, she’s searching for enduring wardrobe staples.

In the case of Kamras, staples doesn’t mean minimalism. At Stand a snakeskin peacoat or a geometric-print yellow faux fur coat is as relevant as, say, a manila-hued shirt or black leather trousers. In parts, the use of leather was a tad excessive for the summer season, especially for the customer who experiences a sweltering June, July or August. And as an increasing number of major designers move away from the use of fur, the ethical issues around fabric choices may yet prove a challenge for the brand.

Tags: SS19, Stockholm Fashion Week