I don’t know about you, but I keep finding that all the good fashion is frequently coming from Sweden. Maybe it’s just my love affair with Acne and Cheap Monday. It might just be the heavy influence of fashion bloggers, but I really love their style. It’s a bit utilitarian mixed with unconventional details. Unfortunately I was not able to attend the FIT Swedish Fashion Panel Discussion, but I wanted to give you some coverage!
Keller & Schiller
Panelists included Mikael Schiller of Acne Studios, Margareta van den Bosch, currently creative advisor at H&M, and Lena Patriksson Keller, chairman of the Association of Swedish Fashion Brands. The moderator was Ingrid Giertz-Mårtenson, founder of the Centre for Fashion Studies at Stockholm University and Senior Advisor at the Centre for Business History in Stockholm. This was arranged, of course, by Dr. Valerie Steele of FIT.
Moderator Giertz-Mårtenson
The talk centered around the expansion of Swedish fashion. The center of it all: H&M. What haven’t they done?! With the latest expansion of the Martin Margiela collaboration, H&M is poised to become the retailer of the future. Lena Patriksson, chairman of the Association of Swedish Fashion Brands, claimed that the success is due to accessibility, freedom, and diversity. I would have to agree! What other country has such innovative business models, as well as designs? Also on the agenda was sustainability, both in terms of economics and environment. It seemed that the issue of sustainability was one that all of the panelists agreed upon. It really makes me have faith in the fashion community that a country as influential as Sweden puts a priority on their products and their life cycle.
I’m also truly excited to see where they take their role in fashion. Will it be the new center of fashion? What will MBFW Stockholm turn into? I’m optimistic that this new “trend” is not for the short term. I can definitely see Sweden becoming the new epicenter of quality designs and unique perspectives on the next phase of fashion.
Are you as excited about Swedish fashion as I am?
Photo Credits: Eileen Costa/The Museum at FIT
