What is the Scandinavian style in fashion
We love the Scandinavian style is not the first year, and, it seems, he is now returning to fashion on a par with Italian and French. However, few people have a clear idea of what the phenomenon implies. Wonderzine begins a series of materials on how the Scandinavian style in fashion, industrial design and architecture originated and developed. In the first issue, we tell why fashion people started talking about northern minimalism in 2013 and why it might be more interesting than the colorful collections of Gucci and Prada.
In Denmark and Sweden, Fashion Weeks ended, about which only local journalists write. But it turned out that the Scandinavian style, which has long been familiar to us, arouses interest again: the newspaper The Telegraph calls it a breath of fresh air. "Local designers are not annoying you with expensive and unfit for everyday life things that you can only look at. To wear Scandinavians you don’t have to have a figure like a model or rob a bank," writes Sophie Warbetor about Copenhagen Fashion Week. Now designers from Denmark, Norway and Sweden should pay attention. The fashion industry is tired of the endless mix of cropped tops and floor skirts, neon and prints, metallic and plastic. In contrast, the Scandinavians show concise and not dull things that will decorate everyone. Danes, Norwegians and Swedes won recognition longer than their colleagues from the world's fashion capitals. One of the founders of Wood Wood, Carl Olsen, believes that buyers paid attention to Scandinavian brands after the financial crisis, when they ceased to strive for rampant consumption. According to The Guardian columnist Lanre Baccarat, first designers from Scandinavia like HUMÖR and Soulland appeared in stores for men.
Any reader of the magazine FURFUR will say that men's clothing is influenced by the rich heritage and traditions of the men's style and practicality is the main thing in it, but the Scandinavians know a lot about it: therefore the backpack of the Kånken model has become a classic in the men's street-style. Now northern brands appear in the wardrobe of the girls. We are talking not only about Acne, By Malene Birger and H & M, who have already reached the international level, but also about their less well-known and only catch-up colleagues in the pace of expansion - for example, 5 Avenue Shoe Repair, Dr. Denim or Whyred. “Scandinavian design is based on common sense, which does not resonate with the idea of so-called high fashion. These are comfortable clothes that will last for a long time,” says fashion editor of the Swedish magazine Hemma and author of Dazed Digital David Helkvist. Sometimes this is exactly what girls are looking for who are tired of investing in trends. How did a series of modern clothing brands from Denmark, Norway and Sweden appear that work in the same style? Here you can see a couple of historical factors. Scandinavians love for minimalism caused by their asceticism, which is instilled by Lutheranism - a religion adopted by the majority of local people. Lutherans tend to moderation in any manifestations of life, whether it is the environment or food. This can be said about the clothes: the Scandinavians prefer brevity, monochrome and the absence of any details.
And the second significant feature of Scandinavian design - practicality - originates in the climate of the region: due to the harsh weather conditions, the Scandinavians' basic wardrobe includes knit sweaters, voluminous trousers and massive boots on a massive platform. The cultural heritage also influences the current style of dressing. The author of the new book "Fashion Scandinavia: Contemporary Cool" Dorothea Gundtoft believes that the Scandinavian fashion of the turn of the XX and XXI centuries was influenced by architecture and design. “It’s natural for us to grow surrounded by interior items of significant companies like Arne Jacobsen and Bang & Olufsen. Looking at the collections of clothes by local designers, you realize that they were inspired by similar objects of art,” writes Gundtoft. In her book she talks about 56 brands: both Acne, Rodebjer and Whyred minimalists, and Enfan Terrybl from Scandinavian fashion - Henrik Vibskov. With the release of the book Gundtoft oversees an exhibition about native brands during the last season of London Fashion Week: this is the largest fashion show of countries in their history. Now Scandinavian style is classic, like Parisian chic. Along with the minimalists in Scandinavia, avant-garde designers appear - Altewai Saome, Ingvild Abrahamsen and Mark Kenly Domino Tan. Perhaps they will give rise to another trend in the region's fashion - Scandinavian avant-garde.
What is the Scandinavian style
Minimalism
The first thing that catches your eye when looking at the collections of Scandinavian designers is simplicity in cut and silhouette. It can be straight sweaters and jumpers, classic men's shirts, slightly flared trousers and skirts. The Scandinavians do not experiment like the French or the Japanese, working with asymmetry and deconstruction: it is important for them to minimize any details that complicate the appearance of clothing.
THINGS LEFT RIGHT: all cos
Monochrome
The Scandinavian winter lasts six months, and the light day is six hours. It is said that therefore black and gray colors prevail in the collections of local brands. With respect to other shades, the northerners are just as conservative: they choose calm tones like beige, mint and blue, they are not fond of a combination of color blocks, and also take white color as the basis - the main thing in minimalism.
THINGS LEFT RIGHT: all H & M
Classic prints
For most Scandinavian brands, digital or photographic prints are hardly of interest. The exception here is Hope and Wood Wood, inspired by street culture. The rest of the Scandinavians are constant in working with prints: this is a strip of sea, a cage and peas. Even if Scandinavians use animal paintings, the simplest ones you can imagine.
THINGS LEFT RIGHT: Wood Wood and Monki
Comfort
In Denmark, Norway and Sweden, the weather conditions are adverse: there are low temperatures, a chilly wind blows, and it often rains or snows. Therefore, the main function of clothing here is protection from the cold. But the desire for convenience is expressed not only in the qualitative characteristics of things, but also in the ways they are worn. So, for the Scandinavian street style is characterized by multi-layered: under the jacket you can simultaneously wear a jacket, sweater and shirt, and to tie a wide scarf on top. The summer outfits of the Scandinavians look relaxed: they combine a t-shirt with voluminous shorts, a raincoat that looks more like a robe. Footwear - on a flat sole or on a steady heel.
THINGS LEFT RIGHT: all Acne
Natural fabrics
Scandinavian designers seek to use natural materials: Dagmar and Filippa K sweaters are made from wool, Tiger of Sweden shirts are made from silk, and Our Legacy T-shirts are made from cotton. Of course, mass-market companies are subject to the so-called IKEA effect: price and quality are important in clothes, so H & M and Monki sew quite reasonable polyester dresses for 1,000 rubles, which is quite traditional for commercial production, but unconventional for Scandinavians.
Things from left to right: Ann-Sofie Back, Acne