G
IS FOR GRÜNERLØKKA
Oslo’s trendiest district is, unsurprisingly,
home to a lot of its best shopping. If
you’re going to hit up one street, make
it the vintage street, Markveien – try Trabant and
Robot for funkier, thrift store-type stuff, with lots
of denim; Velouria Vintage for ’60s-’80s disco wear;
Lucky Buttons for a more elegant, refined selection;
and Frøken Dianas Salonger for elegant womenswear,
with lots of pink and a hint of a Dickensian theme.
E
IS FOR EXISTENTIALISM
Scandinavian clothing brands have
a penchant for expressing gloomy
philosophies to illustrate their
approach. Libertine Libertine (libertine-
libertine.com), a hot Copenhagen brand
specialising in utilitarian menswear, calls
itself “a brand based on existentialism”.
Meanwhile, trendy Swedish raincoat
maker Stutterheim (stutterheim.se)
devotes a whole section of its website
to the concept of melancholy: “If we
try too hard to get rid of melancholy
it’s almost like we’re settling for a
half-life,” it reads. Whatever. Both
brands make good clothes.
D
IS FOR DAGMAR
Knitwear and heritage are big themes in Scandinavian fashion, and
House of Dagmar unites both. Founded in 2005 by three Stockholm
sisters and named after their tailor grandmother, Dagmar’s arty-chic
but sexy hand-knitted tops and dresses are inspired by the art deco period
and make for “the coolest knitwear around”, according to
Elle
(
UK). But good
as things are now, starting up was difficult, as designer-sister Karin Söderling
says: “We worked from our basement for the first two years and [another sister]
Kristina’s mother-in-law came over every time we got deliveries to
help us sort it… we all had two jobs at the same time.”
dagmardesign.com
F
IS FOR FASHION SCANDINAVIA
Thames & Hudson’s new book, designed to accompany a
major exhibition of the same name at London’s Somerset
House, features interviews with more than 56 designers.
It was written by Dorothea Gundtoft, co-author of this piece and
also the show’s curator – she picked out everyone from big names
such as Weekday and Marimekko to less-known designers such as
Ann-Sofie Back, Peter Jensen, Soulland and Camilla Stærk. It’s a
good read (and look).
thamesandhudson.com/Fashion_Scandinavia
Dresses at
Frøken Dianas
Salonger
Stutterheim
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