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Is it time to bring back Swedish folk costume?

The Local's Victoria Hussey considers Swedish minimalism versus a new hybrid of high-fashion folk and whether it is time for Swedes to dip into the history archives to come up with a new type of old-school cool.

Is it time to bring back Swedish folk costume?

A number of years ago, back in ol’ Blighty, I was watching property programme Location Location Location. For those unfamiliar with this particular TV show – the format is basically to take couple or family looking for a new house around a number of properties in the hope of finding the couple’s dream home. On a particular episode were a young couple, an English chap and his Swedish fiancée. With his soft curls and her natural beauty, they made quite the lovely couple.

I remember thinking how sweetly dressed she was: very natural, beatnik and cute. You can imagine then how, on my first trip to Sweden years later, I was somewhat perplexed with a style-set favouring charcoal tones over colour and, I guess, an absence of bohemian romance.

I just accepted this new, cool style. And anyway, I liked it; slick black pieces in simple cuts and androgyny looked fresh, unseen. The uniformity was even enticing. I’d never seen so many people in one place that appeared to be so in sync with one another. The question is where did this dark, urban dressing come from?

The answer partly lies with Sweden’s super successful denim brands. Acne, founded in 1996, became successful internationally for its androgynous dress codes: unisex jeans and an edgy look. Cheap Monday, with its skinny jeans, skull logo and reasonable price appealed to Scandinavia’s youth and quickly spread to the rest of Europe. A link-up with H&M in 2008 helped.

IN PICTURES: What is Swedish style, and what do Stockholmers think of it?

A country so keen on sports and leisure, with the space and landscape to really get to grips with outdoor pursuits, had a real need for practical clothing. Fashion labels like J. Lindberg began offering chic sportswear-inspired looks for the masses.

Yet there are movements afoot across the world for a more bohemian look. In Paris, for example, Russian couturier Ulyana Sergeenko has wowed street style bloggers for years now by fusing together militaristic, near Soviet, shapes with babushka headscarves and full fifties skirts.

Last month, US actress Scarlett Johansson appeared on the pages of Harper’s Bazaar magazine, wearing a long-sleeved T under a golden bodice and full skirt, which while light years away from the texture of Swedish national dress, had the shape of it.

In Sweden, of course, some may associate the traditional national costume too much with the royal family doing their national-day duties. Regional varieties, which add spice to an already elaborate sartorial set-up, have also been adopted by anti-immigration Sweden Democrat party leader Jimmie Åkesson – which not all Swedes, “ethnic” or otherwise, are happy with.

But a move back to more detailed, folksy fashion doesn’t have to mean giving in to political subtext, nor to a cuteness that sacrifices cool and edgy. We’re not really talking about the Swedish princesses in full-on folk on June 6th here (more’s the pity).

Modern folk, or mofo, if you will (*yes I did) originates from traditional folksy garb in its primary colours, aprons, bodices, long sleeves and bonnets. New folk is a renewed love for deep hues, print and hand-crafts such as embroidery, knitting and loads of pretty pretty flower motifs.

As seen earlier this year, it’s Sweden’s talented youth who are at the forefront of a re-emergence of a country-inspired clothing campaign that wonderfully reflects old-fashioned Swedish culture in a new, exciting way. The Beckmans College of Design graduates translated a love of Swedish countryside – its lakes, forests and fauna – into something melancholic and beautiful.

So while Swedes, including many of its top designers, seem content with minimalism and muted fashion that perhaps reflects Sweden’s practical mind-set and uniformity; I wonder if Sweden’s style buffs will soon tire of black, grey, dark and edgy and seek something brighter, intricate, expressive. If so, there are those out there that can provide.

Craft-based high-fashion has a home with Sandra Backlund, who creates the most intricate, architectural wool designs. Whilst her work could not be described as pure folk, and the colours are still muted, Backlund’s age-old craftsmanship in crazy space-age shapes is soft and wild at the same time. Her recent use of metal yarns pulls wool into the right now.

Another? Marimekko. Although the brand is actually Finnish, you will find its stores all over Sweden. What the label does very well is modernizing folksy prints. A real alternative to Acne’s gritty chic. Register with their website and you even become part of the ‘Marimekko village’. How cute.

It’s time to mix it up country-style.

That’s all folks.

Victoria Hussey

Follow Victoria on Twitter here

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FASHION

Paris exhibition celebrates 100 years of French Vogue

A new exhibition in Paris will tell the story of 100 years of French Vogue - from the post-war 'New Look' of Christian Dior through the sexual liberation of the 1960s to the dangling-cigarette waifs of the 2000s.

French Vogue celebrates 100 years
French Vogue celebrates 100 years. Photo: Thomas Olva/AFP

But as well as celebrating the magazine’s storied history, the exhibit comes at a time of turbulence for the publication.

Just last month, it was confirmed that its editor of 10 years, Emmanuelle Alt, was out and wouldn’t be replaced.

She was not alone.

Looking to cut costs, owner Conde Nast International has axed editors across Europe over the past year, and put international Vogue editions under the direct control of global editorial director, Anna Wintour, in New York.

New York-based Anna Wintour now has overall control of French Vogue. Photo by Christophe ARCHAMBAULT / AFP

Like much of the media industry, Vogue is struggling with tumbling sales and ad revenue in the digital era.

But the latest twist is also part of the endless push and pull between New York and Paris going back to its early days.

“The whole history of French Vogue is one of back-and-forth with Conde Nast in New York – growing more independent for a while, then being reined back in,” said Sylvie Lecallier, curator of the new exhibition, “Vogue Paris 1920-2020″, which opened this weekend after a year’s delay due to the pandemic.

The Paris edition was often the loftier, more bohemian sibling to its more hard-nosed New York version.

But it was also the hotbed in which much of 20th century style and womenhood came to be defined.

“Paris was the place to hunt out talent and content and bring it to New York,” said Lecallier.

The exhibition charts the evolution from art deco drawings of the 1920s through the erotic image-making of photographers like Helmut Newton in the 1960s and 1970s.

Its last peak was under editor Carine Roitfeld in the 2000s, who brought back a provocative Gallic identity by ridding the newsroom of foreign staff and becoming a fashion icon in her own right.

Her successor, Alt, was a quieter presence, though she still oversaw key moments including its first transgender cover star, Brazilian Valentina Sampaio, in 2017.

But internet culture has created “a perfect storm” for Vogue, says media expert Douglas McCabe of Enders Analysis.

“The first 80 years of Vogue’s life, it had the market to itself, it was the bible for fashion,” McCabe told AFP.

“But online today, there are so many other ways to get your information. Influencers, Instagram, YouTube — everyone’s a threat.”

In a world where new fashion trends can blow up around the world in seconds, it has become much harder for a monthly magazine to set the pace.

“It’s not that they can’t survive for another 100 years — but they will be differently sized,” McCabe said.

Vogue has tried to branch out into different areas, including events.

“I used to work for a magazine, and today I work for a brand,” Alt said on the eve of French Vogue’s 1,000th issue in 2019.

But the big money was always in print, and Vogue Paris sales are dropping steadily from 98,345 in 2017 to 81,962 to 2020, according to data site ACPM.

It is perhaps unsurprising that the new top job in Paris, redefined as “head of editorial content”, went to Eugenie Trochu, who was key to building the magazine’s online presence.

She declared herself “thrilled to be part of Vogue’s international transformation”.

For the curator of the exhibition, it is ironic timing.

“We had no idea it would end like this when we started work on the exhibition,” said Lecallier.

“Who knows where it will go from here.”

The exhibition Vogue Paris 1920-2020 is at the Palais Galliera in Paris’ 16th arrondissement. The gallery is open 10am to 6pm Tuesday to Sunday and is closed on Mondays. Tickets for the exhibition are €14 (€12 for concessions and under 18s go free) and must be reserved online in advance. 

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