H&M make affordable Swedish fashion, while high-end designers take fashion to another level. Photo: H&M

Sandra Backlund has knitted her way onto the international catwalk in a style far removed from the traditionally so pragmatic Swedish approach. Extravagant and expressive, her thick and chunky woolly creations are the result of true craftsmanship. She experiments with the body’s natural silhouette and describes her own style as “a combination of science fiction and sheltered, warm pieces of fantasy.” A first prize at the fashion festival in French Hyères in 2007 was Backlund’s ticket to the international fashion stage.

An equally craftsman-like approach is found in the studio of Rickard Lindqvist, but his expression is completely different. Using traditional tailoring techniques, he creates slightly anarchistic versions of classic clothing. He is very interested in pattern construction, and feels that there is an important aesthetic in that phase as well. Currently pursuing a PhD at the Swedish School of Textiles in Borås, Lindqvist is also proof of the fact that fashion has been granted academic status. In 2006 the Centre for Fashion Studies was established at Stockholm University, along with Sweden’s first professorship in fashion studies.

While the Swedish fashion scene is bursting with creativity, many designers are struggling to transform their talent into a viable business. But the three sisters behind the brand Minimarket, Sofie, Pernilla and Jennifer Elvestedt, have found their recipe for success. They make collections characterized by feminine shapes with masculine influences, often in strong colors, and in their own words, they “aim to complete other Swedish brands rather than compete with them.” But it is clear that they have become quite a commercial success, with their garments being sold in shops all around the world.

An ecological consciousness is also starting to reach the world of haute couture. Brands like Nudie, Camilla Norrback and Julian Red are striving for increased environmental and ethical awareness in the fashion world, and have started to show that eco can also be chic. When you buy new jeans, do you consider the fact that the equivalent of a year’s minimum consumption of water is used in the production process in a world where a billion people lack access to clean water? Dem Collective has found a better way, which the story below shows.

What has been called “the Swedish fashion miracle” actually started in the denim world, with brands like Acne, Nudie and WESC, that have all achieved global success. One of the followers, Cheap Monday, also made a name for itself very quickly and was sold to H&M in 2008 for SEK 500 million.

The interest in fashion among Swedes has exploded over the last decade. H&M’s affordable yet trendy clothes are surely one explanation for this, but it also has to do with the fact that the economic situation has improved for the majority of Swedes. A reaction against the culture of consumerism, however, is the growing second hand market for fashion. Last year’s haute couture may be this year’s street wear.

This is an excerpt from Sweden — Up North, Down to Earth. Read the book cover to cover online

Rikard Lagerberg & Emma Randecker

Rikard Lagerberg is a writer and editor who has spent most of his adult life in the US and on Ireland. Returning to Sweden he discovered a new curiosity for his native country. Editor and writer Emma Randecker spent most of her life in Sweden, apart from a couple of longer excursions to France and the UK. It was, in particular, a longing for the changing Swedish seasons that made her go back home after a few years. Both Rikard and Emma work at the Swedish Institute.