Stockholm Style for S/S14

I have just about caught my breath after Stockholm Fashion Week shut its runway until next season. Three days of back-to-back shows, street style photography galore (its harder than it looks!) and meeting and greeting the influencers on the Swedish fashion scene has left my toes rather sore, but my love for Swedish fashion greater than ever.

Here is my rundown on the trends we can expect to be exported from Sweden for S/S 14, the highlights of the week and a look at the emerging design talent coming from this new fashion capital.

VERY BERRY

The Swedes are known for their demure, muted palettes, and in fact if you looked around at the fashion week crowd it was for the most part a sea of black, greys and beiges. From the catwalk however there were a few standout colour trends for S/S14. Berry, grape and claret were on show at J.Lindeberg’s show entitled “The Hidden Beauty” which took its inspiration from the countryside around the Stockholm archipelago. Here, the men donned berry coloured bomber jackets, knee grazing shorts and pocket squares. Although at J.Lindeberg the trend did not extend to their womenswear collection, HUNKYDORY saw pops of berry colour on suede, fringed clutch bags and button down shorts as part of the bohemian inspired collection. At Uniforms for the Dedicated, berry coloured sweaters and detail were seen throughout their collection. A more muted raisin tone was on show at Johann Pihl and Minna Palmqvist.

ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK

From streetwear label BACK to light-weight jackets at The Local Firm, it was clear that pops of bright orange will be brightening up the S/S14 collections in Sweden. As part of a largely monochrome look, bright tangerine hues presented statement colour blocking throughout, even at the shows presenting muted palettes, models wore orange lipstick to give looks a summer flavour.

PRINTS & PATTERNS

Whilst Tiger of Sweden showed tartan and checks and Cheap Monday was promoting thick monochrome vertical stripes, it was the blotches and bleeding watercolour affect at WHYRED and Uniforms for the Dedicated that had me drooling. Both brands showed loose fitting, knee grazing shorts worn with matching baseball jackets of silk fabrics in eye-catching prints – gorgeous.

LEATHER LIVES ON 

From leather jackets at Johanna Phil to head-to-toe leather ensembles at menswear inspired AltewaiSaome and BACK, leather was prevalent throughout the menswear and womenswear shows. Tiger of Sweden had leather trousers on show and there was a rather fetching purple leather apron at Erik Bjerkesjo.

PAPER CHASE

Although I don’t see myself donning the origami garbs for S/S14 a post about Stockholm Fashion Week would not be complete without acknowledging the fantastic work by Bea Szenfeld. Her creations from paper had the audience cheering in delight,  her collection was one of craftsmanship, and charming and humorous throughout.

NEW ON THE SCENE

Last  but not least, a highlight for me had to be the catwalk show by the graduating class from the Swedish Textile School. Showcasing new design talent it is refreshing to see young designers pushing the boundaries without the shackles of commercial restraint.