Sweden's Fjällräven | AW09 Collection

posted by Michael Williams

Why not get all of these winter coats out of my system now before spring gets here. Briefly touched on earlier, the fall collection from Sweden’s Fjällräven is, as a good friend says, tasty. Fjällräven – which literally translates to arctic fox – was founded in Sweden in 1950. The company has remained loyal to its roots and many of the designs have been the same since their introduction in 1960’s. Another fun fact that I learned from the company’s U.S. distributor is that it is estimated that 98% of all Swedes have owned Fjällräven at one point or another. That’s a higher percentage than American cell phone ownership (82% c.2007), and just plain astonishing. I have to give the Swedish people credit for their clean and classic fashion sensibilities. They rank up there on ACL’s list of countries (which I just made up in my head) that basically do American better than Americans. Some of my favorite items from the AW09 range below. (Many thanks to my good bud Jay for the tip.)

Comments on “Sweden's Fjällräven | AW09 Collection”

    benedict on March 10, 2009 3:11 PM:

    Who are the U.S. distributors for Fjallraven?

    Michael Williams on March 10, 2009 3:12 PM:

    http://allthatshewants.us/

    Björn on March 10, 2009 3:23 PM:

    I was wondering when americans (or the japanese sites) would pick up Fjällräven. Great stuff, and actually as commonplace in Sweden as stated. The Greenland jacket is classic, together with the Kånken backpacks ofcourse (I got vintage one that belonged to my grandmother).

    Unsure if I agree with the “doing American” line though, since Fjällräven in my eyes are as swedish as it gets, not “americana” in anyway.

    Alex St. Pierre on March 10, 2009 3:24 PM:

    mad style, is there a way to purchase online…within the US ?

    Michael Williams on March 10, 2009 3:27 PM:

    Björn,

    I didn’t specifically mean Fjällräven is “doing American,” so much as other lines from Sweden that are. Brands like Our Legacy, or even something like Gant (although that’s in the hands of the French or Swiss? at the moment).

    ACL

    Andy on March 10, 2009 3:32 PM:

    how you guys feel about the prominent branding?

    Björn on March 10, 2009 3:35 PM:

    ACL,

    ah, I agree about Our Legacy. Speaking of Gant, another brand that might hold some interest is http://www.boomerang.se/, which is a scandinavian take on “preppy”, very understated, easy and “natural”. Alot of it might seem rather bland, but they do alot right aswell (as my favourite blue ocbd shirt).

    JP on March 10, 2009 4:03 PM:

    nice gear, especially the packs.

    Michael Williams on March 10, 2009 4:03 PM:

    Good to see you made it home safe JP.

    ACL

    Andrew Lee on March 10, 2009 5:17 PM:

    The packs and some clothes (I saw mostly jackets) are available at Opening Ceremony, Los Angeles and New York.

    Richard on March 10, 2009 5:40 PM:

    I agree with your comment on the stylish nature of Swedish people – was in Stockholm not long ago and it’s an absolutely haven of simple, laid-back fashion.

    Particularly love the Fjällräven stuff, looks and feels great.

    Finnish man in Sweden on March 10, 2009 6:03 PM:

    I sure hope Fjällräven remains affordable even though its getting more and more popular and blogged about. To see people pay shitloads of money for old KÃ¥nken backpacks, like the one I’ve had since I was a kid, would be just tragic.

    Erin on March 10, 2009 6:17 PM:

    I would also add praise for their simple store displays in Sweden. Their presence in the Naturkompaniet in Lund was simple and accessible – I’m just sad that I couldn’t fit one of their backpacks into my backpack on my way home to the states.

    Theo on March 10, 2009 8:09 PM:

    does anyone have any idea as to Australian distributorship (real word?) or online availability?

    charliep on March 10, 2009 9:21 PM:

    you don’t have to worry about fjall raven getting expensive everyone. its all made in china now.

    Michael Williams on March 10, 2009 9:24 PM:

    Charliep has a point, but then again so is Shipley & Halmos, and that shit ain’t cheap. Nothing against Shipley. Just saying. At least you aren’t paying for tons of margin…

    ACL

    william on March 11, 2009 7:40 AM:

    Andy,

    A seam ripper or Exacto knife always works for me. I take external badging off of eveything. However, removing embroideries can be tricky, so I avoid any garment with a prominent embroidery.

    Mark on March 11, 2009 9:18 AM:

    Its already happening. Opening Ceremony carries the line and its more expensive than when I saw it in Sweden!

    Patrick on March 11, 2009 2:36 PM:

    http://www.oipolloi.com have been selling it online for 5 years now and have a load going on the site this Friday.

    Michael Williams on March 11, 2009 2:45 PM:

    Shameless.

    Patrick on March 11, 2009 4:28 PM:

    maybe… but you won’t find the products represented better elsewhere. People were asking…

    Glenn-Glenn on March 11, 2009 5:00 PM:

    Oh come on! 98% is just bogus. No way 98% of us swedes had/is own(ing) a Fjällräven product. I, for one, wanna know how they made such an estimation…

    //A non-Fjällräven-owning swede

    Stefan on March 12, 2009 7:12 PM:

    Speaking of Swedish design and clean lines, there is something very right about these boots

    http://heelcandy.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/tretorn-skerry-rain-boot.jpg

    Tretorn is another classic that, according to my dad, was a kind of general issue to all swedes when he was growing up.

    eddie on March 13, 2009 2:02 PM:

    yeah, tretorn is a real swedish staple, though i’ve heard JFK used their tennis trainers aswell.

    ole on March 16, 2009 1:55 PM:

    Our Legacy is perhaps the best brand today, I think almost all their clothes are superb!

    ole on March 16, 2009 1:56 PM:

    And their clothes are not hysterically overprized as for instance Band of Outsiders. You can buy them from everywhere in the world from http://www.tresbienshop.net (an excellent site)!

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