Niki & the Dove's video for "Tomorrow" is one small step for band-kind. We love the sci-fi apocalyptic concept (including the awesomely feminine space suit) paired with the heartfelt lyrics about being ready to face the end alone.
First Aid Kit's new video for "Emmylou" is all about singing with the one you love. It features the two young sisters crooning away in the dreamlike desert at Joshua Tree National Park, and it will take you back to the simpler days of Emmylou and Gram, and Johnny and June. Jay-Z and B.I.C.: take note.
Lisa Bengtsson's Family Wallpaper looks like so much fun! We would love to fill the walls with hand-drawn portraits and photos of our friends and pets. Just think of how many pictures of cats you could put up.
CW by Carin Wester is our new exclusive line by, um, Carin Wester. We're swooning over these simple, delicate shapes and fabrics, and want to snap them all up.
Meet Roland Hjort, the Creative Director and founder of Whyred.
Tell us a little bit about yourself!
I like eating out with friends and discovering new music, traveling and finding inspiration in books, and architecture and art.
Where do you live? Södermalm in Stockholm.
If we were visiting Södermalm, what would you recommend we do? I would recommend you to do some shopping around Biblioteksgatan and of course visit the Whyred flagship store. The area around Götgatsbacken and Nytorget in Södermalm has lots of nice boutiques and cafés. Have lunch at Urban Deli just next to Nytorget and take a drink at Riche Lilla Baren downtown or Babylon in the south. Eat your dinner at Matbaren, Djuret, Pubologi, Teatergrillen, PA & Co or KB. The day after I would visit Rosendals Trädgård at Djurgården for a brunch in the central flower market garden.
How did the idea to start Whyred come about? Jonas Clason, Lena Patriksson, and I all have a long experience in the fashion and PR business. We longed for a brand of our own which took good tailoring, contemporary music, and the art world as its point of departure. The Whyred essence is simple. We were inspired by beatniks, the mod culture’s street-smart elegance, and we quoted Peter Meaden’s famous phrase, ”Clean living under difficult circumstances.” The Whyred look is an identity, though individual from person to person. The interest in details and the love for art and music brings these different customers together.
Who are the people you design for? The man is music interested, between 25-45, has an urban lifestyle, likes the environment around bars and nightclubs, and often works with something creative. He likes to be well dressed but never over dressed. With Whyred, we can look smart but still a bit casual. The woman is more an uptown girl with an offhand kind of luxe but with a darker twist to her. She is picky about her details and materials and likes the exclusive feeling. She wants to feel comfortable yet fierce.
How does living in Södermalm inspire you? The people around me from the music and art scene are the ones who inspire me with their lifestyles. To connect with them more officially, Whyred has made collaborations together with a lot of our friends. The artist Jockum Nordström made a pattern for us, Roger Anderson made embossed leather bags, the director Igor Zimmermann made a film inspired by a certain collection, and the design duo Folkform made a candleholder, lamps, and a cabinet among many other art projects. We also work closely with our favorite musicians (Kriget, Forest, Taxi Taxi, Victoria Bergsman and Markus Krunegård) who have played live at our events and created custom made music for our shows. We have also custom made clothes for artist like The Hives and Sahara Hotnights when playing live. It is all like a symbiosis.
What was the inspiration behind the S/S 2012 Collection? The Russian constructivist propaganda painter Alexander Rodchenko reduced painting to its logical conclusion (according to him) and exhibited three canvases in red, blue, and yellow. This was the inspiration for our monochrome color scheme in the collection. We also found great inspiration in the architectural style extremes of Russian “cosmo” communistic architecture, which meets old traditions of Dacha houses, which were the Tsar’s country estate gift to loyal vassals. By combining the two extremes of something very old, dirty, and picturesque with the futuristic and minimalistic silhouette, you get the picture of the Whyred S/S 2012 collection. What are your favorite pieces from the collection? I love the colorful chaos print in the women’s collection and the maxi pantsuit. In the men’s collection I’m proud of our jackets, which we always are very good at.
What do you think makes something a classic? We have a conceptual capsule collection called Heroes where we put all styles we think are Whyred classics into—the parka, the dessert boot, the chino. The military knit, for example, has the original purpose to serve in the military but has been worn to define the mod culture, the skins, and the indie scene. Musicians like Paul Weller, Ian Curtis, and Morrissey have imbued the garments with meaning and sexiness, and defined them as timeless and classic because they are. A classic item has the ability to be desirable because you know who you become when you wear it. You have to have an interest of knowing what you mean by wearing a classical item. What are you expressing? The garment is empty if you don’t understand how to express the garment and how to give it a look.
A coffee table book of gorgeous models wearing to die for Chanel pieces? Oh yes, this book will be an instant hit for sure. The catch of course is that it's a limited edition! So don't lend this one out once you've got it in your hands!! X - Jen
Last June, Cheap Monday put 30 pairs of jeans in three different outside locations—the beach, the woods, and the roof of their office—and they've been 'worn by the weather' ever since.
In Aesop's fable, the magpie calls the peacock out for being too showy, but we have a feeling he'd be a little less quick to judge if he knew about "My Darling Magpie." Inspired by Hitchcock's The Birds, Stockholm-based designer Noemi Ivanova used the magpie's colorization as a starting point for her small line of intimates, injecting then with fuchsia, purple and black lace details.
Car chases, tennis matches and bad dancing– must be a Mad Decent video. Swedish singer Robyn guest stars in "Bad Gal" from Savage Skulls and Douster's Get Rich or High Trying EP.
Named for the day of the week when you're poorest—because you blew all your money having fun over the weekend—Cheap Monday actually got its start in 2000 as a Stockholm store called Weekend. Weekend was only open on Saturdays and Sundays, but was so successful that it soon expanded into a more centrally located, full-time shop called—you guessed it—Weekday.
In 2005, Weekday's owners got sick of expensive denim, and created the first pair of Cheap Monday jeans, which sold 800 pairs in two weeks because of their updated fit and low price tag. Now we can't get enough of the brand because of its affordable price and spot-on fashion-forward collections season after season.
Instead of shelling out cash for a sexy Mrs. Potato Head costume, get exotic Halloween weekend by checking out the first annual Stockholm Burlesque Festival for four days of tassel-twirling. It's an entire weekend of professional burlesque acts and events including a breast cancer research benefit, a dancing workshop and Octbooberfest.
What kind of girl do you imagine wearing your collection?
The Rodebjer girl can be found anywhere. She is youthful without being young and mature without being old. She is open-minded and elegant in an unaffected way. She cares about inner style as well as outer style.
What is your favorite piece from your collection?
My favorite are a top made out of Art-Deco patterned lace and a pair of flower printed pants.
What is your favorite part about living in Stockholm?
The combination of city with the closeness to nature.
How would you describe Swedish style?
Functional, sober and modern.
Is there anything about your line that denotes a Swedish influence?
A little bit of all, but intensified with a metropolitan spark.
If a visitor only had a weekend in your city, where would you tell them to go?
To the Rodebjer store and to the Modern Museum of Art. I would have dinner at Mathias Dahlgren restaurant and a drink at Grand Hotel.
You started studying fashion at FIT, but then dropped out when your line took off. Can you tell us a little about that?
I have never been a keen friend of schools, so I decided to study everything I had to know to be able to open my own label. When I felt I had the knowledge I needed, and when my line started to take off, I decided to go with the flow.
How long did you live in New York? What made you decide to return to Sweden?
I lived in New York for two years and I loved it but to be able to handle my own label I needed the support from my family and friends. I had to work day and night and I chose to spend no money on rent in a smaller city like Stockholm.
What is your favorite aspect of designing?
I love to be able to visualize something that we still haven't seen and I love to capture the moment in time through my work.
Designed by Sofie, Pernilla and Jennifer Elvestedt
Questions answered by Sofie
Where do you live?
Stockholm, Sweden.
When did you found Minimarket?
Me and my sisters made our first collection for Autumn/Winter 2006. The collection consisted of seven styles and no accessories.
What sparked the creation of your line?
We had a shop together during the years before starting the label. We used to sell clothes created uniquely for us by various Scandinavian designers. When we lacked a skirt or certain type of dress, we made it ourselves together with a pattern constructor. Our own designed items started to sell very well, and soon other shops started calling, wanting to buy our designs.
What are some influences behind your designs?
Strong women, everyday life and the spectacular phenomena this planet has to offer. We are much into digging into and learning about various cultures, as well as flora and fauna.
What kind of girl do you imagine wearing your collection?
Our clothes are worn by curious people with a lot of integrity. The clothes can be dressed up as well as down, they are not trend items– they stay in your wardrobe season after season.
What is your favorite piece from your collection?
For AW10, we are all crazy about the gold beaded items, and the printed dresses and jackets. Also, the shoes with curved heels are amazing.
What is your favorite part about living in Stockholm?
That you have closeness to the countryside, and that it's a small city which gives you time to breathe. You don't have to be cool all the time here, it's more relaxed than many bigger cities.
How would you describe Swedish style?
The classic Swedish style is clean cuts and earthy colors. We have the clean cuts in us, but we prefer colors and patterns.
If a visitor only had a weekend in your city, where would you tell them to go?
Millesgården– the old home of my favorite Swedish sculptor Carl Milles. You can take a stroll in his amazing old garden with all his huge sculptures and then you can have lunch with wine in the lovely restaurant. For day two, I would recommend a steamboat trip.
What is the birth order of the sisters?
Sofie, 22nd of June 1978. Pernilla and Jennifer, 19th of June 1985.
What were your favorite things to wear when you were little girls?
When we were really small, our mother made our clothes, very early 20th century style with laced things and correct, pretty girly wear. Pernilla was always clad in blue or green, Jennifer in red or pink for people to tell them apart.
Is anyone else from the family involved in the business?
Our whole family is. Our father is still a member of our board, even now that we have investors.
