Date of Issue: 22 August 2019
Stamps & Collector's Sheet: Mats Gustafson
Booklet, 10 Stamps, 5 Motifs, Domestic Letters
Swedish Fashion
Everyday Style
Swedish fashion has achieved both national and international success. About 70 percent of the fashion industry’s turnover relates to exports. Several brands go in for a simple, everyday Scandinavian look, with comfortable, easy-to-wear clothes that suit most people, made in carefully chosen fabric and with attention to detail. Artist Mats Gustafson has given us his interpretation of clothing items from several Swedish fashion brands.
Swedish Fashion
Over the twelve years that have passed since Postnord first high-lighted Swedish Fashion with a collection of stamps, a lot has happened in what is known as the "Fashion System", a collective name for the complex industry where fashion is designed, produced, purchased, marketed, and finally reaches the consumer.
Online shopping has radically changed the role of the physical store, and following fashion shows live online featuring clothes intended to reach the consumer in half a year's time has escalated the requirements for availability.
Swedish fashion is doing well, both at home and internationally. Net sales in 2018 totaled SEK 330 Billion, of which two-thirds were exports. The widespread opinion is that Swedes dress sensibly but with character. The surrounding world views Swedish fashion as high end and well made, manufactured from good materials. It is widely known that Sweden is way ahead in its efforts to make the fashion industry more and more ethical, with stringent sustainability requirements and reasonable working conditions throughout the entire chain, making us an interesting country to watch.
Now Swedish fashion is once again under the spotlight in a series of five stamps. Mats Gustafson, world famous Swedish fashion illustrator, has used his unmistakeable watercolor brush to interpret fashion from five distinctive brands: Filippa K. Whyred, HOPE, Gudrun Sjoden, and ARKET.
Filippa K, founded in 1993, has brought a great deal of inspiration to many with its characteristically laid-back approach to fashion. Its core values are minimalism, self-assuredness and ensuring that garments are always made from carefully selected materials. Head designer Filippa Knutsson has returned to her brand after a short break, once again securing the institutional weight she once laid the foundation for.
Whyred, founded in 1999, and HOPE in 2002 are two strong brands that emerged in an era that was dubbed the "Swedish Fashion Miracle". As head designer for Whyred. Roland Hjort has made his mark on the brand since the very start. His strongest sources of inspiration are art, music, and politics, which can be seen in the intelligently constructed suits and outdoor wear.
Always with a sense of humor and a well-calibrated color scale as his constant mantra.
Since 2017 Frida Bard has been head designer for HOPE. With her visionary outlook and broad knowledge, she has rightfully breathed new life into an already strong brand, broken through the boundaries of fashion norms and rapidly put HOPE back where it belogs - high up on the fashion barometer.
Gudrun Sjoden, a brand founded in 1976, is something of a Swedish fashion miracle in itself. With roots in the swinging 60s. Gudrun Sjoden has turned her company into a veritable success story, ruling with a rod of iron and with no need for advice from trend analysts. With an inexhaustible delight for colors and patterns and a large measure of self-confidence, she has created her own take on how fashion should look.
ARKET, founded in 2017, is the latest addition to H&M's growing brand portofolio. What was initially described as an unwritten page has - due a head designer Anna Teurnell's keen eye - rapidly developed into a distinct concept that seems to meet all the requested needs: relaxed, sensible fashion with a nod to the best classics.
Tom Hedqvist
