It is said that many of us swedes are anglofiler and maybe it’s because the English are so good at giving us a picture of what they want it to be the typically british, ranging from imperietidens heyday to krigsnostalgi and agentromantik. Impacted how about we have at any time been via movies, music, and literature, not least modemässigt.
The british fashion influence in the Swedish appears now in the Nordic museum’s newly opened exhibition ”the British in the Nordic countries”. And there to celebrate ”our long cultural relationship and our trade relations with the Uk”, according to curator Helen Persson. With a possible knallhård Brexit around the corner feels the exhibition at the same time otajmad as the maximum of the current.
Michael East in the Dellenkilten. Scottish wool with hälsingskt grid from 2011. Photo: Carl East Wilkens
choosy odyssey with garments and accessories from the 1340’s to the present day as presented. Something is also borrowed and something is newly purchased. The nordic museum’s storage room is a treasure chest with about 500 000 textiles and garments – so the selection of less than 100 garments, shoes and fabrics feel too tired. You want to immediately see and learn more, which still points to the actual idea for the show is absolutely right.
It is a thematic based exhibition, not chronological, and with a few amazing many donors and decors of Bea Szenfeld. The three themes revolving around imports, our most common garment/pattern, and men’s fashion. And, yes, there is this: the superklassiska the trench coat, the gladrutiga kilten, please slipovern, the unruly krinolinen, the political manchestervästen, the rebellious punkkängorna and the hard-wearing tweedkavajen, and usually in the försvenskad version. On the big white price tags is told briefly about the clothes, its history and a connection to Sweden.
Brittiskinfluerad ridjacka wool from the 1890s. Photo: Johan Danielson
Really interesting, it is, of course, for those who are wondering about the explanation as to why the british fashion had such an impact. How the closest to a paradigm shift took place when the interest moved from French haute couture to affordable fashion-for-all in the Uk. The answer is british technical ingenuity, in which the spinning machine Spinning Jenny and The flying shuttle early enabled an increase in production that affected the prices and exports. Or take Charles Without the nifty idea to apply rubber between two layers of thick fabric and thus creating a waterproof fabric used for raincoats. All the information deepens the museum visit – but is here weakly developed.
of course, like all things fashion, even if the class and identity. It is signalmarkörer and can tell you about who you want to be. Oljerocken is a typical british lantegendomsmarkör who, during his heyday in the ‘ 80s and was worn by many habitants in big cities.
And after that the queen Victoria worn a white wedding dress when she married Albert in 1840 it became just white wedding dresses an exclusive – and than in the present mode.
Wedding dress in silk 1854, Sweden. Photo: Peter Segemark, the Nordic museum
”the British in the Nordic countries” is, with its flaws still a nice exhibit, but serves as a small appetizer for the hungry. I want more of everything: clothes, fabrics, history and nostalgia. Which, after all, a good score.