We meet the female leaders shaking up the Scandinavian fashion industry and setting a new path for visual culture
Photography courtesy of Tom Wood
Words by Sophie Axon
Some say fashion is one of the most accessible and immediate forms of visual culture, where clothes act as mirrors to reflect our times. At the forefront of this notion is Scandinavia, which is leading with responsible values in support of environmentalism and equality.
With its fertile grounds for experimentation and increased gender inclusivity, more women have found themselves at the helm of some of the most powerful organisations and brands synonymous with the region. Relatively young in comparison to its more established counterparts, Scandinavia has therefore cultivated global attention and ubiquitous influence.
In recent years, the region has been spotlighted due to the rising popularity of Nordic mid-century design. This period centred around male designers, notably Alvar Aalto and Arne Jacobsen, who garnered great success for modernising visual culture.
But it was also at this time that more female creatives set foot into the industry – such as Armi Ratia, co-founder and CEO of Finnish textile company Marimekko – translating design and architectural innovations into fashion, and altering the course of fashion and the art of dressing.
With greater technology and social progression, times are exciting but they are also uncertain. While some tread safe, clinging to styles from the past, a new set of female leaders are looking to set new benchmarks for the future of fashion. Here we highlight three female leaders in the Nordic fashion industry who are setting a precedent for the future.
Photography by Calle Huth featuring Mona Jensen
Mona Jensen: Founder and creative director of Tom Wood
Under the creative direction of its founder Mona Jensen, Norwegian jewellery house Tom Wood stands distinct in the landscape of fashion. Jensen established the brand in 2013, with a dual narrative. On one side, the brand is highly visual and embodies contemporary design, rooted in cultural references plucked from facets of architecture, art and nature. On the other hand, as a member of the Responsible Jewellery Council, it offers innovative solutions to sustainability, constantly lowering its carbon footprint and exclusively using recycled metals.
Its recent decision to eliminate clothing from its portfolio was the catalyst to the company becoming a global leader in jewellery – a decision that reflects Jensen’s ineffable determination. Far too often, jewellery is perceived as a minute detail, a mere accessory, where quality and sustainability lack substance. Jensen challenges this perception by bridging concept and design, introducing narrative to each collection and encouraging the wearer to centre their dressing around these details.
Brutalist architecture influenced Tom Wood’s Vault collection, while the sculptures of French artist Bernar Venet shaped the Orb collection. In Jensen’s latest creative pursuit, the Dean collection modernises chains and unveils a magnified expression of the historic curb chain. With each launch, new construction methods are explored.
Jensen’s education at the Norwegian School of Economics and prior success co-founding businesses gave her entrance into fashion an agility that brought with it a myriad of innovations, with a focus on maximising creativity and restructuring society’s approach to fashion and the supply chain.
Photography courtesy of Sarah Brunnhuber
Sarah Brunnhuber: Founder, designer of Stem
Presenting a holistic solution to fashion’s waste problem, Sarah Brunnhuber is challenging the industry with a zero-waste garment production system called Stem. By pushing looms to their limit, and by working exclusively with recycled natural fibres to ensure biodegradability, the production method involves weaving pattern pieces directly into the cloth, with the intention to eliminate offcuts.
The concept was first released during Brunnhuber’s time at Design Academy Eindhoven, before travelling across Europe to experiment with material combinations and design methods and to eventually adapt the technique to modern industrial looming.
In 2021, Brunnhuber finally landed in Copenhagen to establish what we now know as Stem, creating made-to-order garments for her ever-growing following. Design and creativity have not been compromised. Vibrant colours and textural details collide with the timeless silhouettes that permeate her designs, reminding us that the art of dressing can indeed be responsible.
As it stands, between 15-25% of woven fabric is thrown away as offcuts. These statistics motivated Brunnhuber to raise awareness among consumers and leaders, notably through the art of collaboration. Her pioneering spirit led to a three-piece design collaboration with Ganni in 2022, exploring denim, which cemented Stem’s position in the Nordic fashion industry.
Brunnhuber went on to feature in the Dazed 100 list and was awarded the prestigious Den Unge Kunstneriske Elite grant from Statens Kunstfond in December 2022. Stem continues to collaborate and is exploring new ways to educate through the power
of exhibitions.
Photography courtesy of Marie Laurberg
Marie Laurberg: Artistic director and CEO of Copenhagen Contemporary
In more than two decades of curation, Marie Laurberg, the artistic director and CEO of Copenhagen Contemporary (CC), has gained a reputation for leading immersive exhibitions. Many of these bridge the gap between fashion and art – using clothes as a means to tell stories and push forward cultural values.
By approaching fashion as a medium that takes art onto the body and out into the street, Laurberg is, in many ways, at the helm of Nordic fashion and its future, encouraging gallery goers to rethink what fashion is and what it could be. ‘I like to challenge these boundaries in my work. Art is, in my view, very expansive. Ask the artist – they are rarely concerned with very tight boundaries between disciplines. Neither am I,’ she says. ‘As director of CC I joined forces with three other Nordic museums and the institution ALPHA to create exhibitions on young experimental fashion. We want to investigate where the new voices will lead us.’
She explains how the exhibition Beautiful Repair: Mending in Art and Fashion, which she curated at CC with Ane Lynge-Jorlén, explores how a new generation of fashion designers and artists are developing a highly creative aesthetic of repair – using upcycling, eco-friendly materials and strategies of repair: ‘The climate emergency is their foundation, and the approach is decidedly optimistic.’
She adds: ‘The new generation of fashion designers make me feel hopeful for the future of fashion. We need to develop a new sense of beauty and craftsmanship; we need the positive images of a sustainable future which contains all the joy, creativity and pleasure that attract people to fashion in the first place. ‘We have the opportunity to invent new concepts of beauty, because we need to make people want different things. New ideas will emerge from this.’
The story originally appeared in ICON 215, Spring/Summer 2024. Get a curated collection of design and architecture news in your inbox by signing up to our ICON Weekly newsletter
