These brands are the future of Scandi fashion

“The whole fashion industry in a [period of] transformation,” Jennie Rosen, CEO of the Swedish Fashion Council (SFC), tells British Vogue. “And we believe it’s important to act.” Together with Robin Douglas, the creative director of the SFC, Rosen has connected designers, artists and members of the wider creative community in Stockholm to instigate positive change and strive towards a progressive future in terms of sustainability, diversity, inclusivity and collaboration. To kickstart the directional mission at hand, the Swedish Fashion Council has founded SFC [Fashion X]: a new digital platform that celebrates and promotes homegrown Scandinavian talent.

Ahead of the official launch on 11 November, global press visited Stockholm to experience a four-day programme that sampled what SFC [Fashion X] has to offer. Highlights included: an intimate dinner with Feben – a Sweden-raised designer who showed in London this season – an experimental “perfume launch” by Hodakova, an exhibition curated by creative director of AVAVAV Beate Karlsson, a presentation by Jade Cropper, a visit to Selam Fessahaye’s studio and an exclusive showcase of Rave Review’s spring/summer 2023 collection.

During the event, there was also a panel discussion that touched upon the SFC’s Fashion Transformation report – a body of research and insights outlining recent consumer trends, the rapid growth of the second-hand market, political initiatives and the rise of digital fashion. “I feel like we’re going into a new era,” says Rosen. “And this is just the starting point.”

Since 2018, the SFC has nurtured designers via its Incubator programme, an initiative that embodies a 360 approach offering weekly check-ins, investment advice, business mentorship and support with marketing and production (among many other things). “It’s about helping [designers] build a structure and helping them to survive, not only getting them the PR,” Rosen explains.

Jennie shouts out Lulu Kennedy and Raphaelle Moore, founder and head of projects at London-based talent platform Fashion East – with whom the SFC collaborated with during Paris Fashion Week – as proof that “high creativity, disruptive visions and sustainable business models” are the future of the fashion industry, and that championing them is more important than ever right now. “Supporting the next generation fashion leaders is crucial,” concludes Rosen.

Here, Vogue spotlights six inspiring talents from the SFC Incubator programme to have on your radar.

Related: Upcoming Scandi shoe designers to watch

“Identity, integrity and a conscious mindset to sustainability and community” are Feben’s core values, she tells Vogue. “Community is everything to me; it’s important to lift people up and remember that it takes a village to create something great.” Born in Pyongyang, North Korea, and raised by her Ethiopian mother in Sweden, Feben relocated to London – where she now shows on schedule – to study her MA at Central Saint Martins. With every piece that she makes – be it a sculptural ruched dress made using her unique “twist” technique or the engaging prints emblazoned across boxy leather jackets – Feben “encourages you to look twice”. “I want to keep you curious,” she asserts.

For Hodakova founder Ellen Hodakova Larsson, “sustainability is the foundation of everything”. Over the past year, the designer has captured the industry’s attention with her effortlessly cool approach to upcycling, which sees belts, watches and bras take form as punky ready-to-wear and accessories that ooze unconventional sex appeal. “I’m heavily interested in tactility and a kind of lust through design,” says Larsson, who has built a fully circular business model anchored in collaboration. “We’re solution-focused and highly creative.”

Attendees at the four-day SFC [Fashion X] event were introduced to Jade Cropper via a presentation, held at the Loyal Gallery. Three models walked around the bright space one at a time, showcasing the designer’s DIY denim skirts, midriff-flossing tops and frayed knitted dresses – an aesthetic that Cropper describes as “hard-edged sexiness”. “I want people to have confidence when they wear my pieces, there’s a certain attitude – that you want to be seen,” she continues. “I explore and try to challenge the conventionality of femininity, as well as finding beauty in imperfection.”

Related: BTS at Jade Cropper, one of CPHFW’s most talked about

Selam Fessahaye’s studio, tucked away on a quiet street in Stockholm, is a treasure trove of archive clothes and accessories that she’s collected over the years – first, as a costume designer and a stylist, and now, as the designer behind her eponymous brand. Rails upon rails of vintage finds are nestled alongside her own expressive designs – the latter of which are fashioned from rigid brocade and colourful voluminous tulle. “It’s fun to take materials and put them in another context,” she says, referring to her experimental design codes. Her journey to founding a brand was incidental: after years of “creating”, she staged her first show at Stockholm Fashion Week in 2018, an introspective collection that defined her place in the industry. “I didn’t think I’d started a brand, but everybody else thought I had. That’s how it was born.”

You might have seen videos of AVAVAV’s debut runway show on social media: models tripped and tumbled (intentionally) as they scaled the catwalk, sparking memes worldwide. Florence-based creative director Beate Karlsson has introduced conversation-starter pieces during her two-year tenure at the brand, including fuzzy monster boots (as seen in an exhibition at SFC [Fashion X]) and gargantuan bug-eyed sunglasses. “We are driven by creative freedom and conscious production,” says Karlsson. “I hope that our products and our creative concepts make us unique – but I like to leave it to the viewers and customers to decide.”

Rave Review’s visual language is clear. Think: bold print clashes, texture mash-ups (blankets and bed sheets, sourced in Sweden, are a signature) and silhouettes that founders Josephine Bergqvist and Livia Schück say are “intuitive”. “It’s more than just being sustainable – although that’s crucial,” they explain. “Upcycling has always been a creative concept for us, which we continually explore and come back to.” The duo unveiled their spring/summer 2023 offering via a lookbook in September, but they hosted a special runway show during the SFC [Fashion X] programme to show the collection in real life. “It’s been so wonderful to welcome international press and buyers to our Stockholm community,” say the pair. “We were so happy with our show; it had been a long time since we had a show here at home and it meant a lot to see so many friends and fans.”

Related: We go inside the Rave Review atelier