Fashion in Sweden

The early hours of 2010 were marked by fights, drunkenness, and fires in many parts of Sweden, as a well as traffic accidents and stray rockets. But in Sweden’s three largest cities, police reported that the night and early morning were relatively calm.


It was a relatively typical start to the new year, according Johan Ljung, officer in charge of Västra Götaland’s Police. “We were getting calls constantly, and there were many fights and a lot of drunkenness. Since it is so cold, we have to work hard to try to take care of all those who get stuck in the snow and the like,” he told the TT news agency. Stockholm police duty officer Inger Qvennerstedt also thought the night had been relatively calm. “There is a lot of drunkenness, assault, fires and people who have been injured with knives and firearms. But these have not led to more serious incidents than usual, and as far as we know, no one has been seriously injured,” she told TT. By Friday morning Qvennerstedt could look back on more than 700 incidents that occurred within the space of four hours.

“It is a lot, and we have had a lot to do throughout the night and the morning,” she reported. The same story was reported by Anders Nilsson of the Skåne police in Blekinge in southern Sweden. Between 9pm on New Year’s Eve and 4:30am on New Year’s Day, the police had registered nearly 600 incidents, including 19 people taken into custody and 62 arrests. While Skåne as a whole remained relatively calm, there were many arrests for drunkenness in Kalmar in the country's far south, according to police. “Our patrols are not finished yet,” said police spokesperson Mikael Kaiser.

Two men were also assaulted in separate incidents in Kalmar. Both men received serious facial lacerations and were hospitalized. In one of the cases, involving an assault with a broken bottle outside a bakery, a suspect was apprehended. According to Johan Ljung of the Västra Götaland police in west central Sweden, the start of the New Year had kept him busy. More than 300 incidents had been reported between midnight and 5am, including the arrest of a man suspected of raping a woman at a restaurant in central Gothenburg. Numerous other cases of assault, robbery and other violence were reported around the country, including the arrest of a 22-year-old man in Karlstad, after two young women reported that they had been raped at a private party.

A number of fire-related incidents also occurred in the first hours of the new year. In Vimmerby in south central Sweden ten people lost their homes after a fire broke out in an apartment block. And just outside Jönköping four people were taken to hospital after a New Year’s rocket set fire to a balcony. None of the four were seriously injured. In Norrköping, however, a seven-year-old boy was admitted to hospital with eye injuries following another rocket-related accident. The frigid conditions may also have contributed to a number of serious car accidents around the country on New Year’s Eve. In Hallstahammar, west of Stockholm, a 60-year-old woman was killed when two vehicles collided head-on on the motorway 252. The cause of the collision is not yet known. A further two people – a 63-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman – received serious injuries in the accident, and were rushed to hospital, according to Ann-Charlotte Israelsson, from the Västmanland’s police. There was another serious car accident In Gunnarskog in Värmland in central Sweden, where a car careered into a tree, and a man was rushed, unconscious, to Arvika Hospital in a serious condition.

In 2008, the controversial Swedish fashion miracle employed almost 34,000 persons. According to statistics from the Swedish Textile and Clothing Industries’ Association, in the same year, Swedes consumed fashion for 75.1 billion SEK, and exports were over 11 billion. Compared with 2003, this is an increase in exports of almost 100 per cent. Good figures, but the fact is that the reality is far better than the statistics. Statistics Sweden (SCB) only includes goods in the Swedish fashion exports that are either produced in Sweden or cross Swedish borders before going back out into the world. Today, however, fashion is more about creativity and design skill than actual production. This makes the definition we see in the statistics obsolete. The fact is that in 2008, H&M alone, whose designers are based in Stockholm, sold fashion abroad for more than 96 billion SEK, and it is far from alone in letting its goods bypass Swedish borders.
Since 2008, the world has experienced a serious financial crisis. The fashion trade has been hardhit. Fashion houses ranging from the long-established Lacroix to the independent Luella have gone into liquidation. The Swedish trade has suffered its fair share: fashion producers have seen sales fall and big shopping centres have closed down. As we point out in our article on Swedish fashion in the recession, however, many companies have chosen to invest their way out of the crisis – and some have had their best results ever. This applies from a financial perspective as well as on a creative level. Swedish designers have matured. Today, the collections have a stronger profile and are more fashionable, which has led to an ever-clearer impact abroad. At the same time, craft skills and cost-consciousness are greater than ever. The Swedish fashion industry has also established itself as a cutting-edge trade in terms of the environment and social issues. In 2009, the trade realised that opportunities for continued success required co-operation, and for the first time it formed a joint organisation, the Association of Swedish Fashion Brands (ASFB). The goal is to develop the Swedish fashion industry nationally as well as internationally. This year’s Fashion Week by Berns is the ninth in a row and has its strongest line-up since the start of the recession. This season includes Hope, Whyred and The Local Firm. We also welcome back Filippa K and Acne, and look forward to Cheap Monday and Carin Wester, among others. Above all, the belief in the Swedish fashion trade is greater than for a very long time. Talking about a miracle no longer feels like an exaggeration, and it is at Fashion Week by Berns 2010 that we will build on our blue and yellow miracle.

This summer brings with it the relaunch of one of Operakällaren’s all time great success stories: the smorgasbord! The legendary gastronomic traditions of Werner Vögelis and Tore Wretman live on and, after a break of 15 years, it is once again time to lay out the great buffet filled with Swedish delicacies. The smorgasbord is a traditional Swedish buffet that has developed from the middle classes’ so called aquavit spread, which was popular from the 16th century until the smorgasbord made its breakthrough in the mid-19th century. Tore Wretman is one of the great icons of Swedish artistic cuisine. During his time at Operakällaren, he re-established the Swedish smorgasbord and marketed it around the world. For example, he presented a replica of the Operakällaren buffet in the Swedish Pavilion during the New York World Fair in 1964, which was an enormous success! Tore Wretman also changed the classic buffet by dividing it up into five table visits. The first is named ‘His Majesty the Herring’ and the second includes all the other cold fish platters, ‘smoked, cured, salted, poached and aspics’. The third visit consists of cold meats (sausages, preserves, aspics, pâtés and joints of meat) and salads. The fourth visit is made up of ‘small hot dishes’ and the fifth and final visit is reserved for the desserts. For the 2010 smorgasbord, it will be the turn of Operakällaren’s star chef Stefano Catenacci to manage this gastronomic legacy.

Pickled herring, ‘matjes’ herring, mustard cured herring, archipelago herring, sea shrimps, smoked salmon, gravlax, hot smoked salmon, egg-anchovy salad, smoked sausages, pork liver pâté, farmhouse pâté, smoked reindeer, poached ham, roast beef, tomato salad, ‘moja’ salad, gravlax salad, chicken salad, summer salad, prawn salad, ‘Jansson’s temptation’ potato and anchovy gratin, cocktail sausages, meatballs, dish of the day, delicious side dishes, cheeses and bread, Oscar II’s cake, fresh fruit salad with walnuts and honey yoghurt, pecan pie, lemon meringue pie, strawberries and cream. Operakällaren is one of Sweden’s leading restaurants and was recently honoured with the prestigious White Guide’s ‘Sweden’s best restaurant –Overall experience’ award. Operakällaren’s star chef Stefano Catenacci is currently in the spotlight as he will be responsible for the dinner to be served at the Swedish Royal Wedding this summer. Operakällaren’s smorgasbord is the perfect addition to a Stockholm weekend break. For meetings and conferences as well as gatherings of relations and friends, it provides a truly classic culinary experience. We are bold enough to promise a delight! General Information: Operakällaren’s smorgasbord will be served under the cut-glass chandeliers and ceiling paintings of Café Opera’s historically listed dining room from May 19, Wednesday – Sunday 1 PM - 7 PM. Other times and days of the week can also be arranged on request for groups.

Eskil Erlandsson, Minister for Agriculture, has a vision about Sweden as the new culinary nation. Long, light spring and summer evenings, diversity of produce with unique taste and modern manufacturing methods, unique nature and talented chefs - that is how Sweden will become the new culinary nation. Eskil Erlandsson, Minister for Agriculture, has a vision about Sweden as the new culinary nation. Long, light spring and summer evenings, diversity of produce with unique taste and modern manufacturing methods, unique nature and talented chefs - that is how Sweden will become the new culinary nation. The food industry is Sweden's fourth largest employer. Along with growing tourism, it is of major importance to rural areas. The aim of the vision of Culinary Sweden is to create growth and employment.

Why Sweden will become the new culinary nation: Long, light spring and summer evenings. The long, light spring and summer evenings ensure a special climate where fruit and berries grow slowly and gain in flavour. Unique nature that supplies unique produce. The combination of nature and produce offers an exclusive culinary experience. Shellfish from the west coast are world famous for their flavour; there are mussels and farmed oysters, and of course fresh fish caught every day. Great forests and wildernesses offer not just peace and quiet, but also game: an ingredient that holds a special place in Swedish cuisine.

Growing tourism gives Culinary Sweden a chance to develop further. Culinary experiences form a major part of the visitor’s image of Sweden. A diversity of produce and manufacturing methods. Sweden has a diversity of produce and manufacturing methods, Swedish culinary traditions is blended with inspiration from other countries. Swedish chefs are renowned for their ability to make the best of tradition and innovation. A growing food industry. A growing food industry that is of major importance to entrepreneurial spirit and ventures are a strong contributing factor to a living countryside. This creates a regional food culture and a local identity. Animal health and welfare and organic cultivation. Animal health and welfare are always a primary focus, along with organic cultivation, environmental approaches and sustainable food production in both cultivated and wild landscapes and in the sea. Sweden is also salmonella-free, which promotes consumer security.