Fashion, Travel

Stockholm Fashion Week Diary

September 9, 2014

After arriving back from Ibiza and a whirlwind day at Notting Hill Carnival, I was up at the crack of dawn to head to my favourite Scandi city for fashion week.

On top of fashion week, I was keen to properly explore Stockholm, a city I’ve previously only been to for a manic work trip and have vowed to go back on my own terms ever since. After this trip, I think I’d be plotting a move over there if it weren’t for the ferociously cold winters (my winter blues wouldn’t be able to handle it). Not only is it a utopia of good looking, well-dressed people (seriously, there is something in the water over there), the whole city is strangely spacious and serene compared to the hectic pace and sardine-like streets of London. Combine that with delicious food, friendly locals who speak pitch-perfect English, beautiful architecture and independent coffee shops, bars and boutiques everywhere you turn and it’s no wonder Stockholm is a constant presence on Monocle’s Top 30 Cities to Live list.

I rented a apartment through Airbnb with two friends in the Sodermalm area (definitely where I’d recommend staying) and spent our days brunching, taking in the shows, Acne-stalking and catching up over Wurst’n’Wine suppers. Below are a few highlights from my three days in Scandiland.

Dinner at Riche is a must. Go for the meatballs, people-watching and great atmosphere. We went on a Wednesday and instantly got that Friday feeling.
Check out the photography museum Fotografiska. We saw an amazing exhibition called Living Shrines by Lisa Ross while there.
Bar Central for one of the cosiest, friendliest suppers. The signature Wursts (sausages to you and I) are immense as its the salted caramel ice cream.
Juiceverket in Sodermalm fulfilled our daily green juice needs.
Taking in the beautiful Filippa K presentation with a glass of champagne in hand kicked off the shows perfectly. Might have made a sneaky SS15 pre-order already…
Cheap Monday‘s pool party proved a watery finale is the best way to capture people’s attention and embodied the brand’s youthful sense of abandon.
Dagmar‘s digital presentation and cocktail party proved a great way to debut a collection. Eloquent and captivating, the lethal vodka cocktails only served to make the seriously covetable collection even more desirable…
Altewai Saome has to be Sweden’s most exciting label right now. Think Balenciaga meets Prada by way of Scandinavia and you’re almost there.
Wander round the historic old town of Gamla Stan. The cobbled streets, cafe-lined squares and gran buildings are the perfect place to while away an afternoon.
Drinks and Swedis-style tapas at the very beautiful and glamorous Nobis hotel

Photo booth souvenirs from the Cheap Monday party with my partners in crime Katie and Lissi.

Searching for past-season treasures at the Acne Archive. Unsuccessful this time sadly…

One thing I love about Autumn is t-shirt-and-coat weather and Stockholm was the perfect place to debut it.

The SS15 Dagmar ladies.

Before and after at the Cheap Monday show. A bunch of models jumping fully-clothed into a pool is guaranteed to make even the steeliest fashion editor smile. And potentially want to jump in too…

Stockholm’s central tube stations are pretty cool. Each one is designed by a different artist and would definitely make your daily commute that much more fun.