Thursday, July 12, 2012

Fjällräven - The Outdoor Brand for the Urban Gent

With the all too inevitable failure of the British summer to produce even a modicum of sunshine it’s perhaps not surprising that some of the most popular and sought after men’s fashion brands this season have been those that draw their inspiration from a rich heritage of rugged outdoor functionality - yet still offer the urban gentlemen a level of style and quality of design that looks just as at home on the football terraces than on the side of a windswept rock face. Rural British heritage brands such as Barbour have seen a great renaissance over the last couple of years, while the likes of outdoor menswear labels including Penfield and North Face have successfully brought the great outdoors to British cities.

Hot on the heels of such outdoor brands, British men’s fashion has seen an influx of fantastic men’s designer clothing from Scandinavia - where quality of build and rugged, hardwearing durability are all but essential criteria in the design of menswear in order to survive the elements in what are often harsher climates. Fjällräven (translating literally as “arctic fox”) is one such example of a brand that has made this transition. Taking in over half a century of founder Ake Nordin’s experience, Fjällräven has sought to perfect outdoor garments of the highest order including its immensely popular Greenland waterproof jacket and an excellent range of rucksacks (such as the Kanken bags available from Red Square Clothing).