Why has Sweden had so much impact on global style?

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This was published 6 years ago

Why has Sweden had so much impact on global style?

By Craig Osment

Approaching Stockholm from a boat on the Baltic Sea was a revelation. Firstly, I was awake at dawn – which for a matutinal mutineer was way before my usual wake-up time, and secondly, due to my geographical ignorance, I was amazed to find myself surrounded by islands emerging from the mist: the Stockholm archipelago comprises some 30,000 of them. So I remained on my cabin's verandah for the next couple of hours as the sun lit up one heavily wooded islet after another.

Not since Abba have all things Scandinavian and Swedish been so hot (well, maybe apart from their sub-arctic winters) – from Nordic-noir television crime series to furniture to fashion and fiction, as well as cuisine.

Style-conscious locals at Stockholm Fashion Week.

Style-conscious locals at Stockholm Fashion Week.Credit: Alamy

It's all happening up there under the northern lights. Thanks to Ikea, we all speak a bit of flatpack Swedish, we "know" that Billy means bookshelf and Grönö means table lamp. We scoop up high-street style from H&M, the second-largest clothing company in the world, and gorgeous geometric pieces from its sub-brand Cos, or Collection Of Style. It's no wonder the company's chairman, Stefan Persson, is worth US$23 billion and Ikea's founder, Ingvar Kamprad, even more.

Shopping is a Stockholm specialty, with the pedestrianised 1½-kilometrelong Drottninggaten (Queen Street), home to its largest department store, Åhléns City, as well as a plethora of smaller boutiques and high-street retailers.

The Royal Palace, also in Gamla Stan.

The Royal Palace, also in Gamla Stan.Credit: Alamy

The other main retail street, Biblioteksgatan, is where high-end designers hang out – from hometown favourite Acne to Vuitton, it's all here.

But if couture isn't your thing, there's plenty of culture, too. With so many museums and art galleries on offer, the Vasa maritime museum is a good starting point. This houses the only almost fully intact 17th-century ship ever brought to the surface.

The 64-cannon warship Vasa sank – embarrassingly – after travelling only 1300 metres on her maiden voyage in 1628. Since it was salvaged in 1961, it has been seen by more than 30 million people.

Another fascinating stop is the Nobel Museum, dedicated to Nobel Laureates from 1901 to the present. Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite who obviously had second thoughts about his legacy, decided to fund the prize by bequeathing his estate. The museum is situated on the island of Gamla Stan, where Stockholm was founded in 1252.

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Gamla Stan, where the city was founded more than 750 years ago.

Gamla Stan, where the city was founded more than 750 years ago.Credit: Alamy

This area is a magical maze of cobble-stoned streets, mostly only accessible on foot and filled with specialist shops, cafes and restaurants – including Den Gyldene Freden, which dates back to 1722 and is one of the world's oldest. The Old Town is also home to the enormous baroque Royal Palace – the King's official residence – with more than 600 rooms.

Some of Stockholm's other major sights include Parliament House, the Royal Dramatic Theatre, the Abba Museum, and the very upmarket canal-side street, Strandvägen in the glamorous Östermalm area, which is apparently home to tennis legend Björn Borg.

Then there's the spectacularly colonnaded City Hall, which enjoys wonderful views across the water towards Gamla Stan. It's here that you'll find a bronze replica of the log from which part of Stockholm's name derives – stock means log and holm islet.

Picnickers enjoy the sunset in one of the city's many glorious parks.

Picnickers enjoy the sunset in one of the city's many glorious parks.Credit: Getty Images

Abba come to mind again when checking into the Rival Hotel in Mariatorget – this quirky converted cinema with an outdoor dining terrace on its awning is owned by the group's Benny Andersson.

The hotel fronts onto the serene Maria Square park, where the centrepiece is a large bronze statue of Thor slaying a sea serpent in the middle of a fountain. Apart from Thor, the park is mostly peopled by peaceful, bike-riding Stockholm families enjoying the sunshine and picnics on the grass under linden trees.

In another departure from the local tranquillity, this area, Södermalm, is also the setting for Stieg Larsson's confronting Millennium trilogy, and fans can take walking tours and discover Lisbeth and Mikael's nearby hangouts. Indeed, Stockholm isn't just quaint, picturesque and ancient. As the host of many high-tech IT businesses and banks, it has almost no heavy industry and is considered one of the cleanest cities in the world.

This corner of northern Europe has to be among the easiest areas for the traveller – it feels safe and looks spotless without being sterile, everyone speaks English and it oozes style. No wonder it's hot.

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