It’s quite rare to see fashion designers who are also architects, or vice versa. Jenny Grettve, 29, works in both fields but stands with yet another leg (a third?) in music and will release a music collaboration with artist Jesper A’bin this autumn.

The clothing brand JENNYGRETTVE has gained a lot of attention, with an independent style and a vibrant relation between the simple and the complex. The new Spring/Summer collection can be seen at Restaurang Smak at Malmö Konsthall on 2 September. Together with the fashion collection of Summer 2011, Jenny will also present a new chair designed in cooperation with Petter Sundkvist.

Follow the link to see more of her works...

Jenny Grettve

During the past Saturday some 100 000 people defied the rain and gathered in Copenhagen to witness the World’s longest outdoor catwalk, which marked the end of this year’s Copenhagen Fashion Week. The 1,6 kilometer long catwalk involved 220 models and 500 brands.

The project aimed to increase the visibility of Danish fashion brands abroad, using Copenhagen and the World’s Greatest Catwalk as a platform for extensive national and international coverage. But there was also a charity cause connected to the event. The World’s greatest catwalk supported the Chernobyl Children’s Project International (CCPI), which helps the victims of the Chernobyl disaster back in 1986.

Fashion student Elin Sundling’s dark collection ”I paint myself into a corner” has evolved from grief, fear, vulnerability and anger into sheer joy. The collection will compete at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week (previously known as Fashion Week by Berns) in the young fashion industry award, 16 August.

Starting with ink drawings and collages accompanied by music that strengthened the driving feelings of her mood at the time, the work became a way of dealing with sadness and turning it into a creative force. The process lead to painting directly at the fabrics used in the collection.

If you miss the event, you will get a new chance the very next day in Kungsträdgården at 12:00, where Elin and her classmates from the Swedish School of Textiles in Borås will show their works.

Photos by Frida Sjögren

Having lived in Paris for almost eight years, it is normal to miss my home country sometimes. There are of course all the online shops where you can get pretty much anything today, but it's not the same as going to a physical place and being able to touch the fabric you want or to eat a Swedish cinnamon bun in the right environment. This is where I go in Paris whenever I feel that I need some Scandinavian medication:

Svenska Affären:
Welcome to a mini Swedish supermarket. Every time I enter the door, I am amazed by how many products they can fit in this tiny place! They have everything from the Swedish magazines to seasonal food such as herring, Christmas ham or ginger cookies. If you have a big sweet tooth like me, this is also the place to get chocolate and yes, they do have pick and mix candy!

Institut Suédois:
This was the first place I discovered connected to Sweden when I first came to Paris eight years ago. If you want to have a traditional "fika" or discover new art from the North, this is the place for you! Sometimes they have sneak previews of movies that are quite interesting and they also celebrate all the big dates in their vast garden such as midsummer. I love to go here to inhale some Swedish culture or just to sit down with some friends and have a nice discussion around a table filled with yummy cakes and a cup of tea.

Bookbinders design:
When you walk into Bookbinders design, you know that you are not in a French boutique. A French boutique is rarely this clean and well organized. The binders and note books are organized after color like in all the other Bookbinder design stores out in the world and it feels so good to come to a place that feels familiar! Being quite fanatic about organizing everything at home, I have to come here quite often to buy a binder for my recipies or a note book where I can gather all my thoughts and inspirations.

Johanna Gullichsen:
We are very lucky to have one out of the two existing Johanna Gullichsen stores in Paris! Johanna is making pure Finnish textile design with a graphic and modern touch. She has a vaste collection including fabrics for furnishings, kitchen and table linen, bath linen, bed linen and much more.

Other places that are worth a visit are Finnova, La boutique Suedoise, Marimekko and Torvinoka. There are plenty more to discover of Scandinavia in Paris, you just have to keep your eyes open and you will bump into it whenever you expect it the least.

The fashion week opens in Copenhagen next week, with a new addition to this year’s program: “New Edition” – a competition that focuses on the talents of the design school students.

Collections by students from Danmarks Designskole, Designskolen Kolding and TEKO will be at the catwalk and judged by the jury. Three selected winners will later be exhibited at Illum, starting 16 August.

Copenhagen Fashion Week marks the beginning of an action packed autumn of design and fashion throughout the Nordic countries. We at SuperLounge hope you all have had a splendid summer!

Copenhagen Fashion Week

A reminder for the Helsinki trip: The design walks in the design district of Helsinki are held in English and proceed through the entire summer, every Monday and Friday at 13.30 with the duration of two hours.

“The guided Helsinki Design Walk gives a general view of the Finnish design, its history and its world-known names and brands such as Alvar Aalto, Iittala and Marimekko. It also introduces young Finnish designers and emerging talents. The Design Walk tour takes you to design-related places of interest such as design boutiques and designers´ workshops within the Helsinki Design District area. The tour ends at Design Forum Finland where you can see the current design exhibition and maybe do some shopping to take with you from Finland.”

Helsinki Design Walk

AIAIAI from Denmark creates headphones and other related products that have a clear connection to the creative world - Products that make a different and genuine statement.

Inspired by the old iconic Walkman headphones, their retro style Tracks earphones really brings you back to the eighties. They are available in strict black, soft cream, peach and pastels and come in really nice boxes.

Pick the pastel turquoise set if you really want to become one with the 80’s. Those of you who prefer to live in present time rather than getting totally lost in ancient styles, then this cream colored set might be something to look at.

AIAIAI