Stockholm woke up today more fashionable than ever: as the second part of its fashion week dedicated to buying, trade fairs and shows kicks off today, the city is celebrating fashion through a series of stylish billboards. The posters are the result of a collaboration between twelve Swedish fashion designers, the Berghs School of Communication and the Swedish Fashion Council. As the “Swedish Fashion: Exploring a New Identity” exhibition also opens at London’s Fashion and Textile Museum Sara Engberg from the Mori & Mimosa design duo speaks about the billboard project that launches today.    

Dazed Digital: Can you tell us more about the “Rookies coaching Rookies” billboard project?
Sara Engberg: A few months ago, we were invited to participate in this really interesting collaboration project between Berghs School of Communication and the Swedish Fashion Council. Twelve new Swedish brands were selected for the project and each brand had six students to collaborate with. The project has been going on for six weeks, and, during this time, the students helped us developing our communication strategy, image and marketing. The resulting posters are going to be shown on billboards around Stockholm from Monday 9th February. The public will be able to vote for their favourites through the Swedish fashion website Sofis Mode.

DD: Who took the photograph for your poster?
SE: The photograph was taken by Jesper Lindström and the art direction was made by two graphic design students from Berghs, Marit Leitner and Anna Oddbjörn. They worked really hard preparing for that picture and even built the stairs that the model is climbing!

DD: Are you excited about your poster being on billboards around Stockholm?
SE: It’s a fantastic opportunity for us, something that, at this point, we could never have done outside this project. It gives us a unique chance to reach out to the public.

DD: Will you be involved in Stockholm Fashion Week?
SE: Yes, there will be an event at the Café Opera in Stockholm on Thursday 12th February presenting the collaboration between the Fashion Council, Berghs School of Communication and all the designers. Our project was selected as being one of the top three, so we’ll be given some extra exhibition space, which is nice. Further on, we will participate in a fashion show in mid-April, organised by Kotyr, a new and highly interesting web shop for Swedish couture.

DD: Mori & Mimosa are known for creating what you call “jewellery art couture”, what is it?
SE: A fusion of jewellery art and couture. Christina Wemming and I create unique outfits where clothing and jewellery are integrated and made to enhance each other. The clothes are developed in parallel with pieces of jewellery, and the garments and the jewels are created especially for each other. We consider them of being of equal importance, as opposed to the “normal” way of working, where the jewellery/accessories are added at the end of the process to match the finished clothing.

DD: Your jewellery is at present being showcased in the exhibition “The Dreamer and The Dream” dedicated to contemporary Swedish jewellery designers, part of the “Swedish Fashion: Exploring a New Identity” event at the Fashion and Textile Museum. How do you feel about this exhibition and what does it represent for you?
SE: It’s a great recognition for us as well as for Swedish avant-garde fashion and jewellery art in general. The fact that the Swedish Crown Princess was there to open the exhibition underlines that. There’s an interesting movement going on in the Swedish fashion scene and it feels exciting to be part of it.