Fjällräven is an stone-cold Oi Polloi favourite, and was amongst the first things we ever stocked at the Tib Street Shop.
In fact, when I first started venturing into town, I remember seeing hoardes of sharply-dressed lads with that little leather logo on their jackets and scrambling to figure out what brand it was, going so far as to ask someone in Picadilly train station where their jacket was from.
When he replied “Fjällräven”, I duly spent the next hour trying various iterations of how I thought it was spelt… turns out it’s Swedish for ‘arctic fox’, and is definitely not spelt ‘fuyarlrarvin’.
Anyway, shop manager Mai and I were recently invited to their bat cave in a nature park just outside of Stockholm for some training… and were told we were to be camping. Naturally, I jumped at the chance.
Over the two days we were stationed there, we learned about the history of the brand, the brand’s stature in Swedish culture, and their outlook on the future of sustainable outdoor clothing.
On the practical side of things, we were shown how to wax their world-famous G-1000 products and how to set up their tents.
Daniel Wilhelmsson at Fjällräven was an incredible host with a genuine passion for the brand. Even through brief conversations, it’s obvious that his love for Fjäll runs deep.
One thing that stood out is Fjäll’s commitment to longevity. These guys want their customers to have their products for years, get loads of use of them, get them repaired and even pass them down to their children.
Admittedly, it can all start to sound a little Brent, but the sentiment is spot-on – we can all think back to our favourite jackets and know what we were doing while we were wearing ‘em. In this age of fast fashion and whatnot, it’s nice to know your money is going into something worthwhile.
Fjällräven remains a key brand at Oi Polloi. If you’re in the market for tough, outdoor gear that actually looks good, few can hold a candle to Fjällräven – a brand that has one eye on the past, but one firmly towards a sustainable future.
