Welcome to the Scoop: a weekly email series in which I quiz fashion insiders on the stories of the week. This will be a way for the Vogue Business community to synthesize and reflect on the latest headlines and get a little inside scoop every Friday.
This week’s guest is Helgi Óskarsson, CEO of 66°North. 66°North was founded in 1926 in Iceland by a man called Hans Kristjánsson. He wanted to make clothing that protected Icelandic fishermen and other workers from the extreme weather of the North Atlantic.
Helgi took over as co-owner and CEO in 2011. While all its puffers, insulated trousers, and other cold-weather garments are still very much focused on durability and functionality, the company has since also strengthened its ties to fashion and culture. This year marks 66°North’s 100th anniversary, so I called Helgi to ask how they are celebrating.
Hi Helgi, what’s the scoop?
We are opening a new flagship store in Copenhagen in early August to coincide with Copenhagen Fashion Week. The location we are taking over has been, for the past quarter of a century, the home of Storm, a legendary Copenhagen store. Storm has had a tremendous influence on the Danish fashion and retail scene over the last three decades. To be able to move to this location on our 100th anniversary is truly an honor.
So it’s also your 100th anniversary! How did the move come about?
When I heard that this location was available, I contacted Storm co-founder Rasmus Storm, and we had a chat. Over time, we’ve also developed a really good friendship as we can both identify with some of the challenges we’ve been facing in the business. So we also agreed that we would work together on the transition from Storm to 66°North by creating a capsule collection.
What does that capsule collection look like?
Rasmus has been working closely with our creative team and will travel to Iceland this Spring to make sure it is exciting for both the 66°North community and the Storm community, who have been incredibly loyal. That collection will be very limited. Usually, when we do collaborations, we try to tap into our leftover fabrics, so we are doing the same with Storm. That’s basically all I can tell you. That and it will be made in our own factories in Latvia.
You actually operate your own factories. Are you guys finding disassembly sticky, too?