"For our first issue of 2024, we wanted to remind ourselves – and our readers – what defines Vogue Scandinavia"
In the three decades that I’ve been participating in the catwalk circus – zipping from show to show, scrambling to find my seat, and, more recently, navigating through the hoards of fans outside – the constant, unmissable ingredient is the models. You see them on the runways of course, but also running out from the venue still in hair and makeup, hopping on a Vespa to make it to their next show, being fussed over and photographed backstage. As an editor and journalist representing the Scandinavian fashion industry, I always feel proud to see a Scandi girl walking the runway and few Scandi girls have walked more runways in recent seasons than Vilma Sjöberg.
Our cover – and cover story – is an ode to the catwalk. The chaos and beauty in the moments before and after a model steps out in her look. For the cover itself, I had the cheeky thought to include an actual cat when my eyes landed on a Prada Catwalk book in the Vogue Scandinavia office. Cleo the cat, who belongs to one of our fashion interns, was a bit nervous at first but soon she and Vilma warmed up to each other in time for Camilla Åkrans to get the stunning shot. The most memorable moment, however, was watching Vilma – a true professional – model that gorgeous Jacquemus dress in the falling Stockholm snow, the five metre-long train blowing in the wind behind her. It was one of those fashion moments that I will always remember. It’s the sort of moment that made me dream of becoming editor-in-chief of this magazine.
For our first issue of 2024, we wanted to remind ourselves – and our readers – what defines Vogue Scandinavia. We are a fashion publication first and foremost, so a cover with a top Scandinavian model photographed by a legendary Scandinavian photographer was a no-brainer. But we are also driven by a set of core values that inform everything we do.
At the heart of things is our love of nature and commitment to sustainability. On our very first cover, we featured Greta Thunberg, giving Sweden’s most prominent climate activist space to question our very industry. In this issue, it’s a full-circle moment to feature Mattias Klum, the renowned nature photographer who captured Greta. He is joined by climate philanthropist and powerhouse Gunhild Stordalen and Dr Johan Rockström, a climate scientist who’s arguably the most powerful mind and voice when it comes to solving our climate crisis. The story about their quest to revolutionise the food industry – a hot button topic and perhaps our planet’s greatest threat – is a can’t-miss.
As an editor and journalist representing the Scandinavian fashion industry, I always feel proud to see a Scandi girl walking the runway and few Scandi girls have walked more runways in recent seasons than Vilma Sjöberg
Marina Bonnier
Another of our core values is diversity. On these pages you’ll find a diverse chorus of voices, both in front of and behind the scenes. Among them are a trio of emerging queer talents in Helsinki taking the Finnish fashion scene by storm. They’re featured on our #MyVogueScandinavia pages, our Instagram-sourced submission pages that always surprise and inspire me.
We never miss a moment to celebrate a beloved Scandinavian talent. Here, we feature heartthrob Victor Leksell, whose Swedish-language pop hits are inescapable in Sweden. While so many Scandinavian artists choose to sing in English, hearing music in my native language really gets to me. And I’m hardly the only one. We always want to present our talents as you’ve never seen them before – it’s the Vogue way. In this case, we find Victor with blue hair, holding baguettes and laying in beds of cabbage, all of which he did with signature sweetness and panache.
And of course, it always comes back to fashion. This time around we have a fascinating profile on Danish brand Rains (co-founded by Philip Lotko, the husband of our former cover star, Pernille Teisbaek), delving into how the brand grew from a raincoat to one of our region’s biggest fashion exports. As an added bonus, modelling for the story is Dutch football super-star Virgil van Dijk, taking a break from playing for Liverpool to don looks from one of his favourite brands.
Of this issue’s fashion stories, the one I find simply irresistible is our shoot celebrating the mini. This season we’ve seen hemlines and hot pants get shorter and shorter. It’s fun, it’s sexy and it’s oh so editorial, even when worn on the streets. But perhaps I’m biased – as a not-so-tall person mini has always been my silhouette of choice.
This issue has made me fall in love with Vogue Scandinavia all over again. I hope it makes you feel the same way.
