Set against a backdrop of antique art, ceramics and furniture, the collection featured flowy crinkled silk tops, buttoned cardigans and leather skirts with raw hems. Models came out in pairs, buttoning, zipping and adjusting each other’s outfits (Fuxe says the idea was to thematise the intimacy of dressing and highlight the functionality and versatility of the garments).
The challenge for brands like Leoní is to stand out among a crowd of minimalist Scandi labels. “We really focus on the details of the garment, like the inside,” Fuxe tells Vogue Business after the presentation, which was hosted at auction house Bukowskis. “We are minimalist but we don’t want to [be overly simple], we want to make beautiful things with beautiful craftsmanship,” adds Schuterman. “It also has to be new. Clients who buy Prada, Celine and Saint Laurent already have a good closet, but they’re looking for something that’s different — not too trendy but has a newness. We add a twist to classic looks with the materials or sculptural silhouettes.”
Prices range from around €200 for a silk tank top to around €500 for a cardigan and just under €1,800 for a leather jacket. The target customer is a woman in her 30s to 50s, who values stylish and high-quality designs, similar to that of Toteme.
Fuxe notes that production is a challenge. “We did a road trip around Sweden two weeks ago and found there’s not a lot of production [facilities] left here. There are a few that are brilliant, so we want to work with them because we want to do things locally,” she says.
Nevertheless, the brand is well placed to scale thanks to Schuterman’s connections and experience. Leoní is presenting a showroom in Paris later this month as well as during the city’s fashion week in October, with the aim of adding wholesale clients. Right now, the brand is exclusively distributed via its own e-commerce site. Long term, Fuxe says her vision is to scale internationally and to open a flagship store in Paris or London.
Past Tense
Menswear brand Past Tense was founded in 2023 by Victor Lindh, a former designer at Neil Barrett, Axel Arigato and Norse Projects, and Adrien Forray, who has held operational roles at LVMH, Kering, Axel Arigato and Norse, among others. The most recent collection was inspired by the escapism associated with Swedish summer. “We Swedes dream of summer for nine or 10 months of the year, talking about when the sun will come back and the weather will heat up. Then, when summer comes, we live like it will never end,” Lindh tells Vogue Business at the Stockholm Fashion Week showroom, which was hosted at events space Eric Ericsonhallen. The show began with a series of dark grey suits, representing the colder Swedish months, which transitioned into airier resortwear in light Tencel and cotton. The bags shifted from corporate totes to sailor duffles, and the shoes morphed from loafers into leather slides.
