LONDON — The Barbour wax jacket is a staple of Britishness, one that’s been adopted by public figures and celebrities from Princess Diana to Alexa Chung and more.
The 131-year-old brand is now casting its eyes to the Nordic countries with a collaboration with Arket, the H&M Group-owned brand.
The collection will launch on Oct. 16 with a range of womenswear, menswear and petwear in a muted color palette of blues, greens and blacks that have become synonymous with Barbour and are familiar to Arket’s minimal color pairings.
Arket’s collaboration with Barbour.
Courtesy Arket
A custom tartan check has been designed for the collaboration, taking its inspiration from the coastlines of the North Sea and the hard landscape of the Baltic islands.
The line includes the classic wax jacket; a redesign of the ‘60s Gamefair parka designed with Arket’s detachable two-in-one recycled down vest; a waxed cotton scarf; rubber boots dry-wax denim pieces; a tartan onion-quilt down jacket, and a waxed cotton dog jacket with a tartan lining.
“On the surface, British countryside versus Nordic modernity may seem like two very different worlds, but underneath both brands are anchored in the core concepts of utility, quality and timelessness,” said Ian Bergin, Barbour’s director of menswear, footwear and accessories.
Arket’s collaboration with Barbour.
Courtesy Arket
“Coming together with Arket allowed us to explore how heritage can evolve, taking the rugged authenticity of Barbour and filtering it through Arket’s contemporary approach,” he added.
Bergin worked with Ella Soccorsi, Arket’s head of design and creative, to browse the Barbour archives and used different iterations of the wax jacket as a starting point. They thought about factors such as how the wax ages over time and added utilitarian details to each product in the collection.
Soccorsi said what made the collaboration special was the two brands’ mutual respect for the outdoors and the shared experience of the unpredictable and changeable British and Nordic weather.
“In Sweden we have the saying, ‘There is no bad weather, just bad clothes.’ This is part of our mindset of dressing for practicality [and finding something that] works for real life, but is still curated and beautiful,” she added.
The harsh winds and strong Nordic storms were captured in the campaign that was shot by British photographers Hill & Aubrey and Swedish cinematographer Hampus Nordenson.