Check out our Swedish Style Mumbai! website here! Read more, se pics, films and much more below.
In 2019, we made a most unexpected, thrilling comeback on our “monsters of lifestyle” mega tour from 20+ years back in time — in the awesome Indian megalopolis Mumbai, formerly Bombay, nicknamed Maximum City, the subcontinents financial and image capital, home of the peerless Bollywood dream factory.
Pre-event promotional video:
Back in the late 90s and early 00s, we, with our fashion and culture magazine Stockholm New, in collaboration with various partners, staged a number of large-scale, multi-creative mega events, ranging from two days to two weeks, featuring art, photography and design exhibitions, fashion shows, talks and seminars, live music and DJ:s, gourmet lunches and dinners, and much more — of course including copious amounts of partying — in Milano, Tokyo, New York, Paris and London. Modesty is a virtue but we must state that these events, especially Living in Sweden in Milan 1998, Swedish Style Tokyo 1999 and 2001, and Stockholm New York, 2000, had massive impact for the brands of Stockholm and Sweden. The Foreign Minstry of Sweden was a partner in all these events. You can read and see more about these events on our vintage website here.
Event showreel:
Those olden days were great, extremely hectic and high-pace times. We move slower now. So who would have though that we would make a comeback almost 20 years later, in 2019, having discontinued our magazine already back in 2002? This time, it was a different challenge, in Mumbai, that Maximum City, the awesome Indian megalopolis, approximately double the size of New York.
Fashion show showreel:
How this magnificent event came about, and how somehow we were able to pull it off, well that’s too long a story here and now (but maybe eventually …). What I can assure is that we would not have taken on this challenge, commissioned by the Swedish Consulate General in Mumbai, in any other city, in any other country, than this crazy boomtown in our beloved second homeland, incredible India.
You may well state that this event was produced and executed under dire and difficult circumstances, with a minimal budget and all kinds of complications and problems, including a production time of just less than months, signing on for the venue just some week before opening. Still, it turned out awesome, with a huge led screen as center staged for exhibitions of art, photography, film and more. It was a guerilla style event, dense and compact, also featuring design exhibitions, seminars, a fashion show feauring six Swedish brands (Toteme, Our Legace, Hope, Eytys, House of Dagmar, Zelam Fezzahaye), gourmet meals, DJ sets, presentations by our partners Volvo, IKEA, H&M, Absolut Vodka and others, nonstop mingling and more.
I think it’s fair to say it was a huge success, generating great publicity and attention. Unfortunately, Covid stopped the larger-scale sequel we had planned for the year after, 2020.
M’boy Jonas Kleerup DJ:ing before cocktail reception in front of our “experience screen:”
In 2019, Swedish consumer brands and companies were just starting out in small scale in India. Many were still most cautious about this gigantic market, except our traditional heavy industries long been established in India. IKEA, H&M and Volvo had all just recently established presence in Mumbai.
Today, the situation has dramatically changed. Certainly, our event contributed to this development. The number of Swedish companies and brands established in India has multiplied tenfold, from like 50 to 500. IKEA, Volvo, H&M and Spotify are all huge brands in Mumbai and India now.
Some of our creative partners in the event were DJ/art gallerist Jonas Kleerup, stylist Robert Rydberg, photographer Mikael Jansson and director Jonas Åkerlund.
So will we make yet another comeback one day? Well, it’s tough work, so hardly likely but never ever say never …
Check out much more of images, films, press, partners and more on our Swedish Style Mumbai website!
Mingling before fashion show:
Fashion show finale:
Mingling between events:
Mumbai:
Mumbai:
AI on Swedish Style Mumbai!:
Swedish Style Mumbai refers to cross-cultural lifestyle and design initiatives—most notably a major 2019 multi-disciplinary event hosted by the Consulate General of Sweden in Mumbai at Famous Studios. It showcased Swedish fashion, architecture, and sustainable design to foster creative bonds between Sweden and India.
Key Aspects of the Initiative
Cross-Cultural Exchange: Brought together Swedish and Indian creative industries, designers, and thinkers.
Design & Sustainability: Highlighted Scandinavian minimalism, eco-friendly urban living, and functional aesthetics.
Exhibitions & Seminars: Featured pop-ups, photography, art, and music events.