Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Our Top Swedish Fashion Brands
Ship ahoy! – accessories inspired by life at sea The design company James Barts, which designs and produces the majority of its products in Stockholm, is devoted to unisex accessories inspired by life at sea. Add a marine touch to your style this spring. By Ellinor Thunberg | Photos: James Barts
Perhaps it was no surprise that the Franzén brothers would launch a brand inspired by a nautical style, as they have had salt water running in their veins since childhood. “We come from a family that loves the archipelago, and we grew up at sea. It is something we are very passionate about and I more or less live in the Stockholm archipelago during the summer,” says Johannes Franzén, co-founder and CEO of James Barts.
is directly inspired by the marine world, with colours such as blue, red and white. The nautical style is always popular in Scandinavia, particularly in spring ahead of the boating season. The design process is highly collaborative – with feedback from employees and the family – and followed by a hands-on
phase of creating samples in a variety of colours. A 3D printer is used to help visualise clasps and details in the process. The materials are carefully selected from vendors and manufacturers in Hungary, Italy and Asia – but the production is based in the Scandinavian capital. Franzén sums it all up by explaining that the collections up until now have been about trying new ideas, but SS17 is focused on the best so far. “It’s stylistically pure and clean. Nearly all of our accessories are unisex and could be worn by men and women alike,” he says.
Without previous experience from the design industry and accessories market, the idea came to him and his brother while on holiday. “It may sound like a cliché, but we were on an island in the Caribbean and saw a guy sitting down by the beach making nautical bracelets, and we started talking about how they would be a hit on our degree of latitude too,” he says. Six months later, in 2014, the first bracelet, Deckhander, launched and with it the start of the James Barts story. The style 22 | Issue 99 | April 2017
For more information, please visit: www.jamesbarts.com