Functional Garments may be a no no among the most fanatical fashion people, but it  is not really on the catwalk  that the Swedish clothing brand Peak Performance comes into its own. Peak Performance makes clothes to withstand the weather rather than critical glances in the city.

Peak Performance is primarily clothing for the mountains and the golf course, even if other outdoor activities in recent years are also being catered for by the brand. Peak Performance was founded in Åre, North Sweden in 1986 by Stefan Engström (now CEO of J. Lindeberg) and Peter Blom. The logo for the brand is a large P and one criticism For Him have of the collections is that this is not a brand for those people who don’t want to act as an advertiser for the clothes. It seems a bit un-Swedish in our eyes to have the logo so prominent.

Peak Performance is nevertheless a successful business, which in 2009 has 77 own stores (including franchises), 1 800 dealers and sales in over 20 countries. With stores in several alp resorts, “peak” has positioned itself as a serious ski manufacturer, with sponsorship deals for some of the leading ski and board athletes.

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In the late 1990s a bunch of creative young gentlemen occupied the floor above the joke shop Butt Rick’s in Stockholm. With red stitches on the extra-long jeans and “entertainment” as one of three areas of activity, it was easy to believe that the creators of ACNE had allied themselves with the nearest neighbour in the shop. Some years later it became clear that this was not the case. The ACNE designer collective is still going strong these days the ACNE Group comprises ACNE Film (film production), ACNE Creative (an advertising and design agency), ACNE Jeans, ACNE Characters and the associated company Ikonoskop (developer of film making tools).

It is in the field of fashion in which ACNE has performed best. ACNE Jeans, or short, ACNE, manages the trick of delivering adequate up to date style in a way that is both beautiful and exciting without being too narrow or too pretentious. A not entirely easy balancing act, but with designer Jonny Johansson in the lead each ACNE Jeans collections seems to balance well to be not too boring not too out there.

Did you know: One of Jonny Johansson’s greatest sources of inspiration is the legendary designer Karl Lagerfeld, who has been known to mix classic styles with modern street style. Here’s a nice interview with Jonny.

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