Swedish fashion is more than black garments, skinny blondes and H&M – on Saturday the ants take over (parts of) the city! That’s right – it is the Stockholm AntWalk!
On Saturday, November 30th, the Stockholm AntWalk kicks off in Hjorthagen. “AntWalk” being in obvious opposition to the established dictatorship of the catwalk. The event is an alternative and environmentally-friendly fashion show featuring only used clothing, organized by the FolkKulturCentrum (People’s Culture Center) in the neighbourhood of Hjorthagen.
The show is a cooperative effort with Myrorna, a chain of second-hand stores with a dozen or so locations in greater Stockholm. Adorably-dubbed after our favourite little insects who go marcher/gatherers, Myrorna literally translates as “The Ants”. The models are not ants, however, but human volunteers, everyday people who simply have a good time modeling clothing.
“Our models are all sizes and ages – from kids to adults to pensioners,” project organizer Elisabeth Hansen told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet’s entertainment site Allt om Stockholm.
“The fashion world can be very exclusive, focusing on unrealistic ideals and stereotypical appearances, weights, and ages. We want to be inclusive,” she told the paper.
The models will also be accompanied by dogs – splintering the show even further from the traditional catwalk, perhaps. In fact, according to what Hansen told Aftonbladet, the dogs have been practicing their very best swagger and the organizers are hoping their will be no dogfights.
Just because it’s old doesn’t mean it’s not fashionable. The reigning trends of the season can easily be accomplished with used clothing, a fact the AntWalk will prove with variosu themes. Baroque babe? Hot hippie? Punk, 1930s chic, sport and street – the AntWalk has it all.
Hansen told the paper that they want people to realize that they don’t need to keep buying new things all the time, that second-hand is a real option and that it is a good idea to exchange old clothes with others as well.
“The environmental aspect is incredibly important for us, and I absolutely believe this is a trend which will just keep getting stronger,” she told Allt om Stockholm.
If you want to mosey along down to Hjorthagen on Saturday and see the AntWalk IRL – adult tickets cost 80 SEK, children between 7 and 15 pay 20 SEK and under 7s get in for free. The first 50 tickets sold come with a 25% discount on a purchase at Myrorna in Ropsten.
For those that can’t make it, Your Living City will be at the show and bring you back the best of the AntWalk – keep an eye out for that and similar galleries in the YLC gallery section!
Solveig Rundquist
Solveig is a recently-graduated American cactus who plucked up her ancient Scandinavian roots and transplanted them back to snowy Stockholm soil. When not writing for YLC she can be found cantering about town in search of culture, cheer and a career.
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