Bryan Conway worked with the photographer Clementine Schneiderman to produce a Tiger of Sweden lookbook that serviced not just the surface but also the substance of the collections he created this season. It was shot on Gotland, the gorgeous Swedish island from which Tiger is with increasing sophistication incorporating the distinct wool of its indigenous sheep. Hans and Jenni who run the Ullkontorit (“wool office”) with which Tiger partners were amongst the cast shot on the experimental farm where those sheep are raised and graze. The latest chapter in what Conway called a “long-running project” was Gotland wool coating whose finish and feel was more hard-wearing and compactly wrought than previous seasons.
Also featured as models in two russet toned woollen overcoats were Harriet and Karin (their surnames were not supplied), two of the local knitters who are hand producing the Swedish wool mittens shown in the lookbook. Additionally new for the season was a collaboration with the heritage Swedish fabric maker Klassbols, which supplies jacquard damask weaves to the Swedish royal family and the Nobel committee for its prize-giving banquet. Conway said that together they partnered on the panel-patterned Daldrall jacquard cut here into a two buttoned tailored white jacket for men and a full white skirt for women which was buried more obliquely in some black womenswear pieces.
Beyond Sweden itself, Tiger’s core identity remains rooted in tailoring and here a high-lapeled boxy cut translated handsomely for both genders. Sprinkled around that were fringed leather jackets, slouchy leather pants, and attractively floral printed puffas. By casting the true protagonists of this Tiger of Sweden collection in its lookbook, Conway transparently and compellingly allowed a window into a brand for whom both craftsmanship and authenticity are attractively inherent.