Shopping in Stockholm with White Label Project
Introducing Deep Dive, our latest content series where we ask creative women about their areas of expertise in the destinations that they know best. Come along for the ride as we dive deep into the world’s most exciting destinations through music, food, fashion, design, and more.
White Label Project is a digital concept store and community platform for the most exciting female-led impact brands in fashion and design from around the globe. Founded by Caroline Foerster and Ann-Kathrin Zotz in 2019 with the aim of empowering women through sustainable e-commerce, the online concept store is where design enthusiasts can find curated luxury fashion pieces and home design objects by more than 35 female-led global design brands. We sat down with Ann and Caroline to take a deep dive into the fashion and design scene in the city they know best: Stockholm.
Let’s get into it. What makes Stockholm such a great city for design?
Stockholm is known for being a great design destination. There’s a big interest in design and people here take it very seriously across all areas. For instance, it’s known for being very advanced when it comes to brand building and graphic design, but it can also be seen in the cafes and restaurants that showcase very well-thought-through interiors and very different styles. People here also really enjoy fashion and personal style a lot. We don’t mean it in a vain way—it’s about putting on creativity in the morning and enjoying who you want to be and we love that. What we really appreciate is having access to nature in the middle of the city. The combination of the architecture and design while being surrounded by water and islands is what makes the city unique.
Has the city inspired your own work at all?
We’ve definitely taken inspiration from the progressive use of design in brand building here. Caroline has had the opportunity to work in the industry for several years, learning from some amazingly talented creatives, and applying that to our business, which has been a huge inspirational journey. However, we also get a lot of inspiration from creators all over the world. We meet founders in Mexico or creators in India and then we come home and see it all together and that’s where the magic happens.
Source: White Label Project
Are there any emerging trends or movements that you’re noticing in Stockholm?
At the moment in the restaurant scene, there seems to be a movement towards authentic Italian and French restaurants again. We saw a lot of Asian fusion influences in the food scene before, but now it seems to be coming back to more traditional European cuisines again.
The Scandi-style is very strong and minimalist and you will see it everywhere. It looks very sleek and cool of course. There are a few small shops that focus on eclectic design and arts but they’re very Scandi-focused as well, which really makes what we are doing stand out. A shop like ours brings color and diversity and storytelling combined with the Scandi-coolness.
Tell us your top spaces in the city for inspiration.
Moderna Museet and the ArkDes have really nice exhibitions and they are our go-to places for inspiration. There’s also a a more hidden museum called Thielska Galleriet in Djurgarden that not all people know about. Djurgarden is like a huge park and royal forest that’s in the middle of the city. Thielska Galleriet is located in the middle of it in a beautiful majestic building, almost from another time and place. In the summer, you can sit in their garden and soak in all the inspiration while looking over the water.
What are your favorite areas that you would recommend for shopping?
The City Center and Södermalm would be our go to place for clothes shopping! There are lots of boutiques and some nice interior stores there. Also in Caroline’s neighborhood, Vasastan, there are a few small design shops and art galleries.
What boutiques should we visit when we’re visiting Stockholm?
Konst-ig - a design bookshop
The Ode To - really nice art and design objects
Rodebjer - fashion
Tambur - nice for plates and accessories
Tap the ECT Clubhouse for more of their recs, including some truly stunning homeware stores, a streetwear boutique, and an outlet store selling archived luxury pieces.
Source: Rodebjer
Where else should we be visiting when we’re there?
Eat: Checa - a delicious Peruvian restaurant
Drink: Kaffekiosken - a cafe and little gem with the best coffee that we are very lucky to have nearby.
Drink: Tyge & Sessil - a wine bar with an excellent selection of natural wines
Tap the ECT Clubhouse for more of Ann and Caroline’s Stockholm favorite cafes and restaurants including an intimate winebar and restaurant that serves delicious French and Italian, a gorgeous space that serves modern dishes with beer that’s been brewed on site, and a tiny venue that serves delicious sourdough pizza.
What is your must-pack fashion item when you’re traveling?
Caroline: I always pack my big green bag which is incredibly impractical but I take it because regardless of what I wear, it always makes it feel special. I also always take my Sol Y Suna earrings by Mola Sasa.
Ann: For me, it’s my colorful scarves from Gunia Project to highlight whatever outfit I’m wearing.
Source: White Label Project
Lastly, let us know some of the global White Label brands that should be on our radar.
It’s hard to choose as we love all of them! A few we really enjoy are Mola Sasa, Mozhdeh Matin, Studio Conchita, and Gunia Project.
