Fjällräven is a brand we’ve always respected. Their uncompromising approach to outfitting for the worst possible conditions is highly admirable, and with that comes jackets…
If you’re after a do-everything big jacket, Fjällräven’s Expedition Down Lite Jacket should be at the very top of your list. Originally founded back in 1974 to survive the Swedish winters, the Expedition series houses a number of beautiful, behemoth feather-filled coats. It’s a range we’ve drooled over for hours, daydreaming of donning it not for survival purposes, but instead to make our mates jealous down the pub on a cold November evening.
The other day, our daydreams finally came true; we managed to take a Fjällräven Expedition Down Lite Jacket for a stroll around the streets of Liverpool’s Georgian Quarter. Unsurprisingly, we were mega impressed with the jacket, and naturally, this prompted us to get in touch with the bloke who designed it.
It didn’t take long for us to track the man in question down, and soon enough, we were singing praises directly to his face. We ended up chatting for ages with James about what makes Fjällräven so special, and his deep passion for designing trousers…
Hi James, how’s it going? Could you tell us about your role at Fjällräven?
So, I work as the head of R&D for apparel. We’ve got a team of five designers and we produce the clothing, the sketches, the design & developments together with a team of buyers and pattern makers. We have a wider team as well, that works with innovation, and then a separate team that does the hardware, like tents and backpacks and stuff.
Fjällräven is an interesting one because it is performance outdoor gear, but then it also has very traditional heritage influences and design traits. I remember when I worked in an outdoor clothing shop, and people would go crazy for Fjällräven trousers, which are really heavy and waxed. It’s like old technology, but reinterpreted in a modern way. What’s it like working as a designer at a company that goes about creating outdoor gear in such a unique way?
Yeah, I think you put it pretty well, really. One of the things I personally really like about Fjällräven is getting to work with both of those worlds – heritage and innovation. It’s interesting how those two worlds collide, and also how the older principles of design are still very relevant. Whereas other outdoor brands might produce a shell jacket and it is just a shell jacket, we like to create products that can be tweaked to the user’s needs, through methods like waxing.
I guess it’s striking a balance of wanting to push things forward, but also not trying to reinvent everything.
We’ve sort of stuck by the heritage principles of simplicity & durability, and the aim is to focus on function and simple solutions that are tried and tested, that can then be easily repaired and will stand the test of time.
Are there any products that you enjoy designing more than others? How do down jackets fall into that hierarchy?
Yeah, down jackets are definitely interesting. I think a lot of the ones I personally enjoy designing are the ones that tie back to heritage, but then reinterpret it in a new way. With the Expedition range, we’ve developed it over the past seasons to create a new Lite jacket, as well as new midlayers. So yeah, I enjoy working with the heritage and weaving it into new garments.
How close is the current Expedition Down Jacket to the original 1974 one?
Yeah, so the founder of Fjällräven, Åke Nordin, he designed the Expedition Jacket after spending a really cold night in a bivouac and vowed that he would never freeze again. The design process behind the jacket was to basically have two jackets sewn into one, so there are two layers of down which are staggered, meaning there are no cold spots that any wind can get through. At that post-war time, there were big developments with down jackets, with newer lightweight nylons and things, so he actually was really into collaborating on the design of things.
Åke had always learnt by dealing with people who were more skilled than himself.
The down insulation experts were in the US, so that’s where he headed. At an outdoor fair in Chicago he met the rock climber George Lamb, founder of Camp 7 – at the time one of America’s foremost manufacturers of down jackets and sleeping bags.
Lamb sold his business a few years later to a Californian company and retired to take care of his horses, but not before taking his Swedish friend to Boulder, Colorado, to teach him how best to develop his own insulating down jackets, and other products, such as sleeping bags.
In those days, the pioneers of the outdoor equipment industry were primarily self-taught outdoor enthusiasts. All would help each other with new inventions and solutions. Just as Lamb shared his knowledge, Åke published the drawings for his revolutionary Thermo tent in Fjällräven catalogues so that people could attempt to refine the design. On his return to Örnsköldsvik, Åke finally had the tools he needed to design a functional garment that stopped the wearer from freezing. Sitting at his Singer, he sewed a jacket of durable Rutarme polyamide (nylon) fabric comprising a smaller jacket inside a larger one.
Has Fjällräven supplied any down products for expeditions in the past?
Our down products have been used on many expeditions that go way back – for example, Swedish Polar Research Secretariat expeditions in the South Pole and Greenland. And more recently we’ve provided products including our down Polar sleeping bags (which has a comfort temperature of -30) and Expedition Down Jackets – including a special 50th anniversary edition – to Markus and Amira Blum, a father and daughter who are currently crossing Greenland together on a 30 day expedition. Amira is set to become the youngest Swiss girl to ever cross Greenland via this classic east–west route so it’s a great thing to be able to support and be a small part of
How would you say the current Expedition Down Jacket is different to other down jackets on the market?
I think we’ve kept it pretty close to the original, but it still has a lot of functional details like how it’s made with 700 Fill Power down, combined with synthetic padding on the placket and pockets and shoulders as well. When you’re carrying rucksacks while wearing a down jacket, this can shift the down, causing it to lose its insulating abilities. So to prevent this, we’ve added synthetic in the high-wear areas to make sure you stay insulated.
There’s also repairable details, for example we sew the zip directly onto the jacket so you don’t have to cut into it to replace the zip. All the adjustments, like on the hood and waist, can be removed easily and replaced. So, yeah, repairability is quite a big thing for us; we want Fjällräven products to be passed down through generations.
Fjällräven jackets are definitely jackets for life. Do you get people coming in and repairing products often?
Yeah, we have a repair centre up in it’s a place called Örnsköldsvik, where the brand was founded, and then we also have some repair stations in certain shops so customers can go there to repair their gear also.
Repair, is a really important principle for us.
Could you talk a little bit about the sustainability of Fjällräven products and how much of a say you have in this as a designer?
Sustainability has been one of the big things for us throughout the history of the brand, really. It’s definitely not a new thing for us; we’ve always been trying to preserve nature for future generations, so the use of recycled materials is the standard. We then also go much further than that with our attitude toward PFCs – we’ve been saying no to them since 2009, when their dangers to the environment were first highlighted.
You must’ve been one of the first outdoor brands to do that, surely?
Yeah, definitely, if not the first. Might need to check that, but we were certainly one of the first to take that stance. So yeah, we’ve been using PFC-free DWRs on our garments since 2009 as well. And now there’s new legislation coming in saying that from 2025, they can’t be used by anyone.
Yeah I’ve seen that, so Fjällräven are already well ahead of the curve…
Yeah, but the materials are only really the first step in that conversation as well. We actively look into every detail of our garments to try and eradicate harmful materials and substances as much as possible.
Are we alright to talk quickly about Swedish design cues? I think you can always tell when products are Swedish, they’re generally well-made & hardwearing, but also slightly quirky. Does working at Fjällräven give you any insight into Swedish design cues?
Yeah, I think it’s a by-product of a function-first design approach, and a clear focus on simplicity rather than a specific type of aesthetic or flashy design. So, yeah, I think those are strong elements of Swedish design.
Yeah, before anything else, it’s got to do its job.
Exactly, with Fjällräven, the products are being used in places that are very cold. So they’ve definitely got to do their job.
Is the Expedition series field-tested in very cold temperatures? Do you have a team that tests products?
Yeah, we have our own test team. They’re out testing products all the time. So yeah, we have regular meetings about new products, and include a test team phase on that, and then also we have a long-term test phase as well, which is centred around trying to evolve the products,
So, for a down jacket, would that literally just be people camping in the cold for a very long time or is it a bit more technical than that?
It depends. These jackets have been used for so many different things, especially as they’ve been around since ’74. So we receive constant feedback on products. But yeah, I mean we test products in different environments and different locations. So it’s quite good that we get that varied approach. We then also look towards customer reviews and take action on whether anything needs to be evolved further or moved on.
Do you work with outdoorsy people and athletes in the development of products?
Yeah, so we’re just developing our mountaineering range, called Bergtagen, and that brings a whole new set of demands in terms of more rugged environments, and with the product all being based around an activity, we test and develop the product with people who are proficient in that specific activity.
Nice, on a more personal level, what have you found particularly interesting about working at Fjallraven?
I think the G1000 material is really interesting for me. It’s more of a traditional material, but is being used in a new way. I think that’s quite interesting, and it feels like these materials are becoming even more relevant with the emphasis on using natural materials for protection.
I also find designing trousers pretty interesting actually.
Yeah? I always thought trousers would be a bit tricky.
Yeah, I don’t know why, but we’re quite into trousers – we have the best trekking trousers on the market. So yeah, I think anyone who works at Fjällräven becomes a bit of an expert on trousers.
Yeah, I do feel like I see people wearing Fjällräven trousers more than any other product.
Our trousers are definitely designed for rugged conditions and activities where they’re likely to come into contact with bushes and rocks. So yeah, there’s a bit of an art to designing trousers for scenarios like that.
The Vidda trousers I used to spend ages putting on shelves felt like they’d probably stand up by themselves. They were that rigid, which I suppose is a good thing for the environments that they’re designed for.
Yeah, exactly.
How has working at Fjällräven differed from other jobs you‘ve had?
Prior to this, I wanted to work with more sustainable materials, and then after having kids, I felt like Fjällräven’s mission – to get more people out into nature – was something that really resonated with me, and I wanted to get my kids and others into the outdoors as well. So yeah, it was sort of something that I could really get behind and believe in.
What can we expect to see from Fjällräven in 2025 and beyond?
I think it’s basically as I said, to get as many people outdoors and into nature as possible and to have gear which allows you to enjoy it as long as possible in the most comfortable way possible. So yeah, our main focus is on trekking and hiking, but we’ve also just recently done a bikepacking collection called HOJA – and ee have a collection of shell jackets available from this Autumn with the new GORE-TEX ePE membrane (made without PFAS), so look out for that.
All sounds great, thanks for chatting, James!
Find out more about Fjällräven here.
