« I should be alone in the world. Just me, Steiner, and no other living being. Myself, naked, on top of a rock. No storm, no snow, no bank, no money, no time, no money. Then, at least, I wouldn’t be afraid. »

This is the ending statement from The Great Ecstasy of the Woodcarver Steiner, Werner Herzog’s 1974 documentary, which served in fact as the starting point and key inspiration for the Filippa K Fall/Winter 23 collection.

The film follows Walter Steiner, a somber and sometimes inscrutable ski jumper, as he attempts to break the world record for ski flying – the daredevil sister of long-distance ski jumping. There is a sense of loneliness to the film, despite the crowds of locals who have come to see Steiner achieve something unfathomable, or simply crash. It seems that only when the ski jumper is in the air, moving with confidence and singular focus, does he seem to be free.

With its DNA rooted in this notion of freedom, liberty, and lack of restraint, artistic director Liisa Kessler felt instantly connected to the film and its main character. Take the collection, if you will, as a protest for freedom from the shackles of everyday modern life – work, confinement, wars, recessions. She invites wearers to celebrate their own individual small moments of liberty.

The collection itself is impeccably executed and wholly realized, a thoroughly elevated season for the Scandinavian brand, which was founded in the minimalist minefield that was 1993 by Filippa Knutsson and Patrik Kihlborg. Fabrics are to lust after and come in every form one can imagine, sturdy untreated denim, contrasting with soft buttery woolen knits and sheer silky shirts. Merino knits compliment bonded technical jerseys, and crushed corduroy stands tall next to luxurious moleskins. The color palette stays true to the Filippa K go-to formula of neutral earthy tones, but this time invites a sense of playfulness and lightness with pops of colors in seventies shades, reminiscent of the Steiner’s heydey. His skinny, singular figure in the air also serves as aesthetic inspiration for the collection, through looks with monochromatic silhouettes that instantly permit the mind to wander to 1970s ski jump suits and their apres-ski counterparts.

A faux-fur jacket, constructed directly from the recycled fur from a teddy-bear factory, stands center stage, alongside an equally limelight stealing faux-fur cozy handbag, fetchingly coined Mysa (a Swedish term which loosely translates to a cozy cuddy content kind of feeling). The Fall/Winter 2023 collection continues to reinterpret and revive the house’s codes in what is clearly a triumph for a revival of Filippa K and the notion of liberty.

Discover the looks be​​low and more at the official website.

www.filippa-k.com

@filippa_k