Nearly 100 Years of Icelandic Workwear: What 66°North's Unique History Means Today with Helgi Óskarsson, 66°North CEO
In 1926, Hans Kristjánsson founded 66°North to make better clothing for Icelandic fishermen braving the North Atlantic.
Nearly 100 years later, the brand announces their first AW24 capsule with designer Kei Toyoshima, reveals Season Two of their ongoing collaboration with LVMH Prize finalist Charlie Constantinou, and utilizes pioneering rugged outdoor fabrics like GORE-TEX PRO.
We interviewed 66°North CEO Helgi Óskarsson and discussed the continuous reinvention of the brand and how its heritage making Icelandic workwear means durability, versatility, and sustainability are in its DNA.
Could you talk about the importance of 66°North’s history of outfitting Icelandic fishermen?
When you start making clothes to save people’s lives, you cannot compromise on quality and durability. Dressing Icelandic fishermen taught us the importance of making garments that perform in the most challenging weather conditions, whilst also being designed in such a way that you can easily move and perform the tasks you need to do. This has been a part of our DNA as a brand from day one.
Iceland is famous for its unique geography, environment, landscape. How does Iceland serve as a proving ground for products that will be used around the world?
In Iceland you experience all types of extreme weather, except of course extreme heat. We have 24-hour daylight during the summer and then only a few hours daylight in the winter. These conditions make Iceland the perfect place to test performance products, and we sometimes say we have the biggest laboratory in the world for testing performance wear. Another factor to acknowledge is the frequency of weather change, sometimes you can experience the four seasons within the same day. This calls for products, like a parka, which need to be incredibly warm, but also completely waterproof as well. It also forces us to think about smart layering, which has become a part of how we dress in Iceland for the last eleven hundred years. The bottom line is, in Iceland we see it all and we must come up with solutions. If not, we couldn’t survive on this island.
With the ongoing partnership with Fischersund as an example, 66°North seems committed to not only telling its own story but to telling a story of Iceland more holistically. Why is that so important?
Icelandic nature and culture have helped shape 66°North for the last 100 years. Our designers seek inspiration from nature; they look at its patterns and colours and bring these elements into our styles. When we started working with Fishersund we asked them if they could help us bring the scent of Icelandic nature into our stores, and the outcome really surpassed our expectations. Our customers love the scent and the fact that it is made from Icelandic flora.
On the cultural side, we have dressed hard-working people in all industries from fishing and farming to filmmaking and construction. We have also dressed Icelandic artists like Kaleo, Laufey and Olafur Eliasson and continue to do so to this day. Whether it is for style, performance, or scent, we love the challenge.
Could you talk about the decision to bring in Kei Toyoshima as Creative Director?
When you run a creative company like 66°North you constantly need to review your perspective on things and reinvent yourself, but at the same time stay true to your values and DNA. When I first met Kei, he pointed out how we could improve our collection further and eventually this evolved into him creating a fantastic capsule that fits perfectly into our universe, paying full respect to our DNA. Even though Iceland and Japan are very different countries in many ways, there are so many commonalities. We are both islanders who have learned to live from the resources of the sea and both countries need to rely on layering when we are outdoors. Icelandic and Japanese design also share the same appreciation for minimalism, just to name a few of their commonalities.
How does 66°North integrate its legacy as an Icelandic workwear brand with this new direction?
To survive for a century as makers of workwear, you need to create something that meets high quality and performance standards. When we make a rain jacket for London, Hamburg, or Seattle we expect that same level of quality and standard which we put into our workwear. The same is true about our parkas that need to keep a film-maker comfortable on set filming on a glacier, as the New Yorker city-dweller.
From being carbon neutral since 2019 to being a Certified B Corporation to offering in-house product repair services, 66°North prioritizes a commitment to sustainability. What are you most proud of in terms of 66°North’s legacy of sustainability?
We believe that 66°North is well positioned in our outlook and mindset towards sustainability. Having gained B-Corp status in 2022, we are constantly evolving and looking at ways to improve.
When I joined the company in 2011, I was incredibly impressed with how much circular and sustainability focused thinking there already was in the company. It’s been part of the culture of the company since it was founded in 1926. For example, we have always used leftovers to make our accessories, taking cut-offs from our RTW products to make gloves and smaller bags. Another thing that impressed me when I joined the company was the brand's repair shop. We continue to run this service and repair everything for our customers meaning our products truly can be for life.
We have been moving more into both sustainable and recycled fabrics, however we always have to balance this with the durability of our products. We want our products to stand the test of time, meaning we sometimes have to compromise on the fabrics to ensure the product lasts.
In the past, you’ve pointed to 66°North’s best-selling shell as an example of the brand’s commitment to “slow fashion” because it hasn’t been updated in over a decade. Could you talk about how that jacket exemplifies what the brand values in a product?
Our company values at 66°North are Protection, Care, Authenticity and Empowerment. The original 66°North coat made back in 1926 was created to protect Icelandic fishermen and empower them to go out on the North Atlantic Ocean so they and their families could survive. This is real stuff; as a country we have probably lost more lives at sea per capita than any other nation in the world. Our founder, Hans Kristjansson, created the brand because he cared; he was saving lives.
The Snæfell Jacket has been our best-selling shell since we introduced it 2010. It protects and empowers people to go outside and enables them to be active, whether it is playing with their children or rescuing a tourist stuck on a glacier. The design is minimalistic and timeless, so you can continue to wear it for many years. If something happens to it, we repair it for you because we care about you as customer and we care about the environment.
What do you hope people think of when people think of 66°North?
When people think of 66°North, I hope they see us as a responsible company that meets all their needs when it comes to stylish and protective outerwear. 66°North is the most loved outerwear brand in Iceland because we meet and surpass our customers’ expectations on both style and performance in a sustainable way, something we are excited to show our customers worldwide.
