How Stutterheim Branded Melancholy

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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In the growing rainwear segment, Stutterheim is probably the leader in the clubhouse. We all know Stutterheim to make a solid product, so there's no fault there, but it seems that in this world of #branding, Stutterheim really mastered it from the get-go with its slogan: "Swedish melancholy at its driest," as Fashionista reports.

The brand's founder, Alexander Stutterheim, regularly writes on the brand's blog about his well-being, while the brand also gives out a self-aware "Most Melancholic Person of the Year" award to a Swede every year. In fashion and clothing, where the typical marketing angle is that the pieces will make you cooler, Stutterheim sort of does the exact opposite. This is despondence in a world of hopeful branding and it's fucking awesome when you think about it.

We've covered the brand's start and success from a business standpoint before, but how Stutterheim branded itself in a sea of annoyingly similar public images is smart. Stutterheim previously wrote copy for brands and his experiences in the industry left him fed up with changing and altering his ideas to meet his clients requirements. So, naturally, he left it all behind to go out into the world on his own terms that he could determine himself. Around the same time, he found his grandfather's old raincoat and a business was born. The melancholic approach to the business reflects in its founder, who left Stockholm for the countryside as the brand grew, channeling the same Swedish stoicism as his brand does. Now, Stutterheim's trying to figure out how to navigate other product ranges without reaching too far or biting off more than it can chew. It'll be exciting to see how the growth will affect its new projects. But, like, not too exciting. That would be off brand.

[Photo via Stutterheim]

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