Why There’s More To Björn Borg Than Just Really Tight Pants | InStyle.co.uk

Published on InStyle.co.uk, 15th September 2017

'When we did our new business plan back in 2014 we decided we didn't just want to be an underwear brand. We wanted to build something better and bigger, and something that makes people bigger and better and we wanted to do that through a becoming a sports fashion brand,' says Björn Borg's Marketing Director Jonas Linberg.

I'm at the brand's headquarters in Stockholm. It's the morning after their autumn winter 17 show where they also launched their first 'Signature Collection,' and the pieces are displayed neatly around the huge showroom. Held at The Royal Tennis Hall, it had everything that the Insta Gen require. A cool location, branded headbands on each seat which were perfect for pre-show selfies, a pumping soundtrack performed live by Simon Littauer and a host of cool models including Zara Larsson's boyfriend Brian Whittaker.

And then, of course, there were the clothes. Effortlessly fusing the brand's heritage with more modern silhouettes, it definitely put an end to any ideas that Björn Borg was just about printed pants. Referencing Bjorn's own iconic style the Signature collection featured retro-esque tracksuits in London bus reds and foresty greens. I Love Björn Borg slogan t-shirts were teamed with tennis style skirts while fuzzy coats were paired over tapered striped trousers. The main collection featured more activewear styles including leggings and parkas but all with a sports luxe twist meaning you don't have to worry about changing for post-gym brunch gatherings.

Add to that the released of the highly anticipated Borg/McEnroe movie starring Shia LaBeouf and it seems Björn Borg are well underway of their brand transformation. Here Marketing Director Jonas Linberg and Design Director Mija Nideborn talk pants, prints and why strong is the new pretty...

Tell us about the prints you've done for spring 2018?

Mija Nideborn: 'I think we treat our prints a bit different when it comes to apparel and underwear. We often have one main key print and that’s usually the one that lands on the apparel, so we can run it through the whole line. This season we had what we are calling an abstract tennis court print. We took it from our heritage and our inspiration for the season, and then we have loads of sub stories for underwear. Camo always works well and we do a lot of floral and botanical prints too.'

Is it hard to balance the technical aspects with a more fashion aesthetic?

Mija Nideborn: 'I think you need to decide who you are as a brand and we want our customers to be  able to do a lot of different activities in our products. For us it's all about a great fit and a fantastic product you can do various activities in. We don’t focus too much on technical features, it's more about comfort. We focus more on the general look and looking at the more fashion aspect of things rather then technical.'

What's the brand's ethos when it comes to working out?

Jonas Lindberg: 'Our styles are pretty body conscious, but it’s not elite or anything. Some sportswear brands are, but everybody should fit in ours. I feel pretty good about our line. It’s more like telling you to train one extra time a week than telling you to train 5 more times a week. That’s our position on it.'

Your campaign imagery seems to reflect that well too...

'Yes the model Julian Schneyder has been our favourite for many seasons. We wanted someone that is a merge between fashion and sport so as a former judo champion and now model he is perfect. He’s a model with scars and bruises which is unusual. I really think strong is the new pretty.'

In real life, Bjorn during his tennis career wore a lot of Fila. How did that work when it came to the film?

Jonas Lindberg: 'When we partnerd with the movie it was kind of a dream come true that a Hollywood level of movie wanted to do this about Bjorn. The first thing we did was to make sure that there were no logos involved so we could be part of the creation of the sports clothes. So even in the film it's not straight Fila copies, it's more inspired by them. It’s authentic, but you can see some differences. I think the design team improved it. For example instead of the big jackets they had, we did them more straight, the polos aren’t as tight, it’s all shaped and styled more uniquely.'

How do the fabrics differ?

Mija Nideborn: ''They were more simple, of course. There wasn’t too much Lycra or anything like that we have today. I think they were had more of a sweat-shirty feel so I tried to find something similar. So there was no function in the fabric whereas now you can build in so much more, like quick working fabric and cooling ones, even though you don’t see them. That’s the beauty of it, you don’t see it but the product has so much function to it. Many of our fabrics feel like cotton but are actually super technical, and I think that’s the biggest change to back then.'

What's next for the brand? 

Jonas Lindberg Nyvang: 'Sweden is still one of the biggest markets for us. The castle is here, you know. But we're trying to build new castles in other places too. We love to see how the brand is worn around the world. It’s always different in Berlin or London or Amsterdam. And it's interesting to see how it is worn in street style photos. So it's a very exciting time.'