Fashion & the forest #1 - By Sanne Brännström
Vintage clothes and the forest, two of my favorite things in the whole wide world. Is it a coincidence? Two different things separated from each other? Maybe to some, but not to me. Now let me explain.
See, the thing about nature is that when you feel connected to it, magical things can happen. I truly believe that the more time you spend in nature, the more you tend to care about it. A bond that grows stronger every time you hear the wind blowing through the trees, feel the cold water surround your body while swimming in a forest lake, taste the sweetness of wild berries and feel the earth under your bare feet stepping out of your tent a morning up the mountains.
I’ve been outdoors my whole life but it wasn’t until I moved to the city that I truly understood how deeply rooted that connection was in me. I loved the opportunities the city pulse brought and at first, it was all fun and games. I was 19, excited about having stores and cafés close by. I’d never had that growing up in the countryside where you’d have to travel for hours to get to a shopping mall. I read VOGUE, and Elle Magazine and shopped for the latest trends in the local fast fashion stores. At least as much as I could afford to be an underpaid teenager working at my first job at a local hamburger restaurant. I posted outfits on my blog and gathered a following. But I couldn’t help but wonder if I was living life to the fullest. I was certainly chasing something…something that shopping malls and fast fashion never could fill.
When I got my driver's license I could finally explore the forests around the city. It was like finding a part of me that had been missing. The forest was calling and I had to go. Literally. That summer I applied to a school to study nature tourism, I quit my job and bought another dog, my husky Izla.
I got into that school, and you know what? That decision changed my life in so many ways. Ever since then, I have always let my love for nature guide me on my way. I’ve been working at wilderness camps in 30 below zero degrees, at Sweden’s highest mountain station Låktatjåkko and today I run my communication agency together with my best friend (who I met while studying nature tourism) with sustainability as our core value. I also work as a photographer, graphic designer and influencer - with sustainable brands.
I have always liked second hand. I still remember the first time my mom brought me to a Red Cross Second Hand store, I fell in love. But it wasn’t until I started my studies that I learned about the dark side of the fast fashion industries and that’s when I truly started to dive into the magic of second hand. And just like when I got my driver’s license and reconnected with nature… I felt like I had found something that I had longed for my whole life. It was a safe and more sustainable place to discover my own style with pieces of history, retro patterns and clothes in all sizes and price ranges. I think I sort of reconnected with my way of expressing myself in a way that chasing trends never can. Nature and second hand are more than passions to me today. They’re big parts of my life. Part of my work. Part of my lifestyle that from the outside might look like contrasts, and maybe they are - but now you know they are certainly connected.
Sanne is one of A Sustainable Closets style ambassadors. Read more about Sanne here and make sure you follow on Instagram.
