From Voi to Westwood

Hidden designers, unexpected stories, and a new acquisition that holds a special place in the heart. We had a chat with exhibition producer Jessica Andersson Sjögerén, who is leading the project for Röhsska’s new permanent exhibition Design Stories.

What will the audience encounter?

– In Design Stories, everyday objects, unique crafts, and fashion from the past 150 years are showcased, with a focus on contemporary Nordic design. The exhibition spans 800 square meters and five galleries, featuring everything from a modern Voi electric scooter to a complete modernist Charlotte Perriand kitchen and a wedding dress by fashion designer Vivienne Westwood.

Through the exhibition’s various themes, we aim to highlight stories beyond the most expected ones. We want to make room for narratives about creation processes, underlying ideas, manufacturing techniques, as well as the objects’ use and their connection to their time.

Through the exhibition’s various themes, we aim to highlight stories beyond the most expected ones. We want to make room for narratives about creation processes, underlying ideas, manufacturing techniques, as well as the objects’ use and their connection to their time.

Has any exciting story emerged about an object?

– The designer behind the transition button, Kenneth Österlin, contacted my colleague in the shop for a completely different matter. I happened to hear about it by chance and asked her to check if he still had any materials from the design process. This way, the collection was complemented with a sketch, and we also gained access to a newly produced film. Both of these additions contribute to what we want the exhibition to achieve – giving visitors insight into the work that happens before an object is finished. In the catalog we are working on, visitors will be able to read a text that offers the perspective of a visually impaired user on the same object, and it feels fantastic to be able to offer this complete experience.

Do you have a favorite object?

– There is a new acquisition that is particularly close to my heart. It’s a full outfit from the project Return to Sender by Buzigahill. Most of us in the Western world buy far more clothes than we need, and perhaps we donate them to second-hand stores where a small portion is sold, while the rest is discarded or exported to countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (75%). There, cotton is grown, but at a price no one can live on, and the import of our used clothes has led to the absence of a local textile industry, even though the raw material is right there. Fashion designer Bobby Kolade remembers seeing a woman selling second-hand clothes in front of a cotton field in western Uganda. He was struck by how absurd it was that she couldn’t make a living from her cotton farming and also had to sell clothes that had gone through several stages of processing before ending up back at the roadside near her field.

Buzigahill works at the intersection of fashion, activism, and art. They upcycle second-hand garments imported from Europe and then sell these clothes back to us.