Rave Review flipped the script on Swedish Midsummer traditions when framing their spring 2023 collection. Lore has it that a maiden would dream of her future husband if she slept with seven flowers under her pillow on Midsummer’s eve. Josephine Bergqvist and Livia Schück instead imagined day-after looks for a woman who might not have slept alone—and who quite possibly borrowed her lover’s bed linens.
The pair launched their upcycling line five years ago and for this, their 11th collection, the idea was to focus on brand signatures in terms of cut, silhouette, and fabrics. To that end, spring’s line-up featured what Bergqvist describesd as “heritage” Swedish bedding with a “worn out very romantic vibe,” which was used also for their debut. It’s not surprising that love and chintz are the air at Rave Review, Bergqvist recently got married, in an upcycled look for her own line, of course. Her wedding florist worked with a set designer to create the floral arch used in the collection’s look book.
Playing up the prettiness of the looks was the designers’ use of frills for wovens and stretch lace featuring flower prints, countered by the staccato rhythms created by the collage effect of the spiral and panel cuts Bergqvist and Schück developed to be able to work with limited runs of vintage and deadstock fabric. (This season Rave Review also made use of new materials made of recycled fibers.) The designers’ decision to dye crochet tablecloths and other materials acid yellow also helped things from getting saccharine, as did keeping denim and their signature plaids in the mix.
This was a dress-focused outing from Rave Review, and the relative simplicity of zip-front shirred coat dresses might tempt new customers; the cropped jacket and skirt sets were more demanding and less convincing; less raw than overexposed. Bra-like straps on an enticing minidress with a side train gave it a hint of a ’90s vibe; bedazzled Bebe-style logo tees played directly to the Y2K-loving crowd as did crescent bags. Those sparkles were more effectively used as surface decorations on printed fabrics, a new development.
As their work makes use of vintage materials, Bergqvist and Schück have always maintained that their pieces have a sort of built-in nostalgia. In addition to that, much of their output mines their own youthful experiences. Spring’s collection was somewhat more meta, in that it looked back at five years of work. One of the most personal touches was the jewelry, assembled from old “Majblomman” (May flower) pendants that the designers, as schoolgirls, sold to raise money for a now 115-year-old charity established to end child poverty. What a lovely way to gild the lily.
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