eXpression has met one of Umeå's shining stars in fashion, Fredrik Petrusson chief designer at the bicycle brand Sigr. His heart beats for gender equality, sustainability and Umeå. So who is Fredrik, what does it mean to work as a chief designer?
Fredrik Petrusson grew up in Umeå and has always been driven by developing new products and services. His visits to the business coaches at Almi Företagspartner Västerbotten have been many. Among the ideas are a container for reusing paint rolls and designed backpacks for children. It was during all these visits to Almi that he got to know Jenny Ferry, who was working as a business coach for Almi at the time.
Despite many interesting ideas and interested customers for most projects, it was when the aforementioned Jenny called a few years later and asked if Fredrik should jump into a new business project - they were starting an international company together with friends in China. They would produce and sell Swedish-designed bicycle clothing with the world as their market. This is where the Sigr journey began.
Together with Paul, Raymond and Cindy, Fredrik and Jenny started the bicycle company Sigr, which produces the clothes in its own factory and sells Swedish-designed bicycle clothing with a focus on gender equality and sustainability.
What does equal design mean?
For us at Sigr, that means equal design for men and women. Among other things, this means that patterns are the same for both men and women, but the cut of the garments differs to create the best fit. We see gender equality as one of our key competitive advantages, so we are careful to ensure that this permeates everything we do and that the value is shared with our partners and influencers.
Although Fredrik had many business projects over the years, he had no experience of designing clothes - the closest thing he had was designing children's backpacks.
The design of the first collection involved a lot of try and error for Fredrik. Not only did he have to get to grips with a new job and work process, he also had to learn how to work with the pattern makers in the factories in China - and deal with the cultural differences between the two countries. Industry communication in English and digital collaboration with a country where Google is banned didn't make the task any easier. Despite these differences, Fredrik thinks it has generally worked really well.
In 2016, Sigr was accepted for the Eurobikes Design Award, the world's largest bike show, and their design competition with the company's reflective cycling jacket - proof that Sigr was on the right track design-wise. The show was also a door-opener for the company's global market, with most established brands and retailers stopping by to praise Sigr for their products and stand. That was over four years ago and developments from there have continued in a positive direction.
Sustainability and fashion - what does Sigr do as a company?
Creating sustainable clothing is challenging and new solutions are constantly emerging to improve, requiring fashion companies to develop their work.
At Sigr, we are proud that all our products are made from recycled materials. We are constantly working on sustainability development, which includes scanning textile fairs for the latest sustainable materials. We strive for timeless design so that the garments don't feel outdated after a single season, and of course it's important that the garments are of good quality," says Fredrik.
Replacements are both costly and bad for the environment, which is why Sigr works strategically with communication towards its customers. Communicating sizes and how garments fit on the body is a success factor when it comes to helping the customer in their buying process and thus reducing the number of exchanges. It is a continuous work in progress.
Some of the solutions that are emerging and challenging fashion buying behaviours are virtual fitting rooms and these are solutions that Sigr is constantly evaluating and testing. At the moment there is no such service available through their online shop, but they have been able to shorten the process from design to finished garment considerably by being able to see directly in the design software Clo3D how the garment will fit on the model and to generate product images directly from the software. In this way, they can eliminate faulty prototypes and the need to send them by parcel.
Covid-19 initially hit Sigr hard, but then the trend turned upwards as more people started cycling at home with the help of e-biking. Nowadays, Sigr is a well-known brand in Sweden and in several parts of Europe and Asia - based in Umeå.
We see it as an advantage to be active in Umeå. We find it easy to get in touch with the right people, to get help and to be listened to here compared to larger cities. That said, it's still about producing good stuff to keep growing.
When eXpression meets Fredrik in mid-September 2020, he is finishing work on Sigr's collection for spring/summer 2022. The good lead time is important to test the products to ensure they meet the company's environmental and sustainability requirements, which makes for a sustainable economy.
What is the design process for a new collection?
- EVALUATION. We start by evaluating previous collections to understand what's available and what we need.
- TRENDSPANING. After the evaluation, we scout trends through reports and visits to trade fairs and based on trends I put together a collection both in terms of type of products but also around color and shape.
- PATTERN AND FIT. Then we start working on patterns and how our signatures will be applied to the garment. It has to feel Sigr, exclusive and it has to fit together in a collection.
- FINAL DESIGN. Once we've decided internally which garments to go ahead with, final designs are made before the garments are tested with users.
