Captured among the limestone surrounds and Baltic winds of Sweden's Gotland island, Arket and Barbour’s new collaboration celebrates the shared spirit of British and Nordic weather – and the islanders who live by it. Here, Arket's head of design and creative, Ella Soccorsi, talks us through the collection
Across Sweden’s coastlines and islands, the wind is a constant companion. It shapes the land, brushes the sea into white crests, and weaves through fields of limestone and juniper. Miles away, along the rugged shores of Britain, the same elemental force defines life by the coast. There’s a kinship between these windswept places – between the wild edges of the Nordic archipelago and Britain’s weathered shores. It’s on Gotland, a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea, among farmers, artists, and islanders, that Arket and Barbour have chosen to tell their new story.
Coming together from opposite sides of the North Sea, the two brands have joined to create a limited 17-piece capsule collection spanning womenswear, menswear, accessories, and homeware for autumn/winter '25. Designed between Stockholm and South Shields, the collection reimagines signature pieces from both brands: Barbour’s weatherproof heritage silhouettes and Arket’s modern Nordic minimalism, in a nature-inspired palette that speaks to life lived outdoors.
Every person featured in the campaign has a genuine connection to Gotland. Some are lifelong residents – farmers, students, and artists who have built their lives on the island – while others are seasonal visitors who retreat here to recharge, tending gardens and sea-worn cottages during the long Scandinavian summers. Together, they embody what the collaboration stands for: an authentic relationship with nature, one shaped not by trend but by terrain.
“Gotland felt like a natural setting for the collection, as the island is filled with distinctive landscapes of stone, sea, and wide-open skies – the kind of raw nature that is common both by the coastlines of the North Sea and the rugged, fragmented archipelagos of the Baltic,” says Arket’s head of design and creative, Ella Soccorsi. “At Arket we talk a lot about creating products for real people in their everyday lives, a value I think we strongly share with Barbour. The campaign portrays people living and working on the island,” Soccorsi goes on. “I think it embodies the essence of what it means to live with nature and how we see our customers wearing the collection.”
Gotland felt like a natural setting for the collection, as the island is filled with distinctive landscapes of stone, sea, and wide-open skies.
Ella Soccorsi, Arket’s head of design and creative
The collaboration itself, designed between Stockholm and South Shields – Barbour’s birthplace on England’s northeast coast – finds common ground in functionality and form. “The collaboration felt natural from the start,” says Soccorsi. “Arket’s core values are very aligned with Barbour’s DNA and therefore everything came together in a very simple way.” Early in the process, Soccorsi and her team travelled to South Shields to explore Barbour’s archives and trace the roots of its design language. “We met with the Barbour team and had the opportunity to see how their waxed products had evolved over time – taking inspiration from details and the dedication to function,” she recalls. “I was immensely impressed by their approach to design, how each waxed jacket is created with a distinct purpose in mind. This resonates very much with Atkry and how we want our products to be the perfect version of themselves.”
Barbour’s director of menswear, footwear & accessories, Ian Bergin, echoes that sentiment: “We’ve always admired Arket’s approach to modern utility, and this partnership offers a chance to explore our shared values in a new way. Reinterpreting archive classics through a Nordic lens allowed us to create something that feels both familiar and refreshing – deeply rooted in the outdoors.”
At the heart of the collaboration are new interpretations of Barbour’s classic wax jackets, paired with insulating layers, accessories, and selected Arket staples updated with materials and details drawn from the Barbour archive. “The final result and the core of the collection is our interpretation of the classic Barbour wax jacket for both women and men, complemented by products that capture the essence of both brands,” says Soccorsi. Soccorsi goes on to describe the full collection as “a modular system”, true to both brands’ ethos of function and longevity. “Living in Scandinavian countries has made us experts when it comes to layering and modularity, always being ready for when the weather or seasons might shift,” Soccorsi says.
Other highlights include a special iteration of the 1960s Gamefair parka in rich sage green, co-designed rubber boots, dry-wax denim pieces, and a tartan onion-quilt down jacket. Completing the offering are a waxed cotton dog coat lined in Barbour tartan and a lambswool blanket crafted with Swedish woollen mill Klippan.
The campaign, shot by British photographers Hill & Aubrey alongside Swedish cinematographer Hampus Nordenson, captures life as it truly is on the island: stone houses, sea grass, and the everyday beauty of people who live with the land. It’s a visual reflection of the shared philosophy underpinning both brands. “Both Arket and Barbour are rooted in a mutual passion for the outdoors and the shared experience of the unpredictable and changeable British and Nordic weather,” says Soccorsi. “In Sweden we have the saying, ‘there is no bad weather, just bad clothes,’ and I think this is part of our mindset to dress for the elements.”
The Arket and Barbour collaboration will be available online and in stores worldwide from 16th October 2025.