Working closely with The Hives' lead singer Howlin' Pelle Almqvist, Tiger of Sweden puts a fresh spin on the band’s signature suited stage attire by adding futuristic LED piping. We speak with Howlin’ Pelle about the band’s latest looks and stage diving in a suit
The Hives first turned to Tiger of Sweden for their signature suited-up stage looks in the early aughts, collaborating off and on with the brand for two decades. For their latest tour, ‘The Hives Forever Forever The Hives’, lead singer Howlin' Pelle Almqvist and the band wanted to up the ante. And so, they once again tapped Tiger of Sweden to imagine custom-tailored suits, this time with snazzy LED light piping for a look they dubbed “Electric Funeral Cowboy”.
“We tried to find the midway point between Johnny Cash in black western wear but without a hat and the movie Tron, which has LED strips in the sort of space-age wetsuits,” says Howlin’ Pelle, noting that the looks also have hints of “'40s matinee hero chic” and “'70s polyester suit charm”. The striking suits made their debut to a raucous crowd at The Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles this past weekend.
The Hives in their 'Electric Funeral Cowboy' suits by Tiger of Sweden. Photo: Alex Ilic
Lead singer Howlin' Pelle Almqvist. Photo: Alex Ilic
The relationship between The Hives (which, in addition to Howlin’ Pelle, is made up of Nicholaus Arson on lead guitar, Vigilante Carlstroem on rhythm guitar, Dr. Matt Destruction on bass and Chris Dangerous on drums) and Tiger of Sweden began organically. “Well, in the first place we bought a lot of pants and shirts from Tiger of Sweden during 2001,” says Howlin’ Pelle. “Then we had about 10 years of collaboration where Tiger of Sweden would turn our cocktail-napkin sketches into reality, which was amazing.” To that end, seeing The Hives return to Tiger to once again make a wild vision reality is akin to the notion of getting the band back together.
The Hives performing at The Hollywood Palladium. Photo: The Hives
Photo: The Hives
A successful stage look needs to do more than look good, especially for a band known for their high-energy, anything-goes performance style. Howlin’ Pelle is wont to dance, stage dive, swing his microphone around his head and venture bravely into the crowd. That’s to say, these suits need to withstand a lot. “Innumerable ripped crotches from split jumps and ripped knees from knee drops made us realise that we should take some tips from the dance community,” says Howlin’ Pelle. “A small diamond of elastic in the crotch and double knee fabric please. All that duct tape is fine if you wanna do grunge but we prefer it neater if we can.”
Not only can these suits withstand impact, they are also meticulously tailored. Building off a classic Tiger of Sweden silhouette, the shoulders were exaggerated to evoke Pierre Cardin suits from the late 1970s. The simple white handkerchief tied just so around the neck adds a bit of classy Western flair, perfectly complementing the white piping on the shirts and LED details on the blazers.
The Hives in their off-duty Tiger of Sweden looks. Photo: Alex Ilic
Photo: Alex Ilic
In addition to the indelible stage fits, Tiger of Sweden designed off-duty looks for the band, each subtly tweaked to reflect each member’s personal style. These suits are notably more relaxed, offering ease and comfort whilst staying true to the aesthetic ethos of The Hives. Will we ever catch these guys in jeans and a T-shirt? “No. You don’t catch us,” says Howlin’ Pelle. “We are too fast in jeans and a T-shirt.”