Séracs are glacier ice towers that form on the edges of glaciers. Serac is also the name of a new Norwegian jacket label for men, which was founded in Oslo in 2016 by award-winning industrial designer Tore Mortvedt. His goal: with highly functional clothing, he wants to reach a new level of outerwear that makes no compromises in style and quality. Sounds like the usual PR story at first, but Serac is actually special because of its rare combination of functional organic materials, high-end insulation technologies, and unique garment construction.
It is produced in Italy by the renowned company LaRocca–well known for the production of sportswear for the likes of Chanel, Fendi, Louis Vuitton, and many more luxury labels. In general, craftsmanship plays an important role at Serac. Mortvedt knows the business of technical outerwear very well; for many years he was lead designer for technical outerwear at Helly Hansen. That is why he knows there still is room for improvement. He says: "In my eyes, too many products are designed just good enough for a certain price point. What we see as designers behind the scenes differs quite a lot from what the end consumer is presented in a nice wrapping in the end, and a price tag justified by an established brand meta value.” Mortveldt is a product fanatic. Instead of doing expensive advertising campaigns he prefers investing in the quality and durability of his products. Of course, this has its price, the jackets start at €1,300 and end at €2,350.
The retailers who already stock Serac are accordingly exquisite: Lodenfrey in Munich, Strasburgo in Tokyo and The Rake in London, for example. The founder did not want to rely solely on online sales. "When building a brand from scratch, we see an urge for customers to touch and feel, and try the product before purchase,” he says. “Naturally there needs to be a strong element of trust surrounding the brand when spending over €2,000 on a jacket, and with so much stories in each and every product, it is crucial to have dedicated staff who are able to communicate the product qualities to the end consumer."
Serac nevertheless wants to become more digital in the coming years, and the product range is also to grow further, perhaps with a collection for women or an “all gender” collection. "For us, it's been more about a strong silhouette and powerful expression than being dedicated to menswear," continues the designer.
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