Stutterheim’s High-End Raincoats Show That Swedish Gloom Sells

When Alexander Stutterheim decided to sell raincoats out of his Stockholm apartment five years ago, he wanted to set a melancholic scene. The then-38-year-old copywriter hung posters of film director Ingmar Bergman on the walls and played sad Swedish jazz. When customers showed up, the feelings that stirred inside them moved them to open their wallets. The 200 coats, handsewn at a factory in Sweden with poems tucked in the pockets and priced at 1,500 kronor ($180) each, quickly sold out.

“Swedish melancholy at its driest” has since become the slogan for Stutterheim Raincoats. If you’re feeling low, you can buy one, for $368 or $1,342 or somewhere in between. “Many brands do everything, but we have gone all in on a Swedish raincoat,” says Stutterheim, founder and creative director of the company. Most of its styles feature rubberized cotton. Some are cut wide, others are narrow. Brightly colored coats are available. On its website, the word “antidepressant” appears in large type—and links to one of Stutterheim’s latest raincoats, a relatively cheerful multicolored model called Stockholm Carousel.