Eton Shirts: Playful elegance up the sleeve

“He is a man who lives everywhere without the need to show off which labels he wears. He is secure with his own choices and has a mind of his own, and once he buys a shirt he is usually hooked for life!” This is how Sebastian Dollinger, chief creative officer at Eton Shirts, describes the typical Eton man.

The company was founded back in 1928 in Swedish seamstress Annie Petterson’s kitchen. The great depression forced her husband David to close the family sawmill, and joining forces, they rapidly grew the company with exports to Great Britain. Ever since, innovation and creativity have led the way, with milestones such as presenting, after a collaboration with Swiss experts, the world’s first non-iron shirt in 100 per cent cotton – a shirt that sold in more than 600 units during its first week in the British department store Harrods.

Dollinger himself joined the company at the young age of 16 and became head of design aged 25, before he was made creative director at 28. He is now in charge of the artistic expression of Eton, distinguished by its high quality, elegance and playfulness. “The inspiration for the pattern can range from Art Deco of New York and Swedish summer house tapestry to Indian truck art,” Dollinger explains. “All of our shirts come in four different body fits, so it doesn’t matter what body shape you have – you will always find something at Eton that fits you.”

The perfect shirt of today

“The perfect shirt doesn’t exist, because the industry is constantly evolving. It has taken us 90 years to get where we are today. Bit by bit, year by year, designers and engineers are creating the best shirt of today,” says Dollinger. The company’s shirt assortment ranges from classic to contemporary, including everything from iconic business and classic white twill shirts to those with limited edition prints, printed from hand-painted artworks from the brand’s design studios in both Stockholm and Como, Italy.

In the years to come, Dollinger hopes to see a more conscious way of shopping. “People are becoming increasingly aware of what effects their choices have, not just on the environment but also on their wallets. It is crazy to buy things that do not last. When you buy a shirt from Eton, you buy something that is made to last,” he sums up.

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