It’s not easy to think of a car that better signifies the swinging sixties than the MINI – cool, sexy and ingenious – everything except macho, in fact – driving towards a new era down Carnaby Street. No ambitious movie director could avoid such an icon of that transformational time. The MINI exemplified the electricity in the culture all around the world at that time and became a fashionable symbol for a new generation, driven by a passion to make this planet a better place. It is telling that from its early days the MINI was used in rally driving, a field in which economical design is essential, and, more importantly, where having the courage to think differently was paramount.

Today the realization of the MINI Electric is everything this game-changing car has been, but more so than ever before. Combining inventiveness and ingenuity, the MINI has always steered away from convention. The clever use of space and a human-centric design still empowers everything the designers and makers of the MINI do, and now it has been taken to a whole new electrifying level. Even though a powerful new element – pure electric mobility – has been introduced, driving a MINI, with its thrilling handling, has always been an electric experience, something that was apparent right from the beginning. 

Crises have always been engines for innovation throughout history, and it was just such a thing that sparked the need to create the first MINI. The Suez Crisis in 1956, leading to severe cutbacks to the oil supply, prompted the British Motor Corporation to assign automotive engineer and constructor Alec Issigonis to design a compact, fuel-efficient car with space for four adults. Issigonis could have thought like everyone else, but if he had, his creation would probably have been forgotten by now. Instead, he increased the track width as far as he could and mounted the engine transversely, ensuring maximum space, amongst other things, and also adding superb handling. The car was launched in 1959 and soon became a hit and entered the pantheon of British popular culture.

Issigonis began to collaborate with John Cooper who, with his father, designed and constructed racing cars that were known for their speed and straightforward mechanics. Cooper’s innovative approach to the problems he encountered in building cars would have a significant impact on motorsport. He took Issigonis’s design and added a more powerful engine and stronger brakes, resulting in the MINI Cooper 997, which eventually won the Monte Carlo rally three times. 

Today, the quest for efficiency in ways other than racing has become a general need in public life, and this compact car again offers the most convincing answer to one of the greatest challenges of our car design for today’s needs – the creation of maximum interior space and efficiency on a minimal footprint and with proven sustainability, all with great style and comfort. 

Looking back, it can be seen that the MINI’s journey towards a cost- and space-efficient tomorrow has been a consistent one, always at the leading edge of car design by implementing new ways of thinking and a willingness to push the boundaries of what a modern car is capable of. The new MINI Electric is truly distinctive, with a look and feel that suggests an independent and not-too-serious spirit, making it the epitome of a city car. 

One city that was briefly taken over recently by MINI Electric was Lisbon, with a spectacular light installation as a part of the campaign to launch the all-electric MINI Cooper SE around the world. Searchlights were installed at charging stations across the city illuminating the sky above the city, demonstrating the progress Lisbon, the Green Capital of Europe for 2020, had made in expanding the public charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. Now everyone could see for themselves that charging a MINI was not a problem: there were clearly plenty of stations all around this lovely old port town. 

In the 1960s, the classic MINI provided the answer to a particular need at that time – the ability to get around an ever more crowded city at a price that most people could afford. The MINI was not only a manageable size on busy streets but also reminded owners of the joys of driving even a small car. The concept of the MINI has gone on to influence urban car design ever since. As with the original car, so today, a major challenge of urban living is finding a desirable as well as affordable living space. ‘MINI living’ is an initiative that, since 2016, has promoted the idea of ‘Creative Use of Space’, to transfer what the MINI car could do for driving in the modern urban environment to living there by creating architectural visions of the future at exhibitions throughout the world. 

Today a global change in how we manage our way of living is apparent. We use co-offices and even live together in co-living spaces. Creative use of space has never been more in focus. The electrification of fossil fuel-based engines out there is no longer an ideal, but a fact. It is a journey that has been in motion for more than 60 years: MINI is that cool compact thing, driving smoothly towards a realisation of a more astute and stylish way of life. Now more electric than ever, it is a shining example that true ingenuity often arises out of troubled times. MINI is pushing urban life in a new and positive direction. 

Credits:
Words by Tor Bergman
Special thanks to MINI

Picture Credits:
1, 5 & 6# Image of the MINI Electric at the Lisbon light show presentation (2020)
2# The new all-electric MINI Cooper SE with decorative yellow livery
3# Paul Mccartney with his MINI (1967)
4# Timo Mäkinen and Paul Easter in a MINI Cooper S competing in the Monte Carlo rally (1965)
7# The new MINI Electric in red
8 & 9# The MINI Electric details

Creative use of space, that has been the motto for MINI since the midst of 1959 post-war austerity amid the fuel shortage. MINI broke the rules of car engineering as we knew it by eliminating all things superfluous with their radical car design. When The Forumist was asked to express the same ideal in the sense of how we live our lives, we turned to Nordiska Galleriet for advice. Who did they think MINI should connect with from another world of design that could make this idiom on future living even stronger. How could different expressions come together and flourish as one.

When Färg & Blanche get an assignment they know exactly what they’re looking for, but often the path to get there is very different. A couple both in work and life, Fredrik Färg and Emma Marga Blanche are educated in two contrasting traditions. Emma grew up in France, where theoretical and philosophical artistic training took precedent early on. Up here in Scandinavia, we tend to get a more practical schooling. Could these different cultures make for a compelling match? ”We’re always interested in showing the craftsmanship, almost getting a tailored feel, even though our products are industrially and practically produced. Making a visible connection between craft and industry,” says Fredrik Färg.

Their new collaboration with MINI: A limited edition of the Heart Lamp, is a great example of that vision as heart and mind combine for a holistic solution. In short, you could describe it as mouth-blown glass in a brass basket. A lamp that is rechargeable and pillowy – a little like MINI. But it’s also a living form, in various sizes, due to an interesting family history. “Recently we did an exhibition that we called “The Bakers’ House” in Emma’s families’ old house in Stockholm, where they used to run a very large crispbread factory in the 19th century. The heart lamp came from that experience and seemed to connect with spirits from Emma’s family history. The heart lamp is truly a pulsating spiritual little thing. A living form. Free, ” Färg elaborates. Now they have developed ”the heart lamp” even further with MINI.

It’s been more than 10 years since the couple first met after exhibiting at Greenhouse, Stockholm Furniture Fair. Soon after they were both invited to an exhibit in Berlin and decided to travel together, which ultimately started their relationship. In 2011 the couple curated an exhibition at Biologiska Museet featuring 20 international designers and with that successful affair a partnership ensued. “Fashion is something we both take great interest in – in some ways more than design. Things move much faster in that world than in ours. It is somehow less conservative”, Färg explains. When we meet they just took part in an exhibit at A/D/O in Brooklyn – a creative space and an innovation practice at MINI that represents the company’s core belief that designers hold the keys to progress. ”MINI is one of the few brands in the car industry that does the same things as us. From a design aspect, our lamp and MINI seem to talk to each other. Similar shapes, a similar oneness.”

Färg & Blanche are driven by interesting collaborations and this one with MINI and Nordiska Galleriet suits them perfectly. It is here, in this prestigious classic boutique Nordiska Galleriet, that a limited edition series of the ”heart lamp” for MINI Electric will be exposed in a specially designed installation by the artists themselves. “Few dare to do interesting stuff but both MINI and Nordiska Galleriet are great examples of the opposite”, says Färg. For over 100 years Nordiska Galleriet has been a destination for modern design. It is in many ways a Swedish institution, but one who wants to challenge what design is suppose to be. A philosophy that they share with Färg & Blanche. Rickard Liljeros, at Nordiska Galleriet, explains: “We’ve had our eyes set on Färg & Blanche for quite some time now. They are a Swedish design duo that really has made a name for themselves internationally, and that is something that is important for us: to collaborate with Swedish designers who have a global audience. We want to challenge how a place like ours should behave, and they challenge what a well-known object should be. Like in this case: what is a lamp? Where does it fit?

We live on a planet where different worlds need to inspire each other. Collaboration as a natural part of our everyday life. Something resulting in true innovation. For a car manufacturer and an artist to work together on a project for creative living would have seemed rather unusual just a few year ago. Today, it is just another example on how we grow stronger together. Creating oneness.

Team Credits:

Words by Tor Bergman
Photography by Johan Nilsson
Styling by Natalie Olenheim
Special thanks to MINI and Nordiska Galleriet

Fashion Credits: 

#1 Fredrik wears black pants & grey shirt by J. Lindeberg, checkered jacket by Hope
#2 Emma wears black dress & shirtdress, by J. Lindeberg, jacket by Hope
#9 Emma wears black dress & shirtdress, by J. Lindeberg, jacket by Hope, earrings by Jane and Sophie Jewelry
#10 Fredrik wears black trousers & shirt by J. Lindeberg, checkered jacket by Hope, shoes are Fredrik’s own
#12 Fredrik wears grey shirt by J. Lindeberg, checkered jacket by Hope
#13 Emma wears black dress by J. Lindeberg, jacket by Hope
#14 Fredrik wears grey shirt by Oscar Jacobson, denim jacket by J. Lindeberg
#20 Fredrik wears grey shirt by J. Lindeberg, checked jacket by Hope; Emma wears black dress & shirtdress by J. Lindeberg, jacket by Hope

Neon signs, wearable technology, drones, AI and electric transportation. Sound familiar? Thought so. Welcome to the reality of the 21st-century cityscape. With its growing size, pace and technological evolution, the modern metropolis and its many ingenious novelties have become the new standard, playing a permanent role in the daily lives of billions of people around globe. But it wasn’t always like that. For previous generations, the vision of the future, of the present reality we live in today, was shared in cult movies such as Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, and Steven Lisberger’s Tron. This vision, which was conceived by many as a sci-fi utopia, based on naive hope rather than realistic expectation, must have seemed exciting, even far-fetched at the time. What dazzled moviegoers just a few decades ago has, in many cases, become part of our own reality, shaping not only the times we live in, but the exciting future that lies ahead – and this is just the beginning.

One area that has seen a rapid development is electric transportation and mobility, ranging from on-screen tech invention to affordable and environmentally friendly transport alternatives – an exciting and hope-inducing development that is likely to pick up pace even more in the coming years. A pioneer currently in the driving seat of this electrified revolution, always exploring and pushing the limits to shape the future, is the iconic car manufacturer MINI. Ever since its early days, MINI has sought to create smart solutions for the issues and urban challenges of the times, seeking to engender a better, more liveable future. And that’s surely needed. Because even though the sparkling, tech-savvy and exciting advances portrayed in those films are cloaked with a feeling of excitement and possibility, our own reality today is far from perfect. Therefore, these current challenges are being turned into opportunities to change the world for the better. One part of this vision is the the Countryman Plug-In Hybrid, MINI’s contribution to the burgeoning stream of hybrid cars – and MINI will also launch its first fully electric car later this year.

With its sleek design, modern aesthetic and electrifying performance, the Countryman Hybrid offers a driving experience and environmental efficiency that previous generations could only have dreamed of. With its unmissable yellow charging port that represents sustainability of the electric initiatives, the Countryman Hybrid is a bridge between the past, present and future, connecting MINI’s timeless design to the needs of our own times and those of the exciting, uncharted decades to come. Another revolutionary that’s generating the future of electric transportation in its own way is the Swedish bike manufacturer BIKEID. Building on the booming e-bike evolution in recent years, which, according to BIKEID’s CEO Jakob Hultman, has been more focused on functionality rather than design, BIKEID has engineered its own electrified contribution, which is the perfect balance between the two.

Mirroring the sleek, modern design and performance of MINI’s Countryman Plug-In Hybrid, the BIKEID Diamond e-bike lets you pedal your way into the electric future, giving you a fun and special experience in the process. “There are many reasons to choose electric alternatives, but the most common is that you commute a longer distance and don’t want to arrive all sweaty,” says Hultman. “But we also want it to be a fun and enjoyable feeling.” Its design pays homage to the future and the past, and the performance offers an exciting and sustainable alternative for the urban dweller, regardless of whether you’re commuting to work or heading out on a Sunday-morning cycling adventure with your friends. And with its efficient, streamlined design and weighing under 15kg, you will virtually fly along the roads. It’s a bike for the present and a taste of the great potential that electric transportation will continue to bring in the future, one that Hultman looks to with excitement. “We have a very positive view of the future and we believe that the e-bike will become an important part of biking, especially for the daily commute.”

With the emergence of electric transportation and other impressive inventions, who knows what our own future will hold? It’s impossible to know for sure, but one thing is certain: MINI and BIKEID will continue to shape our reality and the way we live and transport ourselves. To celebrate this exciting and hopeful future, The Forumist brought these pioneers together and challenged BIKEID to interpret MINI’s design and innovative spirit. The result? A never-seen-before limited edition of the Diamond e-bike – a marriage of design and philosophy from two brands that, through their inspiring initiatives, will continue to generate a thrilling future, making the world a more sustainable and stylish place in the process. This is just a glimpse of what’s to come.

Team Credits:

Words by Petter Bladlund
Photography by John Scarisbrick
Film by Forumist Production
Styling by Gorjan Lauseger
Stylist ’s Assistant: Vanessa Werkelin
Hair by Beata Magnusson
Make-up by Martin Sundqvist
Models: Pontus (at Nisch) and Malaika (at MIKAs)

Special thanks to MINI and BIKEID

Fashion Credits:
#1 Pontus wears Backpack by Hugo Boss; Malaika wears top by Linda Dehkla/Textilhögskolan i Borås, Skirt by Diesel, Ski Goggles by Chimi x J Lindeberg, Bag by Eastpak x Raf Simons
#2 Jacket by Stutterheim, Swimsuit by Calvin Klein, Sunglasses by Prada, Shoes by Gestuz
#3 Coat by Calvin Klein 205W39NY C, Gilet by Mackage, Trousers by Ellesse, Trainers by Samsøe & Samsøe
#4 Gilet by Rave Review, Hoodie by Acne Studios, Sunglasses by Tom Ford
#6 Bra Top by Björn Borg, Shirt by Ida Klamborn, Skirt by Rave Review
#7 Coat by Concepts d’Odeur, Jacket by Nike, Trousers by Hugo Boss, Sunglasses by Ace & Tate, Shoes by Acne Studios
#8 Kimono by By Malene Birger, Shorts by Weekday, Sunglasses by Tom Ford, Boots by Ganni
#9 Top by Dick International/Textilhögskolan i Borås, Shorts by Monki, Sunglasses by Prada, Bra by H&M, Boots by Calvin Klein 205W39NY C
#11 Jacket by Ebba Andersson/Textilhögskolan i Borås, Top by Calvin Klein 205W39NY C, Shorts by Weekday, Sunglasses by Prada

At the end of the 1950s, the sleek, pioneering design of the MINI quickly elevated the car’s status from convenient runaround to unmistakable style icon, heralded as much for its beautiful lines as its powerful engine and innovative suspension system. Created as a response to the fuel shortage of the postwar world, the MINI was the original manifestation of the company’s spirit and desire to generate ground-breaking solutions to global concerns. Drivers were blown away by this small power package of a car and the unique go-kart-like experience it offered. As a symbol of style and ingenuity, the MINI soon came to influence and be adored by some of the greatest actors, film-makers, musicians and fashion faces of the time, including Paul and Linda McCartney and Peter Sellers. It regularly appeared in fashion shoots, and unquestionably occupied a key part of the cultural limelight from the start – and design and style have never stopped being essential parts of its world.

MINI has certainly come a long way since these exciting early days, all the while staying true its creative and stylish heritage, and constantly striving to stay in the driver’s seat of its own transition. One of the most exciting parts of the company’s evolution is MINI’s first electric car: the Countryman Plug-In Hybrid. Paying homage to the original pioneering MINI design, but with an added “electrified” performance, the Plug-In Hybrid offers the same thrilling go-kart feel that got fans raving in back in the 1950s. As MINI’s latest creative solution, this time to the modern-day problems of congestion and emissions, the Plug-In Hybrid stands out as a beacon of hope. It’s a car that’s as beautiful and environmentally friendly as it’s fun to drive, something that feels both refreshingly new and assuredly familiar at the same time. Although bigger than the original MINI and adapted to the various demands of the modern world, the Plug-In Hybrid still embodies the iconic design that has been in MINI’s DNA for decades.

Another stylish creator that looks to the inspirational heritage of the pop stars, fashion icons and mods of that time is the renowned Swedish fashion brand Whyred. Founded in the late 1990s, the label has always dared to think differently and to question the status quo, building up its own style legacy in the process. Whyred’s autumn collection, entitled Darkroom, is inspired by Paul McCartney’s song of the same name. The collection embraces the same dramatic colours, adventurous silhouettes and eye-catching patterns that were all part of the inspirational environment during the era when MINI came to life. “Darkroom” is a symbol of that contrasting place, between light and dark, where we search for our own creativity – a place that engenders opportunities for transition, change and betterment. Entering his own creative darkroom, with no intention of releasing the song originally, McCartney created a musical gem that epitomised his creative and progressive spirit, from which Whyred has drawn a great deal of inspiration for its new collection. The essence of the looks matches MINI’s own spirit of innovation that has been there since the early days, when Paul and Linda would be spotted driving around in their own MINI.

So, as part of the ongoing transition that MINI is constantly pursuing by widening its horizons and stylistic inspiration, The Forumist has brought together the keen eye for covetable design and style that both brands possess to establish a never-seen-before connection. The combination of MINI’s Countryman Plug-In Hybrid, a model that echoes the original MINI design, and Whyred’s Darkroom collection, inspired by icons of the same era, is both fresh and strikingly natural at the same. And this is only the beginning of the latest journey. Even though we can’t say what creative solutions and design-savvy innovations MINI will come up with in the future, one thing is certain: it will continue to drive towards the boundless opportunities that lie ahead – and do so with as much panache and expertise as it has always done. So here’s our teaser: the sleek and iconic design of MINI’s Countryman Plug-In Hybrid matched with the striking designs from Whyred’s Darkroom collection. It’s a match made in style heaven!

Team credits:

Words by Petter Bladlund 
Photography by John Scarisbrick
Film photography by Gustav Sandegård
Film director & styling by Pejman Biroun Vand
Hair & Make-up by Lillis Hermansson 
Models: Jean-Jacques and Frida W. (Stockholmsgruppen)
Photographer’s Assistant: Petter Bladlund 
Stylist’s Assistant: Melinda Urbansdotter 
Photo postproduction: Omnilux
Film postproduction: Bsmart
Special Thanks to Mini and Whyred
Film soundtrack: Who by Brian Jonestown Massacre

Fashion credits:

#1 Adele Coat, Karolina Cherrie Shirt, Ruth Trousers and Justina Shoes 
#2- #4 Frida wears: Elza Jacket, Yasis Top, Babette Clean Trousers and Justina Shoes. Jean-Jacques wears: Noren Jacket, Mills BD Memento Flower Shirt and Showpiece Trousers and Shoes
#5 Trouve Paisley Jacket, Showpiece Shirt and Babette Lux Trousers
#6 Mills BD Paisley Shirt, Ian Cord Trousers and Showpiece shoes 
#7 Rudy Soft Peak Check Jacket, Mills Flannel Small Check Shirt, John Check Trousers and Showpiece shoes 

All looks by Whyred