Dehen 1920 x Göteborg Manufaktur - Athletic Champs Varsity Cardigan

I found a nice historical detail from Dehen themselves: the left-sleeve stripes were not merely decorative. On traditional American letterman sweaters, each stripe could represent a year in which the student earned their varsity letter. Dehen has been making collegiate sweaters since the 1920s, and describes patches, pins and sleeve stripes as a way of recording the wearer's achievements. (Dehen 1920)

I’d update the full text like this:

Where it’s made: Made in Portland, Oregon, USA
What it’s made from: 100% wool with USA-made chenille patches
Fit description: Classic varsity cardigan fit with a comfortable, slightly relaxed silhouette

The Dehen 1920 x Göteborg Manufaktur Athletic Champs Varsity Cardigan is a very limited edition created for our 10-year anniversary and part of the Athletic Champs collection. For us, it is particularly special to make our own version of such an iconic American garment together with Dehen – a legendary Portland manufacturer that we have proudly worked with since 2017.

Dehen’s connection to this style goes all the way back to the 1920s, when the company began knitting varsity and collegiate sweaters for student athletes. Letterman sweaters became a defining part of American collegiate culture, decorated with chenille letters, numbers, patches and stripes that represented the school and the achievements of the person who earned them. Dehen still makes its varsity knitwear in Portland today. (Dehen 1920)

Our version pays homage to those mid-century American college and varsity sweaters, with traditional stripes on the left sleeve in Forster Red and Old Gold. Historically, sleeve stripes could signify the number of years a student had earned their varsity letter,  one stripe for each yea,  making them part of the story of the garment rather than simply decoration. 

Included with each cardigan are two USA-made chenille patches: a large Old Gold “16”, marking the year Göteborg Manufaktur opened its doors, and our tiger, recreated with the wonderfully chunky, slightly imperfect character of vintage American varsity patches.

The patches are supplied loose and are not sewn onto the cardigan, allowing you to decide how – or if – you want to wear them. We are happy to sew them onto the cardigan for you, or you can attach them yourself. Just leave us a comment with your order if you would like us to do it.

Produced in very limited numbers for our tenth anniversary.

Jonas is 183 cm / 75 kg and wears size Large.