Outdoor / Gorpcore
66°North
Founded in 1926 by Hans Kristjansson in the Westfjords village of Sudureyri to outfit Icelandic fishermen against North Atlantic storms, 66°North is the country's oldest outerwear house and the original supplier to its Search and Rescue teams—a contract it still honours nearly a century on. Recent decades have repositioned the brand from pure workwear toward technical streetwear: a Highsnobiety crossover, a London flagship, and creative direction that translates Arctic functionality into Reykjavik dinner-party-grade outerwear without sacrificing the original brief.
Timeline5
1926—2021·95 yrs
- 1926
66°North Founded in Iceland
Hans Kristjansson founds 66°North in Suðureyri to produce protective workwear for Icelandic fishermen and rescue workers.
- 1960
Search and Rescue Outfitter
The brand becomes official supplier to Iceland's volunteer Search and Rescue squads, cementing its protective DNA.
- 1990
Move into Outdoor Apparel
66°North expands from pure workwear into outdoor performance apparel for hiking and mountaineering.
- 2015
International Retail Expansion
The brand opens stores in Copenhagen and London, broadening its international footprint.
- 2021
Heritage and Sustainability Refocus
66°North refocuses on circular design, lifetime repairs and Icelandic heritage storytelling.
