Owe Sandström

Owe Sandström was born 1944 in Sundsvall, in northern Sweden. His day job is being a teacher at Spånga High School just north of Stockholm, his main responsibilty being their unique zoo department with all kinds of animals.

Parallel with the interest in natural science and the world of animals, Owe also had a passion for clothes design. During the 1970s he designed most of ABBA’s costumes together with his partner, Lars Wigenius, in the firm Artist Dressing.

One well-known example of his designs is Agnetha and Frida’s yellow and blue cat dresses. The white jumpsuit with green and white cape, as worn by Agnetha on the 1974/1975 tours and in the ’Mamma Mia’ video, is another recognisable item. This was the costume that helped Agnetha acquire the tag ”sexiest bottom in pop music”.

Owe’s spandex costumes in shades of blue, purple and white, used during the 1979 tour of Europe and North America, also occupy a prominent place in the visual memories of ABBA.

Owe is still a teacher and designer today. He also enjoyed a couple of years as a famous television personality when he was the animal expert in the Swedish version of the popular game show Animal Crack-Ups.

Many of the ABBA costumes designed by Owe are now on display at ABBA The Museum.