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Faeries in Fabrics from Iceland-Fashion designers Aftur and Saeunn
By Kathleen Gasperini, photos by Cheryl Dunn
Fashion creators Aftur and Saeunn are part of a new genre of young Icelandic designers making waves in the world of fashion with first collections that reflect the curious originality of their ethereal home country. Saeunn Thordardottir, 28, softly suggests her work is a combination of the light and sea of her environment, mixed with a cultural belief in faeries, and local inspirations including Reykjavik graffiti artists and dance. "My collection is a ballet that tells the story through the movement of the fabrics," she says.
Aftur, comprised of sister team Raven and Bara, takes a different tack using recycled fabrics to make clothing they hope if fun, unique, and wearable. "We create things that trigger our imagination," says Raven about her latest design-a fox-fur short leather jacket which Björk is often seen wearing.
Three of 75 designers selected to showcase their work at Iceland's first international fashion show, Futurice, hosted by Eskimo Models, Aftur and Saeunn are representative of the cultural Renaissance that's been happening in the capital city of Reykjavik for the past few years. "We are a young and creative culture that's setting our own traditions in all of the arts because there was nothing before us," explains Saeunn. "Therefore, we have great freedom to work. We have bubbly feet and float on such energy."
"We have a new culture," explains Bara about Icelandic fashion design. "We also try not to look at anything in magazines because we don't want to copy. Being second-hand buyers, we look for different things, such as the shoulder of a jacket that we may like. We combine that with ideas of what we would like to wear ourselves."
 Aftur begins their process by buying huge pieces of old clothing. "We look at everything as fabrics," explains Bara. "We look at things that no one wants to buy-things that are really big and then we cut them apart and make our designs." Highlights from Aftur's collection includes a sexy Bon Jovi top, multiple forms of jean skirts, bunny ears, and metallic bathing suits.
With a background from the Icelandic Art Academy and the Technical School of Reykjavik in pattern cutting and tailoring focused for the theatre, Saeunn's challenge has been to take "the big-eye of the theatre and make clothing that are functional and wearable." Her attention to detail has resulted in spin-off accessories in high demand including leather flowers sewn on headpieces and wristbands.
Mixing fabrics such as satins and silks with graffiti tags from a local artist named Sharky, Saeunn's also captured the aspect of story-telling in design, which she calls "designing a modern-day Eliza Doolittle. There is elegance to be made out of the street."
From a city where streets are showered in Arctic light and culture is cultivated from natural and individual influences, designers from Reykjavik stake unique styles that are seeping into fashion worldwide. We can look to our neighbors to the North for shape-shifting designs in future fashion forays.
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Fashion shoot photo gallery
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