Reykjavík Grapevine - 24.08.2007, Side 14

B6_RVK_GV_INFO_ISSUE 13_007_INTERVIEW/FASHION
Twenty-seven-year-old Ingibjörg Finnbogadót-
tir, or Imba as she is known in the design world,
has been working on a host of independent
projects as a patternmaker and stylist in New
York City for just over a year. Yet with a range
of work styling music videos, short-films, and
fashion spreads, she is already making a name
for herself as an independent designer in the
Big Apple. Imba, just having returned from
a styling gig at Women’s Wear Daily in New
York the day before, sat flipping through the
latest issue of Elle at Barinn early one Monday
morning.
“I’ve only done small collections under the
name ‘unknown,’ and ‘pretty shitty.’ I don’t
have a line per se, you know like a ‘Spring’,
‘Fall’ kind of thing. I’m really just playing around
still. I’ve done some music videos, sold some
things to my friends and then just whoever asks
me for stuff. I’ve just been jumping around like
crazy.”
Imba’s designs have been featured promi-
nently in stores around Reykjavík such as The
Naked Ape on Skólavörðustígur and now in
Gallery Crush. Her designs could easily be
described as belonging to a distinct class of
fashion quite prominent in Reykjavík recently,
one that relies heavily on bold contrast and
bright colours. Yet Imba says that she sees
inspiration for her work, from Iceland or oth-
erwise, to be an elusive topic.
“It’s something that I don’t really think
about all that much. I really just do whatever
occurs to me. I do mainly what I want to wear.
I’d say it’s really everything and nothing that
gives me inspiration. If there is some connec-
tion to Iceland, then I’d say it’s maybe some-
thing very colourful or sort of ‘happy’ about
my work, but mostly I’d just say that I’m my
own inspiration.”
On the Nature of Fashion in Reykjavík
“I wouldn’t say that anyone is doing anything
particularly ‘Icelandic’. I would rather say that
there are some particular characters that are
putting themselves out there, in a way. And
us designers are as different as there are many
of us.
“I think it’s like, you’re Icelandic, but you
can be in Europe or you can be in the U.S. or
you can be in Iceland and have these ideas,
but you can just as well have the same ideas
whichever country you’re in. And now I think
it’s become sort of diverse and I can’t look at
the scene and say just ‘yeah! this is Icelandic.’
I think it’s just that each individual designer is
expressing himself and how he wants to see
things.”
Humble Beginnings
When asked about her interest in other design-
ers, in Iceland or elsewhere, Imba says that
there aren’t any that she follows religiously, as
– never having been formally trained – she is
less traditional about fashion. “My mom taught
me to sew when I was little; I just needed to
take part in the house chores. Well it wasn’t
exactly like that, but almost. I learned with
a tailor when I was fourteen or fifteen, and
started making clothes and selling my own stuff
around that age. Then I’ve just always been
really hand-crazy, and just feel really good if
I’m working a lot with my hands.”
Making Ends Meet
“I’m getting a work permit for the U.S., that’s
why I’m here in Iceland now. And when I get
back I’m considering going to an agency so
I don’t have to worry about always getting
myself stylist jobs. But with design produc-
tion and patternmaking jobs, there I get big
projects that maybe take up some three weeks,
but the pay is worth three months of work.
I’ll take maybe three big projects like that per
year, but I definitely have to watch myself and
play my cards right. I need to be sure to juggle
projects to make sure I don’t end up in huge
trouble at the end of the month because it’s
expensive to live in New York. So at least for
now things have been coming together nicely,
and hopefully it will continue to do so… Just
forever.”
Hip-hopping Around
For the near future, most of Imba’s projects
are stylist-gigs. In September, she says, she
is styling two fashions stories, making cos-
tumes for a short film, as well as working on
several music videos. “Before I came here I
was designing for this hip-hop artist Fat Joe,
basically making clothes for the dancers in his
new video. I’m very interested in and want
to be around hip-hop and R&B music. I’m
pretty good in that area. I’ve been working a
lot with spandex, making suits and pants and
stuff, and that fits really well into that genre.
Where everything has to be really tight and
sort of whoo hoo!
“If I don’t have some stylist project or some
production job then I just sit down and start
designing something or sewing something or
playing around. Maybe I’ll do a line for next
summer, maybe not. Maybe just something
for Christmas or just for next month.”
More Cutthroat Than New York
As for returning to Iceland, Imba says she
doesn’t see herself coming back to work in
the capital anytime soon.
“I think it’s much more fun out in the States
than here in Iceland. I just love New York. I have
a lot of friends and good and creative people
and everyone is just doing fun things. I think
the environment there is much more relaxed,
even though there is a mega lot happening
in a small area. Here there is sort of a harder
or more negative morale. And even though I
haven’t really been paying attention to it here,
I still feel it.
“In a few years I see myself in downtown
New York and maybe, who knows, with a
regular collection. It has occurred to me that
perhaps I should just make a line. Stop play-
ing around. Even though it would be still be
playing, you know.
“I just see myself like crazy in New York.
Hopefully just surviving, feeling good and hav-
ing fun. As long as you’re having fun then you
want to be doing what you’re doing, and if
it’s not fun then I’ll just jump on an airplane
and go somewhere else.”
Etching Bold Patterns
Text by Valgerður Þóroddsdóttir Photo by Leó Stefánsson
“I think it’s like, you’re
Icelandic, but you can be
in Europe or you can be
in the U.S. or you can be
in Iceland and have these
ideas, but you can just as
well have the same ideas
whichever country you’re
in.”
RVK_GV_INFO_ISSUE 13_007_FESTIVAL_B7
Presenting a packed four-day programme, the annual
Reykjavík Jazz Festival is just around the corner. From
Wednesday August 29 to Saturday September 1, various
downtown concert venues will play host do diverse mu-
sic events where local and international musicians will
perform a vibrant mix of jazz, blues, soul and funk.
Held for the 18th time, the Reykjavík Jazz Festival
has become known for its ambition of bringing together
renowned foreign acts and household names in the
Icelandic jazz scene, and in the meantime, grown into a
much-awaited celebration among musicians and music-
lovers alike.
This year, international artists include Jazz-pionist
Uri Caine, who will open the festival with a show at
Austurbær on Wednesday evening, backed by Drew
Gress on bass and Ben Perowsky on drums. Faroese
singer/songwriter Eivör Pálsdóttir and the Reykjavik
Big band will play Austurbær the following night while
saxopoinist Jerry Bergonzi takes the stage at club Domo.
Friday night will see Sigurður Flosason and his guest
vocalist Ragnheiður Gröndal and Egill Ólafsson play Iðnó
theatre.
Among special hosts at many varied concerts, in
some cases with multi-national jazz artists, will be some
of Iceland’s finest
jazz players such as guitarist Björn
Thoroddsen, pianist Eyþór Gunnarsson trombone player
Samúel Jón Samúelsson and saxophone player Sigurður
Flosason. The festival’s final event will be a grand-scale
music extravaganza at club NASA on September 1.

A festival-pass and tickets can be bought at www.midi.
is. For a full programme visit: www.jazz.is.
Reykjavík Jazz Festival
Text by Steinunn Jakobsdóttir
Lárus & Lárus
Why? Are you scared
of heights?
I think I won’t go
skydiving after all
No, I have a fear
of failure
ALWAYS
NICE