Reykjavík Grapevine - 01.06.2012, Blaðsíða 29

Words
Erla Björk Baldursdóttir
photo
Nanna Dís
We met fashion designer Eygló
Margrét Lárusdóttir at her studio
on a sunny afternoon in downtown
Reykjavík. Eygló is the brain behind
the label EYGLO, which she start-
ed in 2006 after graduation from
the Iceland Academy of the Arts.
She has been busy since then, co-
founding the cooperative design
shop Kiosk in 2010, which carries
her work as well as that of nine oth-
er Icelandic designers.
Eygló just received a grant from the
Aurora Design Fund to expand her
brand, which features strong feminine
collections with humorous undertones.
Not to mention the newly crowned Eu-
rovision winner Loreen from Sweden
was also recently spotted sporting one
of Eygló’s new swimsuits. Eygló was
yawning when we first arrived, but it
didn’t take her long to wake up as soon
as she started talking about her work.
How did you wind up becoming a
fashion designer?
Well, I kind of just woke up one day and
wanted to become one and then there
was just no turning back.
What is the concept behind your
current spring/summer line?
I started with a book about dinosaurs
that my son brought back from the li-
brary; I was inspired by the interesting
patterns. I also scanned my hair, and
then I combined them. So the collec-
tion is based on a natural look, but it’s
also weird because obviously I don’t
have green hair and we don’t know
what dinosaurs looked like; it’s all just
speculation.
I try to make practical cuts that
work. It thought there was a lack of
swimwear, so I made two types of
swimsuits that I’m really pleased with.
A specialist in Estonia manufactures
them, and I am actually on my way to
visit them to see the winter collection
as well as to make prototypes for next
summer.
I’ll also be going to the opening of
a new shop in Copenhagen called Kar-
rusel, and later this summer I’m partici-
pating in the DottirDottir project in Ber-
lin which is a month long pop-up shop
and showroom.
How do opportunities for fashion
designers abroad compare to op-
portunities in Iceland?
Well, the consumer group is ridiculous-
ly small here. If you can make it work
here, you can make it work elsewhere.
If you get into a few shops, you’re do-
ing ok. There is so much cost involved
with all of this; things that you forget
to calculate. You don’t really even pay
yourself in the beginning. I never rec-
ommend this job to anyone unless they
are 100% sure that they want to do this
and nothing else. But I would just be
depressed if I weren’t doing it. It’s a
mental rollercoaster.
What is the ethos behind EYGLO as
a whole?
I use a lot of print, at least in my latest
collections. My customer base is very
broad; the designs seem to appeal to
a wide audience. There is a sporty ele-
ment; maybe it’s just the zeitgeist, but
it always sneaks up on me. I’m not ro-
mantic at all.
You prefer stronger forms?
Yes and a bit of power dressing. Well,
next summer I’m going to be really cli-
ché. I went to Þingvellir and took pic-
tures of rocks. I’m not joking! I’m mak-
ing an Icelandic camouflage; it will be
insane! I was just like, ‘fuck, what am I
doing, organising some rocks in Photo-
shop,’ but I like doing something taboo
and attempting to do it well. This idea
could totally fail in Iceland, because
these natural patterns are so close to
us, but then it might work somewhere
else. It’s a delicate balance to strike...
Design | Interview
Dinosaur Skin And Green Hair
We Snoop-Around EYGLO’s studio
“My customer base is very broad; the designs seem
to appeal to a wide audience. There is a sporty
element; maybe it’s just the zeitgeist, but it always
sneaks up on me. I’m not romantic at all.”
29
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 7 — 2012
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Snoop-Around is a photo/interview website that visits creative people at
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