Iceland review - 2002, Page 58

leather. Sjávarledur needed clients who
could afford their new luxury.
The pair came up with a marketing strat-
egy to get the leather to young, under-
ground designers in Europe that big fash-
ion houses look to for trends. They flooded
the smaller market with fish leather, and it
was immediately picked up. By 2001, the
company was receiving simultaneous
orders from Prada, John Galliano for
Christian Dior, La Perla, and a variety of
influential independent designers.
And while Iceland fever may have hit its
peak in Britain and the States, it’s just heat-
ing up in France. Sjávarledur enjoys the
boost their nation’s cult status gives them.
In the French market, Icelandic fish leather
is perceived as more authentic and exotic
than fish leather made domestically.
The future of fish
What next? Sjávarledur now has to transi-
tion out of its fad status into the status quo;
a challenge given that very few new materi-
als can successfully tackle. The last leathers
with lasting power were crocodile and
ostrich, both introduced in the 19th century.
Fridrik and Sigrún are on the road to
establishing fish skin as the novelty fabric
F r e n c h d e s i g n e r J a c q u e s L e C o r r e
F r e n c h d e s i g n e r J a c q u e s L e C o r r eS p a n i s h d e s i g n e r V i n c e n t R a y
Photos: Áslaug Snorradóttir
51 IR302 - In Rvk CL bs-rm 2.9.2002 17:46 Page 56