Fashion designer Sigrún Halla Unnarsdóttir has been involved in knitwear design for almost a decade and works at the VARMA knitting factory in tailoring and product development for VARMA.
"We are so lucky to have a great wool and knitting factory called VARMA that preserves both the raw material and our heritage of working with Icelandic wool. After I got my toes in there, it has been hard to get away. I have been in a very privileged position to be able to waltz around there, but it is unique to have a knitting factory in the middle of the city," she says.
"Working with wool is part of our remarkable industrial history as Icelanders, and I'm always learning something new there. I'm starting to realize that I sometimes sound like Guðni Ágústsson, but around 1800, 26 pairs of hand-knitted duggar socks were worth as much as 120 fish. That must have been a great insight in those days."
"Wool is a heritage that we should be proud of but at the same time be unafraid to allow it to evolve with us."
Where is your studio located:
I am a designer and artistic director at VARMA, located at Ármúli 31. There I have settled in well, with the ideal conditions for navigating between the machine room, the laundry room, and the sewing room.
Where did you study:
I have a master's degree in fashion design from Kolding School of Design in Denmark.
The philosophy/inspiration behind your design:
My philosophy is one of respect and affection for what came before us and anticipation for what is to come. The environment I am in is also very formative. I am now on the factory floor a lot among knitting machines so that real Icelandic industry leaves its mark on me, feeling the heritage that wool processing is based on, the experience and wealth of the people who work with it and the possibilities we have for the future.
What do you consider to be the distinctive features of Icelandic design?
It is characterized by the extraordinary courage of Icelandic designers.
