4.6.07

i dream of iceland

If you know me, you may be sick of hearing about glaciers, lava rock, and girls named Hafrún. My obsession with this frozen dreamland is nothing new, but Toronto's summer is now in full, smoggy roast, and I'm using every free moment to mentally escape (via images, film and text) into the cool and bewitching world of Iceland.

Judging by recent news and events (not to mention music from the likes of Sigur Rós, Bang Gang and Björk filtering into eardrums worldwide), it seems that I'm far from the only one entranced with Iceland this year. Here is a roundup of recent happenings...

>> Made in Iceland, a fashion/music show featuring young Icelandic talent just wrapped up in Reykjavik (below is Svala of Steedlord in a design by Aftur).


(The electro queen is also featured with Steedlord in May's Bon mag)


>> Iceland Cometh, an exhibit featuring fashion and interior art, just wrapped up New York Design Week. I particularly like the somber, Boudicca-like silk ensembles and Lilja Gunnlaugspottir's reflective/shadow butterflies. More here.


>> A selection of shops in downtown Reykjavik are featured in the latest NY Times Travel Magazine, and another excellent writeup can be found at Refinery 29.

>> Björk's costumes decorate a record shop in Reykjavik...

The silver bell creation below is from her Who is it? video. The angel dress reminds me of this gorgeous design from Balmain.

I hope a major museum puts on an exhibit of Björk's costumes one day- they definitely rival Kylie Minogue's.

>> As usual, after style and music, street art is what gets me really excited about visiting new places (Barcelona and Sao Paulo are topping my list for this reason). From the look of it, Reykjavik's spray paint guerillas have turned a few alleys into extraordinary sidewalk galleries.


Back to watching Hafið (The Sea) on my laptop... see you soon.

pics: azim haidaryan, björk costumes, reyk graffiti

16 comments:

Clare said...

Gorgeous. I find that stencil art is amazing, wherever it is.

Static Fashion said...

escapism at its best...

Lauren Cerand said...

Gorgeous post-- I have a massive crush on the Icelandic scene too! Have you seen the film, noi albinoi? It's pretty dark but so so cute!

RD said...

Whilst you are dreaming of cool blasts of air and cool, I am dreaming of a blast of hot air and hot. Cheers, BB

cmneum said...

oh gosh this post makes me so mad at my self--i saw a super cheap flight to iceland and didn't book it quick enough! but...now i'm back in the states :(

Jamie said...

I have been enamored of all things Scandinavian for a long time. Iceland particularly has a certain moody charm that I find quite irresistible. I agree with you about Bjork's costumes. Her creativity in music and fashion surely should be recognized! Great street art too!

Panda Head said...

great pictures, great post! it's nice to catch up on your adventures.

Mrs Fashion said...

Have you investigated Silvia Night? Very funny - and Icelandic!
Mrs F x

la femme said...

lauren: I've seen Noi twice! Love it. The ending was powerful.

mrs f: I haven't... thanks for the heads up.

The Spicers said...

LOVE those shadow-casting butterflies!

Siru said...

I also <3 Iceland !

Ariana | Paris To Go said...

Love your picks. Iceland is the new Belgium.

Teresa said...

The stencil-graffiti is amazing...beautiful.

Rosastef said...

Being an Icelander myself and a big fan of my own country in a fashion sense, I believe you missed out on one of Iceland's most famous fashion designer and a personal favorite: Juniform. I absolutely love their clothes...

Rosastef said...

Being an Icelander myself and a big fan of my own country in a fashion sense, I believe you missed out on one of Icelands greatest fashion designer: Júniform.

david said...

I have done my share of obsessing about Iceland. I suppose for me it is an escape from the regular life I experience here in beautiful Victoria (a small seaside city itelf in the Pacific.) What draws me to it apart from the the culture is the unpredictable, and often difficult whether. They are so far north, and in the sometimes nasty Atlantic Ocean. And their history is so interesting.

Modern Icelanders can still read the Sagas from 700 years ago. We English speakers cannot say the same thing. Not only are they isolated, but they seem connected to the past, which I dream of in my own culture.

I am German by descent, and have a small connection to the roots of the old stories in Iceland. I guess a part of me has a rough edge that I find in some of my research on the culture.

Some stories have come up in my writing that take place in Reykjavik, and this has drawn me to do research about the place. I have taken home instructional CDs in the Icelandic language, have studied maps of the city, searched images online, and read blogs and other stories written in English by Icelanders.

There are a couple of movies at my local video shop (Pic-A-Flic, if you're ever in Victoria) from Iceland, and one of them is one of my favourites. 101 Reykjavik, by Baltasar Kormakur. The other (Noi) I have seen, but will likely not watch twice.

Of course, I understand that Reykjavik is a modern city, like any other in Europe, but it is its ties to the past that haunt my psyche.

Though I have never been there, I think of Iceland as an escape from my own time and place.

Thanks for your blog.