Name Steinunn Sigurd | ||
How to read the Human body | Steinunn Sigurd | TEDxKarlskrona
Steinunn Sigurdardóttir is an Icelandic fashion designer. She is the founder and creative director of her own label STEiNUNN, founded in 2000.
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Early Life & Parsons School of Design
Steinunn was born in Reykjavik, Iceland.
In an 2006 interview at Sjónþingi Gerðubergs Steinunn talks about the influence her mother and grandmother had on her early life and how it shaped her professional career. Steinunn’s grandmother worked as a sewing lady and frequently made clothes for Steinunn. She taught Steinunn how to knit at the age of 9 but knitwear design has been very predominant in Steinunn’s collections. Steinunn also credits her mother’s great sense of style. She recalls a particular dress her mother used to wear which Steinunn eventually inherited. The dress became an iconic part of Steinunn's wardrobe and later in her career inspired a design for a Calvin Klein dress, which walked the runway in 1992.
After finishing her studies in Reykjavík, Steinunn moved to New York City to attend Parsons School of Design. Steinunn was the first Icelandic person to attend Parsons School of Design. When she arrived in New York she recalls having to grow up very fast in such a fast paced city. Her knitting skills came of good use; within a month and a half she had gotten a job as a pattern sample knitter which allowed her to earn extra money to cover the expense of living in New York City.
Despite having been told she would never get into a design school by her teachers back home in Iceland, Steinunn graduated in 1986 from Parsons with a Bachelor in Fashion Design (BFA), with honours.
Career
Upon her graduation in 1986, Steinunn spent a brief year working with Carmelo Pomodoro as an assistant designer. The two had met during her studies at Parsons. In 1987 to 1989 she worked as a designer for Polo/Ralph Lauren Collection.
In 1989 she got the opportunity to design for Calvin Klein. The two began a close relationship and Steinunn quickly moved on to become the Director and Senior Knitwear Designer for Calvin Klein Inc., Collection, CK Sport, and Jeans Division. At Calvin Klein she continued experimenting with knitwear. Her signature design became cable knit, which gave her the nickname “The Cable Queen” at the Calving Klein house. Later on during her work at Calvin Klein she began experimenting with knit as fabric. She manipulated the material and discovered new techniques to create a different feel and texture.
In one year Steinunn recalls designing twelve clothing lines, worked on six different fashion shows, travelled three times to Hong Kong, twice to San Francisco, twice to Italy, and three times to Iceland. It was the year she truly got to know the insanity behind the fashion industry. She was 49 kilos, smoked a pack and a half per day and drank fifteen cups of coffee.
Steinunn left Calvin Klein Inc. in 1995 and began working as the Director and Senior Designer for Gucci Group. She was with Gucci Group until the year 2000.
In 2000, Steinunn became the Creative Director of La Perla Ready to Wear. Steinunn sought a lot of her inspiration from her native country Iceland, and its nature. She began experimenting with sheer fabrics and silk to bring out texture that reminded her of freshly fallen snow. Steinunn also started playing with fish skin in her designs which at the time was unheard off. Steinunn was the main advocate for starting a swimsuit line for La Perla. She recalls having to fight for her vision, but once she got what she wanted La Perla gained a lot of attention for its swimwear.
STEiNUNN
The same year that she started her work as Creative Director at La Perla Steinunn withdrew $10,000 from her savings account and started her own fashion label STEiNUNN back in Iceland. She left her position at La Perla in 2003 to focus solely on her own brand and other personal projects. After a hugely successful and challenging career abroad Steinunn felt it the biggest challenge yet was to become and independent designer and create something that reflects purely her personal vision. In an interview she said the goal as a designer is to constantly push her creative practice further and bring it to the next level.
In November 2011 Steinunn relocated her store to 17 Grandagardur, located in the fish-packing district of Reykjavik. Steinunn re-design building which used to be a small repair workshop for fishnets, but kept the authentic rustic charm. The original floors, left untouched, tell the story of the space.
Exhibitions
Steinunn has held numerous lectures, set on solo and group exhibitions as well as curated exhibitions in Iceland and abroad. She has served on boards of numerous companies and organisations, and frequently teaches as a guest teacher in design schools around the world.
Her works have been acquired by museums in Iceland, Sweden, and Norway.
In 2013 Steinunn introduced Rhythm Knitting as a part of the Nordic Cool 2013 festival organised by the Kennedy Centre. “Steinunn Sigurd presented a hands-on workshop celebrating the cultural and artistic value of knitting. From novice to expert, participants of all skill levels were introduced to new possibilities in knitting, using music and creative techniques without needles that found the participants using only their fingers.”
Personal life
Steinunn is married to the architect Páll Hjaltason.
Steinunn was introduced to photographer Mary Ellen in 2005 by her son, Alexander. Their relationship led to a book called Extraordinary Children and an exhibition under the same name at the National Museum of Iceland. A documentary about Steinunn’s son, Alexander, made its debut at the opening.
Since then Steinunn has collaborated with Mary Ellen on numerous fashion photography projects for her brand STEiNUNN, using a large-scale polaroid machine.
Awards & Honours
Steinunn received the prestigious Söderberg Prize from the Rhösska museum in 2008
Other awards and honours: