Rarely wears anything other than black

Sif Baldursdóttir is the designer behind Kyrja, a sharp, modern Icelandic fashion label for women. Kyrja, available in Kiosk, a boutique on central Laugavegur in Reykjavik, is heading to Paris this autumn for the prestigious Capsule trade show. Iceland Monitor found out more. 

What does a typical day in the life of Sif Baldursdóttir involve?

When you run your own company no day is really the same, some days I need to run what seems like hundreds of errands and some days I get to spend entirely at my studio in Grandi.

On an ideal day I get to the studio between 8:00 and 9:00, preferably picking up an oat milk latte at Kaffihús Vesturbæjar on my way there. 

Once there I usually check my emails and then get straight to working on whichever pattern I’m evolving at the moment and cutting out and sewing toile samples to see how the fit is and what adjustments need to be made to the pattern.

I’m usually quite organised in my regular life but the second I step into my studio I become this very distracted version of myself, probably because I’m thinking about so many things at the same time. For example, I keep misplacing my scissors (even if I own around 10 different pairs), pencils or rulers about once every five minutes! 

I usually listen very loudly to whatever is my favourite music of the moment throughout the day and that makes everything more fun.

If I’m not close to a deadline then I will go home maybe around 7 or 8 and cook myself something nice for dinner, but the last couple of weeks leading up to a deadline I’ll spend between 12-16 hours a day at the studio, really just going home to sleep.

When did the Kyrja label come about?

The actual launch happened in autumn 2013 when I finished the production of the first line, A/W13-14 and became a co-owner of the shop Kiosk, where Kyrja is stocked. Before that I had been walking around with the idea of the brand for about a year, but I’d had difficulty finding my own personal style as a designer. As soon as I started working that very first collection though, it came quite naturally.

What are the main influences behind your designs?

I always strive to be as free as possible when it comes to my design process, I don’t want it to feel contrived. I tend to avoid sketching altogether and focus straight on the pattern construction.

There needs to be a certain natural flow to the process, and I try to allow myself to be inspired by whatever inspires me in that moment and to not overthink my decisions, even if I can fuss over certain details almost obsessively.

Kyrja was the only Icelandic brand selected to go to Capsule, a renowned fashion tradeshow in PARIS. Could you tell us how this come about?

I cannot comment on whether there are any other Icelandic brands exhibiting there this season, although I think Kyrja is the only one. I did my research and found this tradeshow to be the best fit for my brand and then applied. I wasn’t sure I would hear back from them since I know they are very exclusive, but I received an invitation to exhibit shortly after. The show is in October and I’m working hard on finishing the S/S16 collection in good time.

What are your wardrobe staples and why?

I wouldn’t really say I have any, but in Iceland I think it’s important to have enough warm sweaters since we need to use them a lot, and also just clothes that you feel comfortable in. Also, you can never have enough shoes!

The Kyrja items are mostly black. Are you a dark dresser?

I most certainly am, my friends all know I rarely wear anything other than black. In fact if I wear something that's not black I usually get surprised comments and some people stare at me suspiciously because they don’t think I look like myself. But that doesn’t mean I don’t love colours, I just prefer not wearing them. 

What‘s your favourite Kyrja item to date?

I think I’d have to say a black silk velvet cape with an oversized hood and silk georgette inserts that I did for a special project involving the ladies from the amazing Icelandic band, Mammút. It’s called Ása, like the band member it was designed for, we both share a slight obsession for hoods and dramatic black pieces.