Fashion Issue Out

As fashion weeks in major cities taper off, we felt it was fitting to do a Reykjavík fashion cover. Reykjavík has, surprisingly, become a very cool place to shop for people around the world. Tourists as well as international celebrities salivate when visiting some of the citys original fashion stores: weve had Tarantino, Pink and Scarlett Johansson shopping at Dead, Steven Spielberg and Calista Flockhart at Trilogia, and fashion magazines such as Elle New York raving about the citys fabulous vintage stores. Icelanders tend to bring in that quirky element to their own designs, and tend to buy avant-garde designers from around the world for their stores bringing a great originality to clothes shopping. Reykjavík is also beautifully practical for tired shoppers; how can you go wrong with one rather short shopping street and two compact shopping malls? And for those who fear the great expense of designer fashion in one of the worlds most expensive cities, youll be pleasantly surprised. For some reason, while high-street clothes can be rather more pricey than your usual H&M store abroad, quality designer clothes and watches can often be cheaper than in New York, Paris or London. In this issue we visit the brand new store of Dead designer Jón Sæmundur Auðarson and Aftur designer Hrafnhildur Raven Hólgeirsdóttir who have set up shop in the magical Liborius, situated by the harbourside. Aside from their own creative labels they stock a gasp-inducing total of 25 international designers. But frivolity aside, this issue also looks at the end of the road for Kárahnjúkar: after years of bitter debate, the first water will stream into the Hálsalón lagoon at the end of September, flooding a large part of the east highlands. Whether the decision is right or wrong, thats definitely a very high price to pay for natural power.

Anna@reykjavik.com