A group of multi-functional sweaters caught our attention recently. One could be worn in two ways: turning it upside down changed the look dramatically. Another sweater could be worn long or hitched up for a shorter length. Moreover, it could also be turned around, wrapped in imaginative ways and finally fastened with a piece of bone stuck through the fabric.
The shop was, of course, ELM, favourite of American talk show host Oprah Winfrey, who has worn the clothing on her show, and winner of the 2004 Reykjavík City Council and Icelandic Chamber of Commerce Tourist Shop of the Year.
Their clothes are known for the amount of interaction they have with their owners.
“We think it’s fun to make clothes that can be worn in many different ways,” says Erna Steina Guðmundsdóttir, one of the founders. (The other two founders are Lisbet Sveinsdóttir and Matthildur Halldórsdóttir: the name ELM is from the first letter of each of their first names.)
The garments are all designed in Iceland, but assembled in Lima, Peru, where co-founder Halldórsdóttir oversees production.
Our favourite sweater had an intimidating price: 28,000 ISK. But another shopper was quick to point out that the garment was really “many garments in one.”
Guðmundsdóttir pointed out the timelessness of her designs, which perhaps explains how she has had so much international success, and why her clothes are accepted as a good investment: “We find it important to be timeless. We don’t limit ourselves to one, specific age group, but try to make clothes that suit women of all ages.”
ELM, Laugavegur 1, 101 Reykjavík
Tel: 511 0991 elm@elm.is
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