Threading Her Way To Paris: Ása Bríet Brattaberg Brings Icelandic Heritage To Fashion

“There’s a cute picture of me at two years old with my grandmother from the Faroe Islands. My gran was teaching me to draw up a pattern for a garment. She sewed and knitted clothes for me, and so did my mother,” Ása Bríet Brattaberg explains. The Reykjavík native, currently a Hermès designer in Paris, has agreed to an interview following international recognition for her Icelandic-inspired designs. She states her mother, grandmothers and aunts were always knitting, sewing, or gathering in what in Iceland is called “saumaklúbbur”, sewing circles where women catch up on their lives and local gossip. “It sparked something within me. This thing that you could have an idea, make a pattern, and create clothes exactly the way you wanted.”

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That spark quickly grew into an obsession with making things by hand. Her parents tolerated her endless experiments with great patience, she explains, and by her teens, she already knew her path. Instead of four years in a traditional Menntaskóli (gymnasium), she chose Tækniskólinn, Reykjavík Technical College, studying tailoring. She graduated with a certificate in dressmaking, inspired by her idol Alexander McQueen, who had trained in tailoring before turning to fashion design.

“I realised if I wanted to be a designer, I needed to understand patterns and construction of garments on a deep level,” she says. Her early experiences included work with the Icelandic brand JÖR, then an internship in London, immersing herself further in McQueen’s world.

But her education coincided with turbulent times in the fashion industry. The 2013 Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh highlighted the brutal costs of fast fashion. “It made me think: if I’m going to study fashion, I need something unique to offer,” Ása explains. “That’s when I decided to combine tailoring with textiles.”

She spent two years at Myndlistarskólinn, Reykjavík’s Art School, studying textiles, spinning, weaving, and dyeing with plants under the guidance of Ragna Fróða, Iceland’s “textile queen.” From there, she moved to London’s prestigious Central Saint Martins in 2019, studying womenswear.

An internship at Chanel

Her studies took her on internships abroad. A six-month stint in Chanel’s textile department proved transformative. “I didn’t think I wanted to work for a big house. I imagined some Devil Wears Prada scenario,” she laughs. “But Chanel received my portfolio, I got the placement, and it was incredible. Chanel is all about textiles, so I learned so much. And I fell in love with Paris.”

Back in London, she finished her degree, also spending time in Berlin’s fashion scene. But Chanel left its mark. “The history of the house, Coco Chanel herself, her innovations like jersey and trousers for women were beyond inspiring. I even designed a few fabrics that were chosen for a runway show,” Ása Bríet explains, and adds that working at the prestigious Rue Cambon and even visiting Coco Chanel’s apartment were incredible experiences.

Her time at Chanel also clarified her next step: Paris, not London, would be her future home. ‘’Paris suits me better,” she laughs. She applied to both Central Saint Martins and the Institut Français de la Mode (IFM) for a master’s degree, ultimately choosing IFM to specialise in knitwear. “Knitwear was exploding, and there is such demand for technical knowledge. At IFM I merged creativity with industrial knitting and programming. It was the best decision I’ve made, I became a knitting nerd.”

The programme was demanding, industry-focused, and connected directly to major fashion houses. She worked on projects with Loro Piana in Italy, creating a homeware line called Cashmere dreamscapes and then collaborated with Hermès. Her assignment: study the fashion house and create a complete look. “I was inspired by my grandparents’ love for horses and Icelandic heritage of knitting lopapeysa, which has for decades been the main piece on Icelandic women’s knitting needles. The sweater I designed was circular, like the corrals at Réttir sheep round-ups and then redesigned the pattern of the lopapeysa where the pattern/motif is held by a thread. The dress was like a wet Icelandic horse on a rainy autumn day during the sheep round-ups.”

That might sound like slightly unglamorous material for one of the world’s most luxurious fashion brands, but Hermès loved it, and of course they’re a brand used to working with horses and heritage. “They loved the story of our small Icelandic horses and the story I told them about our mythical Icelandic horse Nykur.” After graduation, they invited Ása to join their womenswear knitwear department. She’s been there ever since.

Bringing Icelandic history to Hermès

What makes Ása’s work distinctive is her insistence on storytelling. Her master’s collection, inspired by ástandið — the fraught relationships between Icelandic women and Allied soldiers during World War II — became a love story rendered in wool, bright-coloured viscose, and natural dyes. “I imagined an Icelandic woman falling for an American soldier, and when he left, all that remained was his army coat,” she explains. “My collection explores themes of love, loss, memory, and the act of preserving the past through craftsmanship.”

Her garments combine Icelandic materials and craft with broader cultural narratives, bridging past and present. “I think we have so many fascinating stories in Iceland, and people abroad are very interested when I share them. At school, the industry people loved hearing these stories, they felt fresh and different.”

She sees her role as carrying Icelandic handcraft into high fashion. “We have so much amazing craft in Iceland. I’ve visited the Textile Museum and studied old magazines. It’s important to keep this heritage alive, but also bring it into the modern world. Young designers should reinterpret it for today.”
“The dress was like a wet Icelandic horse on a rainy autumn day during the sheep round-ups.”

Sustainability is central to Ása’s thinking, though she approaches it realistically. At Paris Design Week, she joined a project exploring “fashion farming” and reusing textiles, collaborating with a Dutch natural dye artist and a Rotterdam museum Nieuwe Instituut for a project called New Store. “It’s important to educate consumers about materials and garment care,” she says. “At the same time, fully sustainable fashion often comes with price tags that make it inaccessible. We need to keep the conversation alive.”

Her IFM collection has already gained recognition: she’s been shortlisted for a major Italian fashion award and will present her work in Milan this autumn. “It’s exciting to have the chance to share an Icelandic story with the international industry,” she says.

Cigarettes at Canal Saint-Martin

For now, Paris is home. She lives in the Marais, in the very heart of the city she adores. Life outside work is a mix of markets, museums, personal projects, the gym, and long evenings with her international circle of friends, many of whom were also at Central Saint Martins. “I don’t speak French fluently yet; the programme was in English, and my friends are mostly an international crowd, but I’m learning. I’ll get there.”

Her Parisian lifestyle, she admits, is something of a cliché: “We hang out along the Canal Saint-Martin, sit in brasseries, drink red wine, smoke cigarettes and people watch to see what’s in fashion,” she laughs. “But what I love most is that people here know how to enjoy life. They take time to talk, to sit and watch the world go by.”

As for the future, Ása is content to gather experience at Hermès, deepen her expertise, and prepare for what comes next. “The dream is to create my own work, tell my own stories. I have a huge bank of ideas I want to share. I can’t say exactly what’s next, but there are projects on the cards.” And regarding the future, she’d like to remain in Paris. “But you never know what opportunities life brings. My dream is to work on my own things, whether in the form of a brand or a more artistic approach to fashion, let’s see. ”I have so many more stories to tell through clothing, textiles, and craftsmanship.”

For a young woman from Reykjavík, whose first experiments in design were with her grandmother’s sewing, the journey already seems remarkable. “It’s crazy to think I’m working at Hermès,” she says. “You hardly realise how big the house is until you’re inside it. I don’t think my grandparents would ever have imagined that I’d be in Paris, working around horses as an inspiration for one of the world’s most prestigious fashion houses.”

Check out Ása’s Bríet on her Instagram @asabrietbratta and her website asabrietbrattaberg.is