“Where do you get your ideas and inspiration from?” I am often asked that by my customers and friends, who read my catalogues and buy the clothes that my design team and I create. In answer to the question: sometimes I’m inspired by photos I see, garments I find on Pinterest or perhaps pictures in an old book that I have at home in my bookcase. This time, it was our own Norse sagas or mythology that provided the inspiration. Ask and Embla were the first two humans in Norse mythology. Personally, I thought that Ask, the man, should be sporting a rustic-style jacket and trousers. Embla, the woman, should have a Medieval dress with a simple design of floral swirls and leaves. A plant-dyed indigo seemed a perfectly logical choice for these outfits.

 

Along with dyes derived from plants and earth pigments, indigo has been one of the first dyes produced in many cultures. I wanted a “homemade” cardigan and a simple cotton top made of natural cotton for this collection too. The cardigan’s various sections are knitted in moss stitch using a yarn with different coloured neps.

 

– Gudrun