Name: Magnea Einarsdottir

Where are you from? Iceland

Age: 26

Occupation: fashion/knitwear designer

M.E. Actually, I wasn’t planning on going into knitwear. Before I started at Central Saint Martins I did a year at Parsons Paris in womenswear. Parsons was amazing and in one year I learned so much: pattern cutting, draping and drawing. But I wanted to go to London so I applied for CSM and was offered a place in knitwear because the tutors saw potential in my portfolio. I had never seen a knitting machine before, but it just felt right. When you design knitwear the focus is on the fabric. You begin with experimenting with the textiles and designing the shapes and silhouettes of the clothes comes later. I usually keep my shapes simple so the knitting stands out. It is all about the knit. The best thing is that you are designing something from scratch. It is restricted to being knitted, but for me that is not really a bad thing.

I.F. Where did you get the inspiration for your BA Graduation collection and what is the concept behind it? 

M.E. The starting point in my research was to look at what happens when it is getting dark outside, when day meets night. There is a big difference between that time of day where I come from compared to London, where it is not as dramatic, so I looked at opposites and how they attract and used all sorts of contrasting materials to experiment with and create my fabrics.

- a sketch from Magnea’s portfolio -

M.E. I want to do an MA but not just yet so I didn’t apply for anything this year and decided to move back to Iceland where I am going to work on my own designs and do some freelance work for now.

I.F. Do you think there is a lot of room for innovation in knitwear and why? 

M.E. I think there are endless possibilities in knitwear. The word ’knit’ probably makes most people think about an old lady knitting a wooly jumper, but there is so much more to it. At CSM you get the opportunity to work next to fresh and super talented students and tutors who encourage you to push your ideas more and more and I think graduates must come out wanting to keep on going in that mode and keep exploring.

- a sketch from Magnea’s portfolio -

M.E. Monki on Carnaby Street, COS and Urban Outfitters

I.F. Your style in 3 adjectives: 

M.E. Effortless, detailed, simple.

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