Magi(c) Mix of Art and Fashion

The latest addition to Reykjavik's fashion flora is Liborius, opening with a bang on September 29th. Artist and designer Jón Sæmundur Auðarsson and stylist and designer Hrafnhildur "Raven" Hólmgeirsdóttir are the faces behind the store, which they believe will open a new window on fashion in Iceland. Raven is responsible for the buying side of the business, having lived and worked in fashion for most of her life with her own clothes label, Aftur, which she designs with her sister Bára. We caught Raven fresh from New York Fashion Week.

What were you doing in New York?

I was buying for next spring and summer. The labels we have in the store are mostly purchased in Paris but we also decided to go to New York to see the difference in fashion week there. It's huge. Paris was like, work, work, work, but New York was just about partying and hanging out with famous people. Work seemed like an afterthought there. I enjoyed both, actually half and half would have been perfect. It was kind of weird being a buyer this time, instead of a designer, but fun.

Where did the idea of a store come from?

Well, Jón had decided to open a store and asked me to take a look at this new label when I was living in Denmark. Jón loves opening new stores. I think he'd like to open one every week. (Laughs.) Anyway I got all crazy and kind of imposed myself on him and this project and just told him that we had to make the coolest shop in Iceland. We're both so spontaneous that we just went ahead with it. I moved back to Iceland and now our idea is coming to life.

What kind of labels do you stock?

We just have real, beautiful designs. I only chose designers I've been watching for ages, ones that are becoming big right now. The main stock is from Ann Demeulemeester. Her clothes are such good quality and absolutely timeless, which is essential to good design. If you're buying a really expensive piece, it should last you for the next 20 years. Our other labels flirt with Demeulemeester, we have a total of 26 labels including our own labels Dead and Aftur. All of our labels use interplay between art and fashion. I love it when designers make clothes without being controlled by the typical fashion vibe of the moment. We also sell jewellery, candles and other objects of interest.

What does Liborius stand for?

Jón Sæmundur started tracing back his Prussian grandmother's origins. Her family name was Liborius. Now he just wants to be called Count Liborius.

Who does what, then?

I take care of the store, select the women's clothes and the designers. Jón designed the whole store and has been totally swamped making all of the interiors himself. He is in charge of the men's clothes and has his artist's studio behind the store.

Liborius is situated on Mýrargata 1 not a typical street for this kind of store.

Jón and I are such ghetto people. We didn't want to be on Laugavegur in an ugly building, paying murderous sums for rent. We wanted to be different and Mýrargata is in my opinion one of the most exciting streets in Reykjavík today. There are a lot of new things to see, it's close to the sea and the harbour. We were also lucky to find this cool building that really suited our needs. If you look at the coolest stores in big cities, in most cases they are situated just out of the city centre. The customer has to hunt for it. We liked that idea too.

What's your favourite label in the store?

Wow that's a really difficult choice. Undercover and Number N(i)ne are strong contenders and of course the American Jeremy Scott whom I've known for years. He was a mentor for my sister and me, doing constructive criticism of our label, Aftur. He always comes up with humorous pieces and is always true to himself. In most cases there's some controversy in his clothing. Just like the autumn collection available in our store, it's inspired by fast food and is concerned with the American obsession with it. 3asfour are also favourites as I've known them for a long time and always come up with fun stuff.

Are you trying to appeal to a certain kind of person?

No, everyone who is interested in fashion and real design is welcome. People who don't want mass produced stuff that will be unwearable in six months. We have high quality design and, of course our clothes are expensive, although we do stock average-priced labels such as April 77, Dead, Aftur and Velour. It's a store for the young and the old, the fashionable and the unfashionable. Art will take a centre stage at Liborius. We've designed a stage inside the shop and all the interiors are moveable so that we can easily host concerts, art shows, fashion shows and other events. There will always be plenty going on; we want to host lots of events and fun parties. It will be so much more than just a store.

text by Álfrún Pálsdóttir / photos by Silja Magg