She is from Sweden, but you would never say it when you see her sunny, colorful and really avangard designs. I'm totally in love with her knitting techniques and silhouettes. Emma Lundgren gave me an interview specially for Ekstrakt Laboratory, but some off topic questions i left specially for my blog. Here you can read her answers in English as well as some sketchbook pages we didn't publish on Ekstrakt.me
V.: Your geo-biography and everything that influenced you when u were a kid and while growing up.
E.: I am originally hailing from Sweden, as a child I was very much a tomboy playing football and played with the boys in the forest, but a big difference came however, when I grew out of my tomboy teenager style, and I began accessorising with my mum's old clothes. My mum saved her clothes, and her mother's clothes, over the years in a room in our house in Sweden. It was always such a treat to go into that room. The history, the material, the luxury and the function of the clothes my mum saved fascinated me. They ranged from masquerade attire to everyday gear. Combine the tomboy childhood look with my mum’s wardrobe is a pretty good description of my work aesthetic.
V.: Why and when did you set your self with designing clothes? And who do you design it for?
E.: As a kid I spent a lot of time with my grandparents in the countryside, they taught me knit, embroidery, and crochet to keep me pacified. I was always building things on a daily schedule so the creative part has always been big part of me. It took me a few years to realize that I could get a degree in Design. I started off by studying and working with graphic design in Sweden, but during that time I figured out that my real love was in the textile design. That led me to London-Central Saint Martins & Royal College of Art where I started to create wearable pieces of my textile designs. I wanted to create witty wearable pieces for those with a love for uniqueness, innocence and the unconventional with a desire to express themselves, such as Bjork or Robyn.
V.: The way you use knitting technics, as well as embroidery and crochet is very impressive, but how do you come to it? do you do samples of different types and then merge them together, or does it come to you as a complete image of how the look should be done? Do you have a sketchbook or anything like that?
E.: The patterns I’m creating with the different techniques are always hand drawn by me. I usually do a lot of tests with different material and techniques and later puzzle them together into a bigger piece, or I pick one technique that tells the aesthetic I am aiming for. I most of the time let the material and technique speak their own language together with my own view in mind and on paper.
V.: How do you see your life path in future? I know, you've been studying a lot, and already have an experience in fashion business world, when you were on your internship. Are you planning to establish your own business (if you have not done it already)?
E.: I have started off in a small scale with my own company for when I create one off pieces for different occasions or doing lectures on various occasions discussing and presenting my Scandinavian style. My goal and dream is to have my own concept company that takes on diverse projects and collaborations with other designers and companies. I have learned that I need to work in a number of design mediums to satisfy my passion for print, colour and material design. In a fantasy world people and companies would contact me for my aesthetic that would be applied on their products or garments.
V.: What do you think is expected from the upcoming designers? And what do you pursue or follow when you design clothes?
E.: Passion, energy and some capital, to fund the collection and survive. I follow my instincts and passion to push myself and my design in the directions I believe in. My collections always have an underlying message to raise awareness of a subject that need a bit of attention, such as the Folklore dress or Sami people. The challenge this time is to create a collection without the college great facilities and with a tight budget. Exciting!
V.: What would your message to the world sound like?
E.: Smile!
V.: From serious matters, to smth. a bit more fun and personal: What is a "must have" for a boy and a girl ?
E.: A pair of shoes with some good details in material and colours, it is the key piece off an outfit.
V.: What inspires you in this 3 categories: art, music, design.
E.: Art: The shapes and colours that are created in a diverse media of material and constructions.
Music: The power and dream-fulness
Design: Typography
V.: Give us the best link that you have come up in internet in the last 1-2 months :)
V.:A question from another designer - What was your first challenge in your career - study etc. and how did you overcome it. (it could be a brief you were given in the University or a dress you had to design for smb. special to you... etc)
E.: My first brief at Central Saint Martins was a challenge in language, presentation method and culture contrast. I remember that it was a quite big difference from what I was used to back home. I had to figure out a way to present my work that suited me, but yet still adapting a little bit into the CSM learning system, it took some time but after several trials I figured it out. However presenting your work is an ongoing learning curve as you and your work are constantly developing.
V.: What would you want to ask another designer?
E.: How come you design in the way you do, in colours, material, aesthetic, layout, Is it anything you wished you could do?
Links:
www.ekstrakt.me
http://emmalundgren.com/
