K&S Reykjavík: Icelandic tweed: Sourced and spun at home

Kormákur & Skjöldur Reykjavík has built a collection based on homegrown tweed and Nordic values.

Iceland is not the first country that springs to mind when thinking about tweed fashion. Nonetheless, the Nordic country is home to Kormákur & Skjöldur Reykjavík, a fashion brand which has caught the world’s attention just over a quarter of a century after its launch. Today, it has six stores in Iceland and is making progress on the international stage too.

“The brand is a heritage brand, based on Nordic values. We do everything from high quality suits and formal wear to more washed down relaxed styling with a bohemian flair,” says head designer and CEO Gunni Hilmarsson. “We really make everything a man needs in the collection as we see our stores as a one stop destination for the gentlemen in Iceland. Everything from hats down to socks.”

For comparable brands, he points to Paul Smith, RRL Ralph Lauren and heritage brands including Filson and Barbour. “The collection has depth in terms of styles and different themes, so it caters to a large variety of stores and countries,” he says.

Hilmarsson, who joined the brand 11 years ago after working for several brands in Europe and the US, says what makes K&S Reykjavík stand out is that the brand is the only one in the world that makes Icelandic tweed. It took the team years to develop the fabric, which is genuinely homegrown, sourced and spun. “The Icelandic sheep has been isolated in Iceland for over 1000 years and it is a special breed,” he says. “We are very proud of how the tweed fabric came out after years of development.”

A sustainable approach and patience are key to the building of the brand. The founders decided early on that they wanted to work with local suppliers and have kept collections small to avoid excess items and wastage. As the company says, “slow fashion is the way forward.”

This year K&S Reykjavík took international steps, showing its collection in fashion weeks in Denmark and Italy and selling to ten countries so far. However, slow and steady are the watchwords. “In our wildest dreams we would like to have stores in a few key cities and online retailers selling our line, but we want the same slow organic growth as we have had so far,” concludes Hilmarsson.

Gunnar Hilmarsson.

Web: www.kormakurogskjoldur.is
Instagram: @kormakurogskjoldur