The Evolution of Fam Irvoll
When we think of Scandi fashion we often imagine muted colour palettes and minimalist pared-back garments. Norwegian designer Fam Irvoll eschews that stereotype for a maximalist mantra which reveals itself in mood-lifting creations that are made with a mastery that goes beyond what simply pleases the eye.
Fam brought her A/W 26 collection “I used to be Seventeen” to London during Fashion Week to showcase it before an expectant and excited East London audience.
She told Avesso that this latest body of work was inspired by “nostalgia which is always at the back of my mind and my old childhood drawings from when I was about six years old and redoing them”
A further inspiration was the “new rave” movement of the mid noughties and seminal London nightclubs like pre-gentrication Hoxton Square’s “Boombox” and Jodie Harsh’s night “Circus” which initially ran in Soho at a time when the neighbourhood still had a reputation for sleaze and salaciousness. Clubs that were imbued with a delicious decadence with Fam recalling “ I had them at the back of my mind, that gay scene. When I was going out we dressed up really crazy and people don’t seem to do that nowadays”.
These themes manifested themselves in an assemblage of pieces that while bearing the designer's signature elements also demonstrated the evolution of her practice. She told Avesso “ I always want to take something from my last collection and bring it into the new one but also always want to learn a new craft, last time it was embroidery , this time french beading and of course there will always be flowers”.
Floral patterns adorned skirts, coats and bomber jackets which were paired with customised loafers and Mary Janes emblazoned with colourful, misshapen polka dots. Knitted big collared polo shirts in vibrant red and green added a sports luxe dynamic to the collection. A pillar box red , almost utilitarian, denim suit and a pink two piece outfit caught our eye , as did florally embellished blue jeans and a fur trimmed slip dress. A confection coloured palette married with the prettiest prints “I used to be Seventeen” took us to a world where theatricality and romance collided with escapism and fantasy. A collection that while taking us to another dimension remained eminently wearable.
Recalling those designers who have influenced her it’s another former Hoxton habitue Alexander McQueen , along with that generation's other London-based enfant terrible Gareth Pugh , whom she cites as her main inspirations. While they have influenced her creative pathway she has created her own unique design DNA , one that’s refreshingly unfiltered and underpinned by an impeccable artisanal aesthetic.
That vision and those values see her celebrating the 21st anniversary of her fashion career in September , an impressive achievement in what can often be a transitory industry. Avesso asked Fam how she plans to commemorate that landmark moment and she told us she intends to stage a massive “Alice in Wonderland” themed show in her homeland of Norway. We look forward to it and also to her returning to London with future stellar collections.
Images courtesy of Black PR
