A masterclass in cold weather cool

If there was ever a place to research winter fashion trends it is Reykjavik. The Icelandic people have their own brand of cool nailed and I’m not talking Bjork experimental. It is possible to look sexy, hip and stay warm; being Nordic, chiselled and blonde is simply a bonus.

I’ve been going to the tiny island for around 5 years now and it never fails to inspire me with its art, music, culture and all round creativity. Since the collapse of the bank, all visitors can now actually afford to buy a beer too…. even more reason to go.

My trips generally coincide with the annual Airwaves music festival, which showcases a select and quirky line-up of International and Icelandic bands in a variety of city centre venues. The perfect city break/music festival combo, which conveniently happens to be the Iceland Air midway stop-off  from London to New York.  For the 4 days of festival, the entire city: bars, shops, cafes all become impromptu venues and you can stumble upon all manner of performances whilst milling about.

Casio Kids rock the main stage

Originality and an innate sartorial sense must be added to the Icelandic water and this year’s festival crowd didn’t disappoint. Utterly stylish and unassumingly hip I wanted to weep in admiration before documenting everyone.

Typical festival goers

Amongst the many trends I saw, over knee socks thick layered knits and kooky vintage furs were particularly popular as were retro accessories and animal inspired details. Many festival goers were dressed formally in 3 piece suits, whilst others had earned medals in professional layering (and here’s me thinking I was clever for stocking up on Uniqlo heatec thermals.)

Layers and knits

The Icelandic look is almost like a refined but kookier East London. Hackney twinned with Reyjavik perhaps? No wonder my friends and I felt so at home…