Katrín Alda and Rebekka Rafnsdóttir
Founders, Kalda, aged 28 and 24
Kalda
Splitting their time between Reykjavík and London, sisters Katrín Alda and Rebekka Rafnsdóttir founded contemporary casual womenswear brand Kalda in 2010. It was picked up exclusively by Liberty in London for autumn 11 and spring 12.
Alda describes Kalda, which is made in Iceland, as channelling a “modern minimalism that results in undemanding yet discretely seductive clothes”.
Alda graduated with a degree in fashion management from London College of Fashion in 2008 and Rafnsdóttir studied philosophy and creative writing in Iceland.
After a brief stint at Marios Schwab, assisting mainly with production, Alda began to focus on her ambition to have her own label. With her sister, she started to make and sell clothes in 2009. “We’re not designers so we needed to figure out how to express ourselves.”
The pair found a formula and launched their first full range at trade show CPH Vision in Copenhagen for autumn 11.
The brand is picking up media interest, garnering coverage in British Vogue, Time Out and Swedish Elle, as well as several Icelandic publications. Kalda also has a shop in Reykjavík. “So far the shop has been keeping us alive,” says Alda. “But we have ambitions – we’ve always seen it as an international brand.”
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