Steinunn Sigurðardóttir

Steinunn Sigurðardóttir is an Icelandic fashion designer. She is the founder and creative director of the label STEiNUNN, founded in 2000.

Early life Steinunn was born in Reykjavík, Iceland.

In a 2006 interview at Sjónþingi Gerðubergs, Steinunn talks about the influence her mother and grandmother had on her early life and how it shaped her professional career. Steinunn's grandmother worked as a seamstress and frequently made clothes for Steinunn. She taught Steinunn how to knit at the age of 9 but knitwear design has been very predominant in Steinunn's collections. Steinunn also credits her mother's great sense of style. She recalls a particular dress her mother used to wear which Steinunn eventually inherited. The dress became an iconic part of Steinunn's wardrobe and later in her career inspired a design for a Calvin Klein dress, which walked the runway in 1992.

Career Upon her graduation in 1986, Steinunn spent a brief year working with Carmelo Pomodoro as an assistant designer. She left her position at La Perla in 2003 to focus solely on her own brand and other personal projects. After a successful and challenging career abroad, Steinunn felt it the biggest challenge yet was to become an independent designer and create something that purely reflects her personal vision. In an interview she said the goal as a designer is to constantly push her creative practice further and bring it to the next level.

Awards and honours Steinunn received the prestigious Söderberg Prize from the Rhösska museum in 2008

Other awards and honours:

Selected exhibitions Selected solo exhibitions

2016 Rhythm Knitting light Installation, Harpa Music Hall, Reykjavík, Iceland 2014 Rhythm Knitting light Installation, L8ight Festival, Aberdeen, Scotland 2011 "Upbeat" Gallery 751D Beijing, China 2010 "Nordic Light House, World Expo, Shanghai, China 2009 "Steinunn" Kjarvalstaðir, Reykjavík Art Museum, Iceland 2008 "STEiNUNN" Rhösska Design Museum, Söderberg, Gothenburg 2006 "Fortíð – Nútíð" Textil Museum, Blöndós, Iceland 2006 "Retrospective", Nordatlantesbrygge Copenhagen 2006 "Sjónþing - a retrospective", Gallery Gerðuberg, Reykjavík

Selected group exhibitions

2016 "Weather Diaries" Nordic Fashion Biennale Royal, Nordic House, Rvk, Iceland 2015 "Weather Diaries" Nordic Fashion Biennale Royal, Coda Museum Holland 2015 "Weather Diaries" Nordic Fashion Biennale Royal, Nordic House, Faroe Islands 2014 "Weather Diaries" Nordic Fashion Biennale Royal Library, Copenhagen, Denmark 2014 "Weather Diaries" Nordic Fashion Biennale Royal, Frankfurt Design Museum 2013 "Nordic Design" Design Museum Iceland. 2013 "Nordic Cool" Kennedy Art Center for Performing Arts, Washington D.C., USA 2012 "Nordic Design" Vandalorum Design Museum, Sweden 2011 "Looking Back", Nordic Fashion Biennale, Nordic Museum, Seattle 2011 "On the Cutting Edge" Museum for Applied Art, Frankfurt 2010 "STEiNUNN" Upbeat, Gallery 751D Beijing, China 2010 "STEiNUNN" Nordic Light House, World Expo, Shanghai 2009 "Code" Belle Center Copenhagen, Denmark 2009 "Nordic Fashion Biennale" Nordic House, Reykjavík, Iceland 2007 "Iceland Cometh", Meatpacking District, ICFF, Gallery, New York 2007 "Icelandic Fashion & Design", Nordic Embassies, Berlin 2006 "Icelandic Fashion", National Centre for Cultural Heritage, Reykjavík 2006 "Mode and Design Aus Islande" National Centre for Cultural Heritage, RVK 2006 "Retrospective", Nordatlantesbrygge Copenhagen 2006 "Sjónþing - a retrospective", Gallery Gerðuberg, Reykjavík 2006 "Fashion & Design", The Museum of Applied Art, Cologne 2005 "Icelandic culture", Stockholm's Auktionsverk 2005 "World Expo 2005" World Fair Tokyo, Japan 2004 "Nordic cool", National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, USA 2002 Museum of Modern Art, Barcelona 2002 "5 X 5 Nordic Design", Stockholm Design show

Curator

2013 "Silver" National Museum of Iceland w/Páll Hjaltason 2012 "Fingramál", Icelandic Design Museum 2012 "Tízka" / "Fashion", National Museum of Iceland 2010 "World Expo 2010 " Iceland Pavilion Shanghai, curated w/Páll Hjaltason, Finnbogi Péturs, Ámundi Sigurðs, Saga Film 2005 "Ómur, National Museum of Iceland, curated w/Páll Hjaltason 2004 "Transforme", Gallery Marel, Reykjavík, curated w/Páll Hjaltason 2004 "Transforme" VIA Gallery, Paris, curated w/Páll Hjaltason

Works in public collections 2009 Hönnunarsafn Íslands, Design Museum of Iceland. 2009 Rhösska Design Museum, Söderberg Priz, Gothenburg 2009 Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, Oslo, Norway

Lectures 2016 "Rhythm Knitting" Nordic House, Reykjavík, Iceland 2014 "Rhythm Knitting" Aberdeen, Scotland 2014 "Rhythm Knitting" Royal Library Copenhagen, Denmark 2014 "Rhythm Knitting" Boras School of Textiles, Sweden 2014 STEiNUNN, Boras School of Textiles, Sweden 2014 "Rhythm Knitting" Nordic House, Faroe Islands 2014 "Rhythm Knitting" Frankfurt Design Museum, Germany 2014 Women in Parliament, Harpa Music Hall, Reykjavík, Iceland 2014 STEiNUNN, Alaska Art Museum, Anchorage, Alaska 2014 "Rhythm Knitting" National Gallery, Anchorage, Alaska 2014 STEiNUNN, Juneau City Hall, Alaska 2014 STEiNUNN, Fairbanks Museum, Alaska 2013 University of Reykjavík, MBA Business program, Reykjavík Iceland 2013 HDK Gothenburg Design School, Sweden 2013 Private Design School, Gothenburg, Sweden 2013 FISOS, Association of Icelandic Museums, National Heritage Museum 2013 "Rhythm Knitting " Nordic House Nuuk, Greenland 2013 "Rhythm Knitting " Kennedy Art Center for Performing Arts, Washington, D.C., USA 2012 Fashion gowns and corsilet, National Museum of Iceland 2011 Íslandsstofa, Icelandic Trade Council 2011 "Looking Back to find our Future", Nordic Fashion Biennale, Nordic Museum, Seattle, USA 2011 "Thinking Hands" National Museum of Iceland, Reykjavík Art School 2010 Beijing Fashion Institute of Technology, Beijing China 2009 University of Iceland, Reykjavík Iceland 2009 Nordic Council of Ministers, Kultur Forum, Felleshus - Nordic Embassies, Berlin, Germany 2009 CCP, Reykjavík Art Museum 2009 Lava 2009, Seminar, Iðnó, Reykjavík, Iceland 2009 Confederation of the Icelandic Employment (Santök Atvinnulífsins), Reykjavík, Iceland 2009 Innovation Conference, Nýsköpunarþing, Reykjavík, Iceland 2009 Verkmenntaskólinn á Akureyri, Island 2009 "Nordic Fashion Biennale" Nordic House, Reykjavík, Iceland 2009 Iðnskólinn í Hafnarfirði, Island 2009 Art teachers in Iceland, Listmenntakennarar á Íslandi 2008 Rhösska Design Museum Gothenborg, Söderberg Priz, Gothenburg, Sweden 2008 National Museum of Iceland, Norrænir safnverðir, Reykjavík 2008 FIT, New York Panel Discussion, New York, USA 2008 FIT, New York Fashion Design Students, New York, USA 2007 Skt. Petersburg Fashion Students, Nordic House, Iceland 2007 FIT, New York, Fashion Design Gallery, New York, USA 2007 Design Center, Klaus K., Helsinki Finland 2007 "Icelandic Fashion & Design", Nordic Embassies, Berlin, Germany 2006 Design students, Reykjavík Art School, Reykjavík, Iceland 2006 "Scandinavian House" Aalands Island, Finland 2006 "Retrospective", Nordatlantesbrygge Copenhagen 2006 "Fortíð – Nútíð" Textile Museum, Blöndósi 2006 "Sjónþing - a retrospective", Gallery Gerðuberg, Reykjavík 2005 Fashion Students, LHI, Icelandic Academy of art, Reykjavík, Iceland 2004 "Nordic cool", National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, USA 2004 WorkshopmNational Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, USA 2004 "Nordic design" The Scandinavian House, Reykjavík, Iceland