story by Kate Young
photos by Freda Henry
Leifsdottir’s new spring-summer 2010 collection called “Wonders of The World Await You” combined bright, feminine colors, easy-to-wear fabrics, and fun patterns in a lighthearted and feminine way.
In a fanciful, make believe vignette located in midtown Manhattan, models fed birds in antique cages while the fashion folk hobnobbed over champagne and sweets. Try the candied hibiscus flowers.
The designer, Johanna Uurasjarvi, is also Anthropologie’s design director, and this collection would fit seamlessly onto the racks of artistic clothing there. “I got traveling fever last spring,” said Uurasjarvi, and on her trip to India, Indonesia, Bali and Tokyo she amassed a collection of antique textiles, which she has used as inspiration for this collection, lending it a ‘50s inspired Orientalist vibe. Yellows, bright pinks, and blues, in a barrage of floral and abstracted prints, took cues from Japanese kimonos and Balinese dancing costume prints.
To give her collection “a twist” Uurasjarvi thought about, “travel in the old times, in the 1950s, this picture of a woman in high heels arriving.”
The ‘50s influences were most apparent in the silhouettes and feminine aesthetic, which extended through the clothes into bright, flowery costume jewelry and pastel pumps.
Uurasjarvi said she wanted to take all her ideas, “put them in one collection and modernize it, and use the color and the festive mood of it to do something new.” It certainly was a bazaar of influences, and those unfamiliar with her designs may be a bit taken aback by the frank exuberance of it all. But, for those women interested in taking risks with color, Leifsdottir may supply the perfect pieces come spring.
Leifsdottir designer, Johanna Uurasjarvi…
