If it´s the knitted curiosities crafted by Donna Wilson and Vík Prjónsdóttir, soft flowing noble-creations from Louise Wahlgreen and Patafisic or the progressive knit-provocations by Sibling and cooperativedesigns - for me, knit is one of the most fascinating division in fashion design. As more designers I detect, as more excited I am, about the plurality of creations that come out of simple balls of wool.
And so, as a matter of course, there´s no getting around Sandra Backlund. Since graduating from Stockholm´s Beckmans School of Design in 2004 the young Swede is causing a furor with her sculptural knit-creations.
Using the human body as a starting point, Backlund composes, multiplies and drapes basic bricks into complex, exe-catching pieces that settle in between fashion and art. Indeed, vanguard and experimental, Backlund´s creations abjure any suitability for daily use, but still cause appreciative attention throughout the world with their characteristic aesthetics and thrilling complexity.

In an interview with über-blogger Diane Pernet, Sandra Backlund betrays how the name for her current collection “Last Breath Bruises” was born and which experiences conduced to become inspirational parts for her actual fashion-knitart-work. Read Interview here.

Photos via Sandra Backlund

Few months ago, the limited Wear It For The Boy ladyfingers collection caught my eyes - light, summerly knit-dresses, manufactured with a special technique and knitted with a shiny cotton made in Italy. (You can see it here). And now the ladyfinger-story continues - i just detected the winter edition that´ll bring us joyful and humorous through the inevitable coming winter.

Photos via Wear It For The Boy

Sibling bangs - barely two months old, the new bold and in-your-face men’s knitwear label leads the way. With luxurious materials, eye-catching designs and prices that make me dizzy, the three east-end designers Sid Bryan, Cozette McCreery and Joe Bates give knitwear for men a kick up the arse and subvert the classic knitwear styles in a playful and progressive way. With (for example) sequined Breton twinsets, beaded Leopard twinsets, a hand-embroidered Carousel pony head sweater the Sibling designs are totally avant-garde without producing a painful exerted impression.
Honor to whom honor is due - Sibling wow´s me away for today and I strongly recommend the interview with Bryan, McCreery and Bates, Hint Magazine published here.

Photos via Sibling

The weather is foul, it´s cold and grey and my wait for summer seems to become an endless tragedy. At least, Annalisa Dunn and Dorothee Hagemann, two young designers that are the heads behind cooperativedesigns, make my day. With only three collections, cooperativedesigns has conquered the fashion market by storm and caught lots of honors and reputations. The terrific feedback seems to quicken the Ex St. Martin´s students. In my opinion, the AW 08/09 collection is their strongest, most creative and most outstanding creative output so far. So, the outlook on winter becomes really tolerable…but still, dear nature, please don´t forget to interpose an hot and sunny summer.

Photos via cooperativedesigns

Louise Wahlgreen´s Journey led her from Denmark to Central St. Martin´s College in London, to Japan in Yoshiki Hishinuma´s design studio and back.
The “back” is what I like most about the story. How else could I let take my breath away by Louise Wahlgreen´s own collection?

Following the Danish design Tradition, Louise Wahlgreen´s knitwear collection is crafted with high-quality yarns, possesses well-thought, intelligent cuts and charms with a subtle combination of material, technique, shape and color.

The knitwear collection for woman acts extraordinary but subtle, soft, tasteful and grown-up and it´s very easy to imagine, that those knitted wonders bring such a good feeling in a woman´s wardrobe that they become very easily those indispensable pieces that are worn on and on.

Photos via Louise Wahlgreen - see also her kid´s label Momo by Wahlgreen

The limited ladyfingers dress by WEAR IT FOR THE BOY is made from handmade knitted shiny cotton from Italy. A special knitting technique makes the dress very light in spite of the big shape and draped look and I state that it´s one of THE dresses you will wear on and on and on and on and on.

WEAR IT FOR THE BOY is a Danish knitwear brand that, founded in 2007 by designer Rikke Jo and remarkable for high-quality materials and graphic, colorful patterns (especially the jacquard patterns) that vitalize the pure shapes with a twist of humor.

Besides the very unique and limited ladyfingers dress, there´s a small spring collection - called Lumbawear- that is inspired by the Nordic pine woods and made of 100% organic cotton. The knitted tights, the bodys and the shrug round off your style as single pieces, but if you prefer a complete wear it for the boy outfit, you should rather play the urban streetcat than going to an official business meeting. I hope, we will see soon more unique knitwear garments by WEAR IT FOR THE BOY, it´s one of the fresh, attractive new brands with an own style signature.

Photo credits: WEAR IT FOR THE BOY

When frog-green Sleepy Pom drags you with into the forests to search for four-leaved cloverleaves while at home, squirrel Rudy Racoon rummages through your possessions - don´t be surprised: You are in Donna Wilson´s wonderland! A picnic on a ultra large knitted blanked with Oscar the dog that proffers you frankfurters and mashed potatoes is as possible as the flying on cozy clouds accompanied by the raspy olive owl.
Donna Wilson, the young Scottish knit designer, carries you away to play with your sense for forms and sizes, for oddness and inconsistencies and to put norms and senses upside down -
Either with her knitted creatures with markable preferences and characteristics or with her handmade accessories and goods for home and living.

In despite of an enormous amount of requests and orders, every piece is handmade in Scotland to keep genesis and originality - that makes Donna Wilson and her products even more likeable.

Although I rather buy items with pure and clean forms I have a weakness for the playful, knitted products and I really would like to share my bed with the cats Ginge and Mitten Kitten, to dress up for a girls night out with the Donna Dolls, to enjoy ma afternoon tea with Poodle Cosy and to nap on POM POM rug.

Photo credits: Donna Wilson

It´s new, it´s from Denmark and it welcomes our male chicks with agreeable knock about clothes. A pinch of humor, a hint of laxness and the graphics, patterns and colors that are oftentimes typical for Scandinavian young designers are shaked, and the result is a wearable overall look. Humör didn´t reinvent the wheel, but that´s not the point - The goal was, to develop a wearable alternative to the black-white-grey look, to use traditional and historical elements mix it up with influences by electronic music and the Japanese Shibuya area and to come up with a dinky style mix. Humör succeeded. Personally, i don´t consider every collection piece as highly remarkable, but I am a huge fan of the knitted sweaters and cardigans.

Photo credits: Humör