Cool As Ice(land)

As one door closes another one opens: after four years in Powiśle, cult label Reykjavik District touchdown on edgy Burakowska…

While gentrification might have stalled its creative revolution, you don’t have to go far back to the time Powiśle was being talked about as the definition of urban cool: a place of bars, boutiques and maverick ideas. And nowhere captured the zeitgeist more than Reykjavik District, a cult menswear boutique created by Icelandic fashion designer Olly Lindal and his Polish wife, Ania.
But what happens when an area reaches its artsy zenith? That’s right, everyone wants a piece of it – developers included. With their former venue bulldozed (“To make way for apartments or something,” shrugs Olly), the Reykjavik team have packed their bags and settled north. Repeating the raw style of their previous digs, this boutique finds itself operating in a one-time car garage, with the industrial leftovers acting as a natural foil to all the antique chests and eccentric details. Taken on its own, this is a space that bristles with energy and endeavor.
The interiors are reflective of the collection. While there are heavy hints of ‘Scandi-cool’ meets classic, those plucking through the racks note that there’s much more going on with Lindal’s designs: elements of avant-garde, rock star chic for the causal clothing, and suggestions of ‘debonair dandy’ in the more formal attire. The whole shebang feels like a celebration of the unconventional. But most of all, it feels
like fashion that works: clothing that fits all environments and scenarios whilst making an impression. Is that not the whole point of fashion?

Reykjavik District
ul. Burakowska 15, reykjavikdistrict.com