Helga Björnsson was born in Reykjavík but soon moved abroad. Her teen years were spent in the bustling, joyous and colourful streets of London where Beatlemania and the first signs of hippies were emerging. Mini skirts, Twiggie and high boots - a time where fashion meant freedom and excitement. Later, Helga moved to Paris, where the Parisian elegance opened another world for the young fashion enthusiast. A few years at the Arts Décoratifs, art school, she studied art and fashion design.

As life will often have it, a series of random events landed her an interview with the high fashion designer Louis Féraud. Féraud is perhaps not a big name today, but from the fifties to the late 2000s Féraud’s eccentric style was a staple of Paris fashion week and every haute couture lover's wardrobe.

 

 

Féraud started his life as a baker in the South of France, and ended as a painter and high fashion designer in Paris.

Louis had a knack for picking out talented people and led a team of designers who stayed true to his mission; make women beautiful, with colours, prints and lively patterns.

 When Helga interned at Féraud’s Haute Couture house, she was young and just starting in fashion. She didn’t know that her life would soon revolve completely around this company. Her designs quickly made it to the runway, and her fondness of prints would not go unnoticed.

Helga quickly became part of the design team, her designs traveled the world and were seen on everything from clothing to scarves, Christmas cards to tennis tournament advertisements. It was a time of parties, hard work and a team that felt like family.

Alongside working in Haute Couture, Helga became enamoured with the dramatics and freedom of Theatre and began to design costumes for her friend Sveinn Einarsson, the director of the National Theatre with whom she worked in Icelandic theatre and opera.

Today Helga lives in Iceland where she feels at home, but also where a lifelong dream of having her own Atelier is starting to flourish. The colours, prints and geometry of her work seem to sway between the stark contrasts of Icelandic nature, the vibrance of a metropolis and the elegance of Paris.

Ever the artist, Helga hopes to keep her Atelier going producing beautiful accessories, clothing and art.