Check out my article for Sweet & Sound here.
Before Lady Gaga hatched out of her Hussein Chalayan designed egg, the mélange of the music industry and avant-garde fashion was (and still is) dominated by the unequaled kaleidoscopic visionary that is Björk Guðmundsdóttir. From crystal face masks and jingle bell dresses by Alexander McQueen to the crochet pieces by The Icelandic Love Corporation for her Volta album, when it comes to Björk’s fashion sense there are no boundaries. On Björk things aren’t just mere objects but a higher form of artistic self-expression.
Born in Reykavík, she released her first recording at the tender age of 11 and played in the Icelandic punk band Tappi Tikarass and alternative rock group The Sugarcubes before launching her solo career in 1993. Fiercely individual and ever-evolving, there is no artist that is comparable to Björk – not even old incarnations of Björk herself. Every album is such an evolution from the last, that the only thing stringing them together is that unmistakable voice.
The reflection of her über-creative mind can be seen in the Icelandic’s polarising fashion choices. The Marjan Pejoski swan dress she wore to the Academy Awards, where she was nominated for I’ve Seen It All from the soundtrack of Lars Von Trier’s Dancer In The Dark, has been labelled as one of the worst dresses in the history of red carpets. I find it quirky and a clever allude to the dying swan, coveted one moment, gone the next mantra of the creative industries, where every single/film/collection/exhibition could be your swan song. Having compared the trend and styling dictations of the fashion world to fascism, it is clear the Björk couldn’t be less interested in what critics might think of her style.
The ultimate ambassador for individuality and non-conformatism, Björk is an otherworldly creature that is misunderstood by most. Whether you find her fashion style remarkable or revolting, the world would be a bleak one without her.
