Icelandic slow fashion label Vetra debuted at Erlendur fashion Week Iceland this year and we got to chat to the designer about her stunning designs using natural Islandic wool.

We chat to the young designer, through photographer Tink Lockett, and found out a little more about her designs and growing up in Iceland.

I grew up in Mexico, where Frida Kahlo was a huge inspiration for me. I’ve always loved surrealism, and I think that shows in my designs. I like to think of them as wearable art pieces. I enjoy taking
something literal—like horses and sheep in this collection—and transforming it into a feeling you can wear. I want you to feel like a sheep or a horse, without it being literal. I was raised by a single mother in Mexico. When I was ten, we left our life there and moved to a farm in a remote village in the east of Iceland—Vopnafjörður. My mom married my stepfather, who I think of as my dad because he raised me. He’s a sheep farmer and also owns horses, so this collection is really an ode to him and to my upbringing on the farm.

If we hadn’t moved to Iceland, I wouldn’t have been able to study fashion—it’s very expensive in Mexico, and my mom couldn’t have afforded it. I probably would have ended up studying to be an
accountant or a teacher. So I really believe everything happens for a reason.

I moved to Denmark to take a half-year course in fashion design at Den Skandinaviske Designhøjskole. That’s when I truly realized that designing is what I love, and that I didn’t want to do anything else. I packed all my things into my tiny red Kia Picanto and drove all the way to Reykjavík—in the middle of January, during peak winter. It took 12 hours to drive from a remote village in the east to the capital in the south. I was scared of driving, and my car wasn’t exactly ideal, but I was 21 years old with big dreams and a plan. I rented a tiny bedroom in an apartment near Hlemmur Square (with a creepy roommate!) and started working on my portfolio while working at Reykjavik Raincoats.

About six months after graduating, I began working with the Icelandic singer Bríet. That’s when I started experimenting with wool and felting, which has become something of a signature in my brand, Vetra Pieces. I’ve been working with Bríet for almost two years now, and I’ve grown a lot as a designer—developing my style and deepening my understanding of my craft. What makes my brand unique is how I use wool and the silhouettes I create. I think a lot about the human body and love to experiment with shape. I’m not afraid to think outside the box and push boundaries. I
want my clothes to be like walking pieces of art that tell a story.

Both pants are made from Icelandic felted wool, I felt the wool myself. The brown crochet shawl is made from léttlopi (Icelandic wool yarn) and white wool fleece. The white top is made out of wool straight out from my father’s sheep farm in the east of Iceland. He sells the wool to Ístex but he gave me some leftover pieces he didn’t sell.

In early September, I debuted my first collection at Erlendur Fashion Week in Iceland. I’m still in shock about it—I got pregnant with my first baby over the summer, so constantly felting large pieces of wool was a challenge—but it paid off, haha. Carlotta Tate gave me this incredible opportunity to showcase my work, and I’m so grateful.

Right now, I have my little studio there where I’m taking custom orders through Instagram,
building my brand, and working on my Autumn/Winter 2026 collection.

Images by Tink Lockett

Designer VETRA

Editorial Model: wiktooriaska

Pictured: Vetra at Erlendur Fashion Week in Iceland 2025.