Emma Larsson

Most of us can say that our inspiration comes from the things around us, but sometimes it can be hard to pinpoint. So, where do you draw inspiration from? And do you find it hard to find that inspiration somedays? Or are you overflowing with it? (Laughs).

For me, music is an important source of inspiration. Both the performance and the lyrics paint images in my mind. Yes, sometimes I’m drained. My cure is then to leave the city and embrace the sources of Mother Nature. I often end up in my beloved and secret virgin forest outside of Stockholm.

Within a few minutes of scrolling through your instagram, resonating with me were the quotes and poems you share, making me feel joy-filled and inspired. Alike do you have a daily mantra? If so, what?

I’m not a fan of daily mantras, but without quoting; it’s all about staying honest to yourself and keeping it real.

Paint me a picture of a typical day for an artist such as yourself.

Some days, I’m just aimlessly walking around the city and taking loads of photos of things that serve as vital injections to me. Another day may be working, passing the time in the studio from 8am to 11pm, ensuring a good night’s sleep.

Last year, you collaborated with New York designer Rachel Comey for a textile print collection. Tell me all about that process. How did it come about? Did you enjoy it? And what differentiated this specific work verse others?

This job I got from my agent in London. A great honour for me, since I love Rachel’s philosophy of mixing beauty with ugly, young with old, black with white and so on. I made six original watercolour works for Rachel and her team to create a pattern for the textiles. Those six paintings were then hung in their flagship store in New York City. I was really happy with the results, ending up much better than I expected. Seeing my work presented on crushed velvet really added a new dimension to it.

Do you have a certain creative, either in fashion, music, art, theater or literature, you’d absolutely swoon over to collaborate with?

I have lots of fashion heroes. Dries Van Noten’s latest collection is insane. My absolute dream collaboration would be designing sneakers for Adidas. Can you arrange that? (Laughs, E.D)

Tell me three icons you hold very dear to your heart.

Truthfully, in my opinion, men artists have generally been overexposed throughout history. Yes, they’re good too, but let’s make this a heroine list: Marlene Dumas, Louise Bourgeois and Frida Kahlo (not necessarily art-wise, but for her strong and stylish personality).

In regards to these icons, is there one that you’d say is a ‘Fashion Icon’ to you? If not, who would you say is?

I’d have to say Emilie Flöge is a huge inspiration! And Rei Kawakubo. Really, I just love women with strong authority and integrity combined.

The two different times I lived in Italy, I made it a point to find and go into as many vintage stores as I could. To me, Europe has the all-time best vintages stores in the world. Do you enjoy finding the old hidden gems in vintage stores as much as I do? If so, where and what are your favourite places?

Yes, I see you’ve done your homework! This is my other passion and hobby. The feeling of finding treasures from the past...! Unfortunately, I cannot share all my secret gems here, but ok…I’ll reveal one of them: Stadsmissionen at Nytorget, Sofo, Stockholm: it won’t disappoint you.

Honestly, I’m not sure I could answer this question myself, as I have many attachments to pieces in my closet that I own. If you had to choose, what would be the one garment in your wardrobe that you could never get rid of?

That would be my Dr Martens oversized shoes. Those loyal guys have, together with me, walked many cities around the world and have never disappointed me.

On your Instagram highlights, there’s a few photos that show off your shoes. So tell me, are shoes a sort of ‘weakness’ for you? How many do you have and which is your favourite pair? Don’t worry I could probably say that shoes and purses are for me, I have quite a few too many (laughs).

Yes, you nailed it. Shoes are the thing! They tell you all of it, who you are… I have lots of them. I recently bought a pair of Maison Margiela silver boots that I’ve yet to wear. This will be my next step…

I possess a deep love or a little obsession with past decades, specifically in Europe. Dating back to French King Louis XIV with the Palace of Versailles to 1912, think Downton Abbey through the roaring 20’s of The Great Gatsby. It’s the intricately luxurious fashion, attitude and overall way of life that I truly can’t get enough of and, if I could choose one time period to live in, it would be somewhere in there! Is there a time period you admire as much as I do? And which would you love to live in and why?

I totally agree, the 20’s are the thing! Incredible and tasteful creations. I’m looking forward to what the future will bring to us. I love avant-garde styles!

Tell me your favourite colour to paint and wear.

To paint blue and, to wear, black.

Is there a recent fashion trend that’s resurfaced you really enjoy? And what about a trend you wish to stay a thing of the past?

Let’s keep an eye on Henrik Vibskov, he’s totally nailing it!

One last thing…close your eyes, what do you envision in your near future?

I just want to keep evolving and, by doing so, enter into new and exciting collaborations!