Mikaela Mårtensson: A Contemporary Renaissance

Swedish knitwear designer Mikaela Mårtensson’s designs interlace the archaic and modern, pushing the boundaries of knitwear with their arresting originality. In conversation with Amber Louise, she reflects on her personal growth, obsession with detail, and the evolution of her work.

 

With just one look at her Instagram, it’s apparent that Mikaela Mårtensson is her own muse. Pictures of her in striking chainmail-esque crocheted steel skirts, knitted asymmetrical crochet linked dresses, and hand-knitted bandeau tops with strips of fabric cascading down the arms leap from her grid, introducing the Swedish knitwear designer’s new persona. One that is daring, almost gothic, and – maybe most importantly – a mashup of past and present.

 

Since childhood, fashion has always had a firm grip on Mårtensson. She reminisces about when she was six years old, shopping for an outfit for her first school graduation with her grandmother. “I remember everything very clearly. Walking into a normal fast-fashion shop was almost a religious experience. I walked around as if it were a museum.” It was then, she shares, that she knew fashion was an environment she wanted to be in, but “I have never decided to be a fashion designer. It has just always been my greatest interest.” It was discovering Mugler, Balmain, Viktor & Rolf, and Alexander McQueen through popular music videos – from the likes of Lady Gaga – that ignited her spark. “I was shocked to learn that clothing like that existed,” she comments. Now, she’s designing garments for pop stars. In 2021, Canadian singer-songwriter Grimes was photographed by Amber Asaly wearing Mårtensson’s sage green maxi dress with fabric knitted and crocheted around holes and cutouts.

 

Still, it was somewhat of a fluke that Mårtensson founded her brand Mega Mikaela. “It was not my dream to work for myself,” she reveals, upon showing her graduate collection at the Swedish School of Textiles in 2021, which received considerable attention – she was inundated with requests from people wanting to buy the items. It was then that she had to make a split decision… and Mega Mikaela was born. Four years on – and a few collections later – Mårtensson is designing made-to-order one-of-a-kind garments that have been featured in publications like ELLE Denmark and Contributor Magazine, as well as Swedish shoe brand Vagabond’s fall-winter 2021 campaign.

 

Her latest body of work, titled ‘Duality,’ “explores the complexity of human nature” and “the coexistence of good and evil.” Shot by Julius Bohlim, the pieces come to life against the hard and soft backdrops of forest, concrete walls, fields, and the soft hues of an interior. Through the storytelling, Mårtensson turns the tables as “angels take on antagonist roles, and demons become protagonists, highlighting the ambiguity of light and darkness.” On a more digestible note, the collection depicts the coexistence of good and evil in humanity. The garments, as with most of her collections, are heavily inspired by the Renaissance and Middle Ages. The Redeemer Top features cap sleeves reminiscent of a suit of armour, while the Archangel Skirt, with its fringe detailing hitting the upper thigh, feels more feminine and lightweight, even if it isn’t. Her cotton pieces are, albeit less in your face, just as impactful. But it’s her attention to detail that is ever present in each garment and collection she creates.

 

Something Mårtensson is best known for is her use of steel washers, which she crochets together to create chainmail-like designs. In her collection ‘Lovely Misery,’ they were crocheted together with pink and blue yarn to form spaghetti-strap mini dresses and raw-hem mini skirts fit for a night out in Ibiza, while her latest work sees them in a more gothic light. Bra tops crocheted with grey yarn closely resemble medieval armour, and those crocheted with black yarn serve the darker themes of ‘Duality’.

 

Mårtensson has come a long way from her graduate designs, with their rounded padded shoulders and slightly weightier knits coloured in neon orange, azure blue, sage green, and blood red. While they both manifested from the same inspirations and crocheting techniques, the outcomes feel distinctly different, like her designs have matured alongside her. The color palette has softened, the knits lightened, and the silhouettes daintied. Of this evolution, she reflects, “When I created my graduate collection, I wanted so much. I craved attention and cared a lot about what others would think. I also wanted to please my supervisor from school. Looking back, I see it as a combination of many different ideas in one collection, but I’m so glad it turned out the way it did. That collection made me fall in love with the Renaissance era and the use of steel washers. Since then, I’ve focused more on my own interests, drawing inspiration from my ‘nerdy’ side, and I work with themes, materials, and shapes I want to explore.”

 

A significant factor that influenced Mårtensson’s work – and, arguably, how much of the world operates today – was COVID-19, which disrupted her final year of studies. “My design process became more authentic and pure when I was alone and had nobody around me,” she expresses, “I think it’s about me going into a super focus and not thinking about anything else.” Still, as a small team (of one), it can be tricky for Mårtensson to distance herself from perfectionism, especially since it’s all down to her. “I want to make everything perfect – and by myself,” she tells me, “That aim can be very damaging and lonely when you fail.” This mindset is not uncommon in creative industries, and oftentimes, doesn’t subside even as the brand and team begin to grow. For Mårtensson, it’s just something that shapes her design process.

 

It has also integrated into the way she presents herself and her brand on social media… Beyond just appearing as her own muse. “Instagram is a great platform for me,” she states, sharing that it creates a distance from reality and from understanding that people can see her creations. “When I do something in the real world, it gets too real and I get anxious about having to interact with people.”

 

When we speak, she’s in the process of moving into a new apartment, and is finding interior design an exciting new hobby, declaring, “I am doing more research on chairs than yarn lately.” While she says it won’t directly influence her upcoming collection, it may well manifest in the way she presents the garments. What can we expect from her next? While steel washers will be a mainstay in each of her collections, she’s leaning more into colours. And more excitingly, “I have been working a lot with stage costumes. I want to explore that more, but I also have a growing interest in wardrobe items.” Whatever is next for Mårtensson, we can be sure it’ll be an opus of exquisite detail and distinctive inspirations.

Follow Mikaela via Instagram and stay up-to-date with her current collections through her website.