“I am driven by curiosity, experimentation and open-mindedness”.

I’m a Swedish designer based in London and after a career in interior design, I have turned to designing bespoke clothing and crafting weaves for bags, accessories and items for interiors.

I make all of my weaves on a traditional Swedish loom using techniques passed down from my Grandmother. The products use both premium and upcycled materials, with the main structure woven from snören, Swedish cord produced by one of the last traditional rope-makers in Sweden. The clothes I design are made-to-measure and are released seasonally. I strive for all of my clients to accomplish a classic sense of elegance and confidence in my garments. Malin iovino was awarded a BA with first class honours in design (interior design) from Chelsea College of Art & Design in 1995.

SUSTAINABILITY

The craftsmanship that is central to my designs is complemented by a respect for and a thoughtful use of the raw materials from which they are made.

In an age of “everything and now” in which we are encouraged to purchase more and more “stuff”, and then to discard these objects as soon as the instant gratification of a new purchase fades, my focus is upon designs that utilize time-honored artisanal production techniques rather than mass production facilities contributing to the environmental degradation of our planet…that recognize the importance of the judicious use of raw materials rather than the wasteful exploitation of necessarily limited natural resources…and that carry a timeless appeal and meticulous attention to detail that ensures their beauty and utility for years rather than their consignment to the landfills and junk heaps that litter our surroundings.

Snoren, the resilient cord that provides the structure for my handbags and furniture designs is produced in limited quantities by Swedish craftsmen.  The colorful crochet yarns that embellish my designs are thicker than is typical so that I can painstakingly remove the narrower diameter yarn within each skein, ultimately yielding identical colors in different thicknesses.  

My passion for upcycling has taken me to Scotland where I purchase exquisite woven fabrics for my designs, eventually utilizing any leftover fabric by extracting the beautiful yarn woven into it for use in my bespoke weaves.

In Italy, I have cultivated relationships with several small Milanese fabric houses, purchasing magnificent fabrics designated as overstock bolts or production remnants and incorporating  them into pieces of my own design.

Recently, I’ve become obsessed with the responsible and creative use of every scrap of the printed and imported leather I design for production in limited qualities, introducing card wallets and key rings that bring a sense of color to a traditionally aesthetically conservative category.