Let's take a short stroll off the beaten path.



It's all well and good to talk about the latest big name collection or the latest big name actress wearing a big name dress on a red carpet, but sometimes, we just want to showcase interesting designs from someone you might not know.

Sandra Backlund is a designer from Stockholm, Sweden known for her highly structured knits. She's no dilettante, having won several prestigious fashion prizes, including the Grand Prix at the Festival International de Mode et de Photographie in Hyères in 2007 and her work has been exhibited in Paris, Luxembourg, London, and Tokyo. She was commissioned to produce knitwear for the collections of both Louis Vuitton and Emilio Pucci.

What we love most about her work is that she's able to experiment with form and materials, yet still produce designs that are beautiful and more importantly, wearable. That's not an easy balance to strike. Weaving and knitting are the oldest techniques in the world when it comes to clothing, and yet here she is using these ancient techniques to great effect, producing clothing that is anything but old world in style. Just gorgeous.