How knitting became this Swedish designer’s lifeline

Fashion can whisk us away from the mundane, inducing excitement, endorphins and escapism. However, for 29-year-old Swedish knitwear designer Ellen Subraian, fashion did even more: it threw her a lifeline.

Last year, Malmö-based Subraian was headed towards a career in game development but those plans were derailed and her life forever changed when she received a diagnosis for an illness that she had been unknowingly struggling with for years. Discovering that she has ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis), also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Subraian was forced to make considerable changes to her life, including dropping out of her studies. “It’s like being burnt out or having the flu all the time. The syndrome affects my autonomic nervous system, so almost everything is a struggle,” Subraian explains. “I get exhausted from activities that shouldn’t get me exhausted. I get sick very easily because my immune system is not working as it should, so I have to be very mindful of what activities I participate in.”

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While there is no cure for ME yet, Subraian says the most important way to cope with the syndrome is to listen to one’s body. Resting is vital. After her diagnosis, Subraian spent a lot of time in bed learning how to live with the illness. Not allowing her condition to define her, Subraian discovered knitting and crocheting as the perfect means for channelling her creative energy without damaging her body.

As Subraian says, she is “lucky to be part of a generation that’s been growing up with the internet and the feeling that there’s nothing you can’t do”. Watching online tutorials can go a long way and soon Subraian was crafting her own knit work creations. Incorporating her love of video games into her designs, Subraian imagines a utopian universe of characters through her clothes. A certain strength and confidence – not to mention, fun – comes to life via candy-coloured, coquettish pleated miniskirts, barely-there tops and playful animal-inspired headwear – all handmade with organic, recycled or otherwise sustainably sourced materials.

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One year on from picking up the needles, the budding designer has already produced her first ethereal mini collection, entitled ‘Faewild’. Doing everything free-hand, Subraian doesn’t use patterns – she sketches, chooses the yarns, and then sees where it goes. “That’s the beauty of crochet,” the designer muses. Subraian’s craft has also helped her to find a new, positive outlook on life: while her illness may, at least for now, restrict her from having a full-time job or finishing her degree, there’s light at the end of the tunnel. “We learn early that our value is determined by productivity,” she says. “With my work, I’ve felt like I can really finish something from start to end, and it’s such a great feeling.”

Subraian uses her Instagram, @subraiana, to showcase and sell her unique creations (which fly off the digital shelves, by the way), whilst also hoping her page can inspire others to join the crafts movement. For her Vogue debut, Subraian designed playful pieces that take their cues from the 1990s rave culture. Being featured on these pages means the world to her. “It’s crazy,” she says. “I try to be very chill about it, but I’m screaming on the inside.”