Oslo Runway 2025 was more than a fashion week. It was a stage for Norwegian culture. The fashion shows took place in the most beautiful places in the city. Models from Pearl Octopuss.Y ran through the Munch Museum and paused to look at art. Josephine Studio’s jewelry was presented on a boat, with the blue water and the fjords as a backdrop. Oslos fashion scene was shown by her artistic side: with live music, modern dance in the national theater (Pia Tjelta Studio) and an anti-consumption performance by Livid. Visits to the International Library of Fashion and Europe’s oldest department store Steen & Strøm (1797) underlined the rich history of the fashion presented.
“This season we placed great emphasis on the interweaving of fashion with culture, art and music. We tried to interpret the Norwegian heritage, in particular the knitting tradition, modernly and to raise a higher level,” explains Elin Carlsen, CEO of Oslo Runway.
In the area of sustainability, Oslo Runway follows the example of other fashion cities: social and ecological minimum standards for design and the presentation of collections were introduced. A separate contribution is a comprehensive guide for diversity that encourages brands into inclusive casting. Models of different ages, with different body shapes and backgrounds, were seen on the catwalk for FS26.
Norwegian market grows and internationalized
The sales of Norwegian fashion and design brands are growing strongly. In 2020, the total turnover of the ten largest Norwegian fashion companies was 63 million euros. Three years later, in 2023, this amount had doubled to 119 million euros. Important export markets include Germany, Japan and South Korea. Tourist: The inside comes mainly from Asia and the Gulf States.
According to Carlsen, internationalization and professionalization are the basis of this growth. “With only 5.6 million inhabitants: the Norwegian home market is too small for substantial growth inside. For comparison: London has ten million inhabitants: inside almost twice as much market potential as Norway. If the Norwegian fashion as an industry wants to make a serious contribution, it has to create the international breakthrough.”
In 2023, Holzweiler debuted on the London Fashion Week. In front of the Tom Wood flagship store in Tokyo, which is located in the same quarter as Prada, Comme des Garçons and Stella McCartney, according to Carlsen there are snakes for several days a week. Bytimo’s floral designs are hanging in the wardrobes worldwide. And in 2024 the Luxury Ventures Fund from LVMH invested in the Norwegian travel and luggage stamp DB. This was the first investment of LVMH in Norway to promote the global expansion of DB.
With the support of Innovation Norway and the Norwegian Fashion Hub, Oslo Runway organized showrooms in London and Copenhagen this year. In addition, the fashion and lifestyle segments were shown as key industries in the new “National Export Initiative on Norwegian Manufacturing and Design”. This recently launched government program is aiming for an increase of exports by 50 percent by 2030.
Consumer: Inside show more courage
The Norwegian fashion world has been professional in recent years, according to David Wilkinson, director of Steen & Strøm. “The gap between what designers show: inside the catwalk, and what consumers actually buy: We as Steen & Strøm want to beat a bridge between designers: inside and audience. For many designers: For many designers, we are simply too expensive. Therefore, we offer you the opportunity to present your work to a broad audience. At the same time, we give consumers the opportunity to experience Norwegian design. These Norwegian designers appreciate: They proudly wear Norwegian labels to foot, which was still unthinkable for six years ago. “
Kaia Kongsli, marketing manager of the luxurious shopping area Promenaden Fashion District, also observes a change in mentality. “Norwegian designers searched for a long time according to their identity next to the further developed Scandinavian fashion cities, especially Copenhagen. They had a long feeling that they had to be ‘fancy’ – with lots of gold and black. In recent years I have seen more confidence in their design. At turnover, we notice that the consumer: Inside, they become curious about these new styles. Generations. “
Avantgardist Norwegian design
Mode Expert: In the inside on the Oslo Runway, in 2015, the turning point in Norwegian fashion. “Before this time, fashion in Norway was mainly associated with a kind of celebrity glamor culture,” recalls Sunniva Hartgen, Head of Fashion at Oslo Runway. “It was more about who was wearing it and the fashion itself felt little of culture.”
This changed with the advent of avant -garde designers: Inside, Anne Karine Thorbjørnsen and Michael Olestad. They heralded a new, rougher style that forms the basis for today’s aesthetics. Examples of this are the cool, bunker -like look of Envelope1976 under the direction of the fashion kone Celina Aagaard or the anonymous uniforms of 1313 Selah. 1313 Selah is the street style label by Tomas Silva, Duy Ngo and Erik Spanese, which takes depression as a starting point and organizes sample sales in techno clubs.
More courage to opinion
“The Norwegian culture is originally introverted and is strongly based on the equality of everyone. Norwegian fashion is connected to utility and clean – but that changes. In the past decade, you have seen how designers use the Norwegian heritage in other ways: less minimalist and expressive,” explains designer Tarinii Martinsen.
According to designer Julie Josephine, this change is also evident in fashion entrepreneurship. She sees more and more healthy and ambitious fashion companies: “The traditional Norwegian way of thinking is: Do not believe that you are better than someone else, do not stand out. But more and more brands move away from: we will try to be the best and build a strong brand. It is okay to be successful.”
Ecosystem
According to stubborn progress, it is hard that successful labels like Woodling and Pearl Octopuss are no longer migrating to fashion cities such as Copenhagen and Paris. They continue to actively participate in the Norwegian fashion scene, show collections on Oslo Runway and present themselves via concept stores such as F5 and Moniker of a young, fashion -conscious generation.
“It was a slow process, but now I see that the fashion scene begins to flourish and merges with the broader culture. Each brand has its own community, which creates an ecosystem. It is significant that large cultural institutions now recognize the relevance of the Norwegian fashion branchs. This enables us to collect public cooperation, for example with the MUNCH MUSEUM.”
The stylist and former deputy director of Oslo Runway, Adam Duong, looks at the developments critically: “It took a long time for Norway to get a place on the fashion card, and shortly before the Corona pandemic we were well there. Many of the larger, established Norwegian brands are not so strong, and I think that is a shame. Labels.
Made in Norway
The network of local producers is unique in the Norwegian fashion scene: Inside: Many brands have their products produced in Norway and measure their craftsmanship at the standards of the luxury industry.
According to Gerda Sørhus Fuglerud, CEO of the knitting brand Oleana, the fact that Norwegian companies are proud of their craft has to do with a still young chapter of Norwegian history. “Before the 1970s, Norway was a poor country. Textiles were one of the most important sources of income, especially wool because so much of it was available. In recent years, innovation has given this topic a new turn. Thanks to investments in 3D machines, we can reduce work. we are not yet making a profit, but thanks to generous state support, I see the future positively. ”
According to Elisabeth Pedersen from the label ESP, the use of local materials also makes the Norwegian industry special. Dozens of production companies want to process white intersections into high -quality products by combing them, pressing them, pressing them or combining them with a softer variety of wool on the inside. “Norwegian wool is ideal for outer clothing: the fibers are quite long and do not break so quickly, which means that such a sweater withstands wind and weather. Norwegian wool keeps warm, even if it gets wet, and it contains more lanolin than other European cross sheep because the animals run freely into the Highlands. Lanolin looks like a natural coating and gives rain and gives the fibers a nice one Glage. “
Local craft at the fashion school
At Norwegian fashion schools, these techniques and appreciation for natural materials are conveyed, says Kari Søreide, design lecturer at Esmod. “In the first year there is a fixed subject about natural fibers so that all students learn how to deal with it. Most of the time they want to grew up with materials and wool. From an early one, they dress in layers – a baby is immediately wrapped in wool – and manual work is learned early. In addition, wool can be processed in all possible variations, from fine to rough, and it is extremely functional. If you fall in love as a prospective: R Designer: In quick material. “
Line Møller-Stray Nissen has just completed the popular Fashion & Production degree on Esmod and reports on the Oslo Runway: “Not everyone wants to get into the Norwegian fashion industry-about half of my former fellow students: Inside, everyone wants to know the love of craft. Precisely because big fashion brands sit down on outsourcing. Local production and the art of handicrafts.
Financing of Oslo Runway
Oslo Runway requests government funding annually and does not receive any structural financial support. This year, half of the financing consists of state grants and 40 percent come from commercial collaborations. The brands that take part in Oslo Runway pay a symbolic fee that is based on their sales. This covers about ten percent of the income. Oslo Runway also receives support from Innovation Norway, the city of Oslo, Visit Oslo, Visit Norway, the Foreign Ministry and Norwegian messages worldwide.
This article was used with digital tools translated.
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