Norwegian fashion gains momentum: “Designers have gained confidence and now want to be the best”

More than a fashion week, Oslo Runway 2025 was a stage for Norwegian culture. The shows took place at the city's most beautiful locations. Pearl Octopuss.Y's models walked through the Munch Museum, pausing along the way to view the art. Josephine Studio's jewellery was presented on a boat, with the blue water and fjords as a backdrop. Oslo’s fashion scene showed its artistic side, with live musicians, modern dance at the National Theatre (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), demonstrated that everything on display built upon a rich history.

Elin Carlsen, chief executive officer of Oslo Runway, said: “This season, we have paid a lot of attention to the interweaving of fashion with culture, art and music, and tried to take Norwegian heritage – particularly knitting crafts – to a higher level with a modern twist.”

In terms of sustainability, Oslo Runway follows the course of other fashion cities by introducing minimum social and ecological requirements for the design and presentation of collections. A unique addition is a comprehensive diversity guide, which encourages brands to adopt inclusive casting. Models of different ages, body shapes and backgrounds were visible on the catwalk for SS26.

Norwegian market grows and internationalises

The turnover of Norwegian fashion and design brands is growing rapidly. In 2020, the combined turnover of the ten largest Norwegian fashion companies was 63 million euros. Three years later, in 2023, that amount had doubled to 119 million euros. Important export markets include Germany, Japan and South Korea. Tourists mainly come from Asia and the Gulf States.

According to Carlsen, internationalisation and professionalisation are at the heart of this growth. “With only 5.6 million inhabitants, the Norwegian domestic market is too small for substantial growth. By comparison, London, with 10 million inhabitants, has almost twice the market potential of Norway. If Norwegian fashion wants to make a serious contribution as a sector, it must break through internationally.”

In 2023, Holzweiler made its debut at London Fashion Week. Carlsen states that queues form several days a week outside Tom Wood’s flagship store in Tokyo, located in the same district as Prada, Comme des Garçons and Stella McCartney. ByTiMo’s floral designs hang in wardrobes worldwide. In 2024, LVMH’s Luxury Ventures fund invested in the Norwegian travel and luggage brand Db. This was LVMH’s first investment in Norway, intended to support Db’s global expansion.

With support from Innovation Norway and Norwegian Fashion Hub, Oslo Runway organised showrooms in both London and Copenhagen this year. In addition, the fashion and lifestyle segments have been designated as key sectors in the new National Export Initiative on Norwegian Manufacturing and Design, a recently launched government programme that aims for a 50 percent increase in exports by 2030.

Consumers show more courage

The Norwegian fashion world has become more professional in recent years, according to David Wilkinson, director of Steen & Strøm. “The gap between what designers show on the catwalk and what consumers actually buy has largely been closed. At Steen & Strøm, we want to be a bridge between designers and the public. For many designers, having their own shop is simply too expensive, so we offer them the opportunity to show their work to a wide audience. At the same time, we give consumers the opportunity to experience Norwegian design up close. Young people, in particular, are embracing these Norwegian designers; they proudly wear Norwegian labels from head to toe, which was unthinkable six years ago. Back then, they would have chosen Danish or Swedish brands.”

Kaia Kongsli, head of marketing at the luxury shopping street, Promenaden Fashion District, also sees a change in mentality. “Norwegian designers have long searched for their identity alongside more developed Scandinavian fashion cities, particularly Copenhagen. They have long felt they had to be ‘fancy’ – with lots of gold and black. In recent years, I have seen more confidence in their designs. We notice from sales that consumers are becoming more curious about these new styles – to express themselves personally. They also spend more on fashion than previous generations.”

Avant-garde Norwegian design

Fashion professionals at Oslo Runway cite 2015 as a turning point in Norwegian fashion. “Before that time, fashion in Norway was mainly associated with a kind of celebrity-glam culture,” says Sunniva Hartgen, head of fashion at Oslo Runway. “It was more about who wore it, and fashion itself felt little connection to culture.”

The arrival of avant-garde designers such as Haik, Anne Karine Thorbjørnsen and Michael Olestad changed that. They ushered in a new, rawer style that forms the basis for the aesthetic now being shaped, such as the chilly, bunker-like look of Envelope1976, led by fashion icon Celina Aagaard; or the anonymous uniforms of 1313 Selah, the street-style label by Tomas Silva, Duy Ngo and Erik Spanne, which takes depression as its starting point and organises sample sales in techno clubs.

Dare-to-be-different mentality

Designer Tarinii Martinsen said: “Norwegian culture is originally introverted and strongly assumes that everyone is equal. Norwegian fashion makes you think of utility and clean lines – but that is changing. Over the past decade, you see designers using Norwegian heritage in different ways, less minimalist and more expressive.” This change is also visible in fashion entrepreneurship, says designer Julie Josephine. She sees more and more healthy and ambitious fashion companies emerging: “The traditional Norwegian way is: don’t think you are better than anyone else, don’t stick your neck out. But more and more brands are moving away from that, towards: we are going to try to be the best and build a strong brand. It’s okay to be successful.”

Ecosystem

According to Hartgen, a sign of progress is that successful labels like Woodling and Pearl Octopuss.Y no longer move to fashion cities like Copenhagen and Paris, but continue to actively participate in the Norwegian fashion sector. They show collections at Oslo Runway and present themselves to a young, fashion-conscious generation via concept stores such as F5 and Moniker.

“It has been a slow process, but now I see the fashion sector starting to flourish and becoming intertwined with the wider culture. Each brand has its own community, creating an ecosystem. It is significant that major cultural institutions now recognise that the Norwegian fashion industry is relevant. This allows us to enter into high-profile collaborations with, for example, the Munch Museum.”

Stylist and former deputy director of Oslo Runway, Adam Duong, takes a critical look at the developments: “It took a long time for Norway to really get a place on the fashion map, and just before the coronavirus pandemic, we were in a good position. Many of those larger, established Norwegian brands are no longer so involved, and I find that a great pity. Oslo Runway remains primarily a springboard for new labels. In Copenhagen, they know the Norwegian talents, but compared to their scale and identity, we still have a lot of work to do to establish ourselves in Scandinavia.”

Made in Norway

Unique to the Norwegian fashion sector is the network of local producers: many brands choose to have their products made in Norway and measure their craftsmanship against the standards of the luxury sector.

The fact that Norwegian companies are proud of their craft has to do with a recent chapter in Norwegian history, according to Gerda Sørhus Fuglerud, chief executive officer of knitwear brand Oleana. “Before the 1970s, Norway was a poor country. Textiles were one of the most important sources of income, especially wool, because there was so much of it available. In recent years, innovation has given a new twist to that story. Thanks to investments in 3D machines, we can reduce working hours. Our own factory in Bergen offers all sorts of advantages: we can guarantee quality, conduct research into circularity and collaborate with young design talent who learn from us. We are not yet making a profit, but thanks to generous government support, I am optimistic.”

Local use of materials also makes the Norwegian industry special, according to Elisabeth Pedersen of the label ESP. Dozens of producers process wool from white crossbred sheep into high-quality products, for example by combing, pressing or combining it with a softer type of wool on the inside. “Norwegian wool is ideally suited for outerwear: the fibres are quite long and do not break easily, so a jumper like that can withstand wind and weather. Norwegian wool keeps you warm, even when wet, and it contains more lanolin than other European crossbred sheep because the animals roam freely in the highlands. Lanolin acts as a natural coating: it repels rain and gives the fibres a beautiful sheen.”

Local craft at fashion school

These techniques and the appreciation for natural materials are taught at Norwegian fashion schools, says Kari Søreide, design lecturer at ESMOD. “In the first year, there is a compulsory course on natural fibres so that all students learn to work with them. Usually, they want to do that too, because they have grown up with materials like wool. From a young age, they dress in layers – a baby is immediately wrapped in wool – and handicrafts are taught at a young age. Moreover, you can process the wool in all sorts of variations, from delicate to coarse, and it has enormous functionality. In a country like Norway, where it gets very cold, as an aspiring designer you quickly fall in love with a material like that.”

Line Møller-Stray Nissen has just completed the popular Fashion & Production course at ESMOD and talks about it at Oslo Runway: “Not everyone wants to enter Norwegian fashion – about half of my former classmates want to go to Paris – but everyone knows the love of craft. Precisely because large fashion brands outsource to such an extent. I am passionate about bringing back local production and carrying out crafts myself. I grew up with a father who still sewed clothes himself, and I learned it from him again. That is quite common in Norway. Although you also notice here that knowledge is being lost. The number of fashion schools in Oslo has declined in recent years.”

Funding of Oslo Runway

Oslo Runway applies for government funding annually and does not receive structural financial support. This year, the funding consists of 50 percent government contributions and 40 percent comes from commercial partnerships. The brands participating in Oslo Runway pay a nominal fee based on their turnover; this covers about 10 percent of the income. Oslo Runway also receives support from Innovation Norway, the City of Oslo, Visit Oslo, Visit Norway, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Norwegian embassies worldwide.