Note: This article was first published in July 2022 and some details may be out of date.
– Lots of us friends from completely different parts of the world meet up in Italy every year.
Finally a more or less normal summer without restrictions and face masks! After two years of holidays in Norway, we can at last dig out our passports and enjoy the summer holiday abroad again.
We’re kicking off a new round of our summer column, taking the temperature of this year’s summer with a selection of cool profiles!
This week we’ve had a chat with Anwar Bougroug.The Norwegian-Moroccan is a fashion designer and the founder of the brand @bougroug. In 2020 he made Forbes’ ’30 Under 30′ list of the thirty most influential people in Africa.
Read also: My summer: Julie Varner: – Not looking at the clock is luxury for me!
What does your summer look like this year?
– This year I want the summer to just be relaxing. No stress. No rushing around with plans and the like, just feeling every single minute and enjoying this time, so I’m ready for next year’s challenges.
What’s the best thing about summer for you?
– I love that the weather is nice and that large parts of the world shut down. It’s like an enforced holiday for everyone. Everything is better in summer, says Anwar Bougroug.
Where are you travelling? And what are you most looking forward to there?
– This year I’m going to Italy for a few weeks. I’m travelling from Le Marche to Tuscany and then to Sardinia. The Mediterranean really is the best place for me in summer; I’ve always been there for as long as I can remember.
– The best thing is that lots of us friends from completely different parts of the world meet up in Italy every year. I’m also visiting a childhood friend in Barcelona. I hope I can squeeze in a little trip to Morocco too 🧡
What can’t you survive without on holiday?
– Books, podcasts, headphones and lactase tablets.
Describe the perfect summer evening.
– The best is when you meet before dinner for an aperitivo and a drink. A glass of wine or an Aperol spritz. I love having one drink before going to dinner; that way you get neither drunk nor hungover.
– Then it’s dinner with lots of loved ones, before possibly ending the night with a lovely night swim.
What’s your ultimate summer outfit?
– I always have more summer clothes than winter clothes in my wardrobe. I love wearing things from my own brand, because the inspiration is always summer and vacay.
– So the holiday is kind of the highlight for me and my friends to wear Bougroug.
What are you reading this summer?
– I’m reading “Compassion Inc” by Gaurav Sinha, and next on the list is “Beyond the Gender Binary” by Alok Vaid-Menon.
What’s your song of the summer this year?
– Ase Manual – “Back & Forth”
What do you prefer to throw on the grill?
– Chicken, lots of vegetables or pizza are the best on the grill.
Summer in Norway or summer abroad?
– The first part of the summer is best in Norway, then the middle of the summer abroad, and then late summer in Norway again.
Cocktails, beer or rosé?
– Cocktails!
Swimming in the sea or the pool?
– I’m crazy about the ocean, but a pool is lovely too. Especially if the pool is close to the ocean.
Flip-flops, clogs or sneakers?
– Flip-flops. Your feet need to breathe in summer.
Bucket list or spontaneous adventures?
– Both, but mostly I like to switch off my brain and take things as they come. Too much planning stresses me out.
The best summer you’ve ever had was…?