Snow on the catwalk, a long-table lunch under open skies and a finale bathed in jewellery and black candles. Day two of Oslo Runway had a bit of everything – and yesterday there were a few moments in particular that made our eyes widen.
After an opening day at Kistefos, yesterday it was time for day two of Oslo Runway. This time with Oslo and its surroundings as the playground.
And if the first day was largely about spectacular surroundings, art and Norwegian nature, yesterday was marked by contrasts. We started the day with jewellery and breakfast, suddenly found ourselves in the middle of winter a few hours later, ate lunch with models walking along the tables, and ended the evening in Pearl Octopuss.y’s dark and glittering universe. In other words: a pretty eventful Tuesday.
These are the moments we liked best.
A sparkling start to the dayDay two got off to the right start when A.S.G., Ravn and Aur Studio invited press and guests to the Jewelry Room at Shy Collective.
Over breakfast, we got a closer look at three of the exciting jewellery brands on the rise in Norwegian fashion right now.
It was a calm start to a day that would turn out to be anything but, and a nice reminder that Norwegian fashion isn’t just about clothes. Jewellery has taken up more and more space in the Norwegian fashion scene in recent years, and we’re keenly following the names now establishing their own distinct styles.
Kari Traa took us straight into winter
From breakfast and jewellery to sub-zero temperatures and snow.
Kari Traa invited guests to a show inside SNØ – and yes, that meant real snow on the catwalk.
The models were joined by professional skiers gliding down the catwalk, and for a few minutes September suddenly felt very far away. It could easily have become gimmicky, but instead the setting worked surprisingly well.
For a brand that has built its identity around Norwegian sport, mountains and an active lifestyle, it was hard to imagine a more fitting arena. And in the middle of a fashion week where locations are often meant to be both unexpected and Instagram-friendly, it was refreshing to see a location that actually said something about the brand.
BRGN served up both fashion and lunch
From there, we moved on to one of yesterday’s most enjoyable happenings.
BRGN gathered press and guests around long tables in the courtyard at Prindsen Hage, where lunch and a surprise fashion show merged into a single experience.
Instead of a traditional catwalk, the models moved along the tables while guests ate, showing designs from the brand’s latest collaboration with Tinashe Williams, among other pieces.
Williams herself provided the finale when she closed the show.
The whole thing felt social, unpretentious and just summery enough. It became one of those moments when Oslo Runway felt less like a packed fashion week schedule and more like a place you wanted to stay a while.
We vote for more long tables and fashion, please.
Wilhelmina turned up the energy
Then it was time to turn up the volume.
Oslo Runway NEXT brand Wilhelmina took over the National Gallery with its second show, and did so with energy, to say the least.
It all started with a bang, and the electric atmosphere that followed was a marked contrast to several of the day’s more understated presentations.
That’s one of the most fun things about Oslo Runway: a young brand gets the space to come in and shake up the programme a little.
Wilhelmina did exactly that.
And when a show manages to leave you wanting to know what the brand will do next time, it has already done a lot right.
Woodling slowed the pace down again
After the energy at Wilhelmina, Woodling went in the opposite direction.
The wool brand invited guests into a water-inspired universe, where the models almost glided through the room and the pace was turned down a few notches. The result was soft, calm and almost meditative.
It isn’t always the loudest shouts that stay with you after a long day of shows. Sometimes it’s rather the moments that dare to do less.
Woodling was a welcome breather in the middle of the programme, while showing how wool can be presented in a way that feels far removed from the traditional and expected.
ONE and OTHER made it personal
At ONE and OTHER, the format became more intimate again.
The brand invited press and guests into its own showroom, where the models presented the latest looks in far more scaled-down surroundings than several of the day’s big shows. And it worked.
Because there’s something special about seeing the clothes up close. When the distance between guest and model shrinks, you also notice the details that can easily get lost on a big catwalk.
Amid snow, performance and grand locations, the showroom format made a nice contrast and a reminder that a good presentation doesn’t necessarily need to be the biggest.
Pearl Octopuss.y ended the day with a bang
If there was one thing Pearl Octopuss.y wasn’t interested in, it was ending day two quietly and cautiously. Even before we reached the show itself at the National Gallery, the universe had been set.
Chandeliers decorated with jewellery and black candles lit the way up to the catwalk. The entrance to the National Gallery became part of the experience. Dark, dramatic and exactly as extravagant as we’d hoped from Pearl Octopuss.y.
A large audience had gathered for the day’s last show, and it felt like a fitting finale to a day that had moved between extremes.
We loved ending the day in the middle of a dark, glittering Pearl Octopuss.y universe.
A day full of contrasts
If we had to sum up yesterday in one word, it would almost have to be contrasts.
Because how often do you actually get to go from breakfast with jewellery designers to a catwalk covered in snow, on to a long-table lunch in a courtyard and finally into the National Gallery surrounded by jewellery and black candles, all on one and the same day?
Day two showed several different sides of Norwegian fashion. The sporty and functional stood side by side with the elegant, the experimental and the theatrical. Our conclusion, really, is that there is no longer one single answer to what “Norwegian fashion” looks like.
Thankfully.