Norwegian Fashion: New Histories

Led by researchers based at the National Museum and the Centre for Design Studies at Kristiania University College, this project aims to discover histories of Norwegian fashion not yet written and to reassess those already known. It adopts a diverse and inclusive view of “fashion” which challenges received notions of what the term entails, and which transgresses the institutional and academic boundaries that have limited and fragmented its study. A further aim for the project is therefore to question what fashion means in the Norwegian context by bringing together contrasting histories surrounding the design, manufacture and use of objects labelled variously as haute couture, ready-to-wear, local clothes, or national dress – all of which contribute to the visual and material culture of the nation. Norway is a relatively young country with a harsh climate, a strong egalitarian culture, an ambiguous relationship to Europe, currently wealthy but traditionally poor. Writing histories of fashion in this context poses complex questions with relation to topics like identity, nationalism, decolonialization and centre-periphery relations, to name a few. By focusing on the Norwegian context, the project therefore also seeks engage with the questions a Norwegian understanding of fashion pose for global studies of fashion history. Although Norwegian fashion history is increasingly becoming the topic of academic debate, its literature is still predominantly spread across catalogues, articles and book chapters written for a popular audience. The project will address this lack of critical literature.