Home to a new fashion library, Oslo could be the next style capital of the world

Paris, Milan, London, New York, and now… Oslo. That’s right, the Norwegian capital is home to a one-of-a-kind new library, inaugurated on Tuesday 29 November, the International Library of Fashion Research, bringing together decades-long printed materials on fashion.

This world premiere also serves to illustrate that Scandinavian fashion is gradually gaining an international reputation in the fashion world.

Copenhagen and Stockholm are often presented as strong candidates for the title of new fashion capitals, but it should not be forgotten that Scandinavian ready-to-wear goes beyond these cities.

Read more: The fashion works of Italian photo master Gian Paolo Barbieri are exhibited in Milan

Increasingly publicized by the fashion press, both for its collections and for the street styles seen outside each show, Oslo Fashion Week has been gaining popularity for several years now, with a wave of designers whose fame goes far beyond Norway, like Fam Irvoll, Veronica B Vallenès and Eva Emanuelsen.

And that’s just the beginning. With the opening of its Library of Fashion Research, a unique library of its kind in the world, Oslo proves that it deserves a place among the fashion capitals.

Over 5,000 prints

This new kind of library, which houses no less than 5,000 printed fashion documents, is the work of the precocious Elise By Olsen. At just 22 years old, the young woman is passionate about fashion, but also a savvy entrepreneur, who is not content to rest on her laurels.

After starting her own blog at the age of eight, she became one of the youngest editors in the world at 13 with her own style magazine. Recent paper.

But his exceptional career did not stop there; she is now at the origin of the opening of the International Library of Fashion Research (ILFR), which brings to light an impressive collection of fashion documents, far from the dematerialized or brand-oriented archives that the now found all over the world.

“Fashion is one of our most important cultural artifacts, an expression of our values ​​and fascinations, and an impression of a moment in time with social, political and economic dimensions. Yet, because a so much of its print is created for commercial or informal purposes, it rarely receives the in-depth study it deserves,” reads the brand new establishment’s website.

It aims to become “the world’s most comprehensive repository of specialized fashion research and contemporary fashion publications”, freely accessible to all fashion researchers, professionals and enthusiasts.

Read more: Couture, tailoring, streetwear? Men’s fashion presents an ever-changing market

Oslo, city of culture and fashion Located a few steps from the new National Museum of Norway, inaugurated in June, the ILFR has taken up residence in a former train station.

The minimalist style, unlike museums, galleries and other places dedicated to fashion, gives pride of place to two spaces: a study space, and an exhibition space.

To inaugurate the library, the first exhibition, entitled “For Immediate Release: The Art of the Press Release”, focuses on a selection of press releases and promotional texts from several fashion players, including Alessandro Michele, Comme Des Boys, Dries Van Noten, Maison Martin Margiela, Prada, Virgil Abloh and Vivienne Westwood.

Often neglected in favor of Copenhagen and Stockholm, two cities that already shine on the fashion scene, Oslo can, with this new kind of establishment, quickly catch up and establish itself among the major fashion cities of the world.

There is no doubt that fashion events will flock to the capital in the months to come. AFP Relax news