OLEANA BY NORWEGIAN
and thescrapsof silk ribbon treasuredbyNorwegianemigrantsasmementos
ofhome.Over theyears, shehasproducedhundredsofdesigns, all ofwhichare
ondisplay inanexhibitionon thegroundfloorof the factory–which isopen
to thepublic–alongside imagesof themyriadmuseumpieces that inspired
them. “There isa long tradition inartandcraft inwhichpatternsmigrate from
material tomaterial and fromcountry tocountry,”saysAarhus. “It’s likea
conversation, andwearecontinuing that conversationhereatOleana.”
Theotherongoingconversation thecompany isengaged in isacultural one
thatbrings their traditional costume-inspired fashion togetherwithdance,
musicandart. Itall started in 1997,whenOleanacelebrated itsfifthanniversary
bystagingashow inBergen’sgreat concerthall, theGreigHall, foranaudience
of 1,500. Fiveyears later, for the 10thanniversary, theyheldanexhibitionat
theNorwegianTheatre inOslo; in2005, eightdancers from theRoyalOpera
showcasedOleanaonstageat thegreathall ofStockholm’sNordicMuseum; and
inMinneapolis theystagedaproduction in frontof 500. “Wehave, perhaps,
alwayshadasecretdreamofbecoming stageproducers,” saysAarhus.
So,notonlyhave they realised their secretdreamofbringing fashion to
lifeon stage, theirnot-so-secretdreamof reinvigorating theNorwegian textile
industryandcreatingacompany inspiredby their idealisticvisionhasbeen
asuccess.And, asanewgeneration takesovermanagement, the future looks
bright. “It issosatisfying toprove that it ispossible tomanufactureclothing in
Norway,”saysAarhus. “Wehavemanyyearsof experience, andnowwehave
SteffenandGerdacoming inwith theirnew ideas– it’sagreatmix for success.”
Norwegianflies toBergen frommore than20destinations.Bookflights,ahotel
andarental car fromnorwegian.com
Above
⁄
Joininggarmentsona
linkingmachine
Clockwise from
right
⁄
Threading theknitting
machines; Valestrand
andFuglerud;Cesare
Mercurioprogrammes
theknittingpatterns
“It isour
ambition
tomake
themost
beautiful
knitwear
inthe
worldby
investing
indesign”
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