The exhibition shows outfits designed by Esmod Fashion School students from all over the world, who took part in a competition organized by Esmod Oslo and Dale Yarns to interpret Norwegian knitting tradition. The result of the competition is this temporary exhibition at Norsk Folkemuseum/Norwegian Folk Museum on from June 26 to September 15, see norskfolkemuseum. It is an astonishing exhibition – a must see – but if you are nowhere near Oslo, there are excellent videos on YouTube and I have selected the ones I found the most jaw dropping. All the garments are made from Dale Yarns’ selection of hand knit yarns, see dalegarn. Above, a design by Mika Tollefsrud, is one of the contributions from Esmod Oslo – see esmod – and their video serves well as an introduction to the exhibition since it is filmed outside the Stave Church at the Museum, do watch: youtube.
The exhibition is located among Norwegian Church Art. “A unique national collection of richly ornamented altar pieces pulpits, baptismal fonts, memorial plaques and church organs from the period after the Reformation i 1537 up to around 1800.” The clashing time epochs seems bizarre until you start to study the intricate details of the ornaments and find the similarities. The cabled dress at the front – White Wind – is by Esmod Seoul. The mannequin does not do the outfit justice, and you cannot see the amazing back nor the matching boots with knitted decorations in the photo, but you can see them here: youtube.
Snow on the branch, above, is also designed by Esmod Seoul. I found this padded shoulder eye catching. Equally intriguing is the skirt and the matching boots, all shown in the video clip. The outfit below, also by Esmod Seoul, look even more gorgeous on a live model with over-knee matching boots, do watch the video and see how they were made.
Esmod Munich have contributed with several breathtaking outfits which are brilliantly presented in their video clip. Below is an embellished uniform jacket made in macrame with pearl beads inserted on safety pins by Marian Kathan, see the zip padded front and how it looks worn by a handsome male model at youtube.
The last outfit I want to show you is the Missoni inspired I-cords sewn together and sculpted into a marvelous top with a perfect skirt and dramatic acrylic bangles to draw you in.
To my delight, Esmod France has gathered all the videos from participating fashion school cities and students so you can keep watching more here: youtube and see all the sketches + videos here: esmod. Enjoy and be inspired!
I am thrilled to present my latest design, complete: Regal Purple Jacket. The vibrant, rich purple catch my attention and demanded to be chosen out of the 62 marvelous colours on offer in Perle, meaning pearl in Norwegian, a divine mercerized 4-ply/fingering cotton with a crisp stitch definition from Hifa, see ull. I chose a pattern, I have named Flower Wave, which is half lace and half garter stitch hence easy to memorize. With garter stitch inside the pattern it also became the obvious choice for the edging. Regal Purple Jacket has an A-line shape with added garter stitches in the side for decreasing, with short sleeves and a V-neck with a garter stitch then stocking stitch band. It is knitted flat and sewn together to give stability to the garment. The pattern has been sold to the Norwegian magazine Familien where it will be printed next spring/summer.
As a contrast and an add on, I decided it needed an accessory so I made a cowl, made all in stocking stitch with stripes in reverse stocking stitch, knitted as a tube I turned so I could continue to knit instead of purling to make the stripes, and grafted it together at the end. I still have a bit of work left on the pattern (read: grading) but I am pleased with the result!
