Paris – New Dehli – Oslo, is the subtitle of this magnificent exhibition at Kunstindustri-museet/Museum of Decorative Arts and Design in Oslo, on to 1st of February 2015. Here is the introduction to Julie Skarland – photographed in a tulle dress with sneakers in the picture above – from the program: “Rough and poetic, with the whole world as her workplace: Welcome to fashion designer and artist Julie Skarland’s universe!”. Born 1960 in Trondheim, she has spent her entire career abroad. The label Julie Skarland/Princess Factory was set up in 1991 in Paris, where she presented annual collections and opened her own store in 1998. In 2005 she moved to India to produce according to fair trade principles, and today she resides in New Dehli. “Throughout Julie Skarland’s career handwork, such as knitting and embroidery, has been a hallmark of her folklore-inspired style. A style in which incongruity and ambiguity are underscored by the choice of materials and ornaments”. The combination of heavy knits with tulle, silks and other fine fabrics decorated with embroidery, pompoms and sequins is unexpected and characteristic of Julie Skarland. See the fox collar, below, knitted in a stranded color work motif designed by Per Spook and with a great sense of humor called “Spooky”.

“An original and varied use of recycled materials is characteristic of many of the designer’s piece. Fragments of knitwear and old embroidery create stories that both assert her fairytale aesthetic and convey tales of everyday Norwegian life”. In addition to Pret a Porter, Julie Skarland sets her instinct to work creating one-off designs by putting together, taking apart and recovering with painstakingly detailed work. Many of these one-offs have been sold to museums and art galleries. Embroidery is at the core in her new creative phase as an artist. Through these detailed embroideries she has achieved a greater sense of elegance. You can see her embroider, as well as glimpses of her daily life in New Dehli and the former Parisian collections; in fact the complete documentary from the exhibition here: vimeo.com.

The dresses Julie Saarland has made for this exhibition consists simple silhouettes in white fabric, across which she allows imagery inspired by nature, birds and islamic patterns to unfold, as if on a canvas. The embroidery is mind-blowing as it is done using a fine thread with precise execution. So if you are in Oslo before the beginning of February, you know where to go. I need to revisit and study her photo books available in the museum shop…