Norwegian Rat

The reason for my journey is to follow the promising Norwegian designer Siri Sveen Haaland (22) which has been selected to attend the finals for the prestigious Mittelmoda.

Siri was raised in a far-away village called Sveio where she picked up sewing at a very early age. This could of course have something to do with both her mother and grandmother making Norwegian folk costumes.

But becoming a designer wasn’t quite what Siri had in mind. She wanted to be a rock star! So she went along to study music, picking up the el-guitar as her main instrument.

At the age of 16, still studying music, her mother urged her to participate in a design contest for young designer talents. Siri found this quite intriguing and contributed just a simple dress. The competition received 78 creations where 10 finalists were selected to be shown on a runway, among these were Siri.

This sparked her passion for fashion and from that moment on, she knew that to become a fashion designer was her calling.

After she finished her music studies, she moved to Oslo where she enrolled into the renowned design school Esmod. After three years of intensive studies, it was time for her examinations, including showing her creations on the runway. Siri chose to specialize in menswear.

Esmod’s yearly runway show has always attracted a large crowd, and this year was no different. The venue was cramped with family members, friends, designers and fashionistas. At that time, I was not yet aware who Siri was. It would be another year before I would meet her at a random party. But I remember I was caught off guard photographing one of her models on the catwalk. Just as I thought he was finished posing at the end of the runway, he turns sideways and unfolds his “wings”. This element of surprise seems to be characteristic for Siri’s design. As it turns out, Siri wins the award for best collection of menswear

After she graduated from Esmod, Siri figured she needed a small break and spent the next six months studying English. During this time she also worked freelance taking on jobs from her mother and other external clients. One of these clients is the Norwegian design house House of Singles, which produces high quality suits, shirts and other accessories for men.

Doing a good job, and obviously impressing the management, Siri started getting more assignments from House of Singles. It soon became a full time job. Now she is designing the first line of women’s wear, consisting of evening gowns and party dresses.

Mittelmoda
After getting a tip from one of her teachers, Siri decided to enter a design contest called Mittelmoda, a well-known design contest in Italy. From over 700 applications Siri got picked as one out of 24 finalists to participate in the contest.

To give you an idea of how big this competition is, you can look at who sits in the jury. This year you will find high profile persons like Margareta Van den Bosch (Chief creative officer for H&M), Sergio Ciucci (Fashion Designer & Responsible for John Galliano’s second line) and Silvia Madella (Levi’s Women Merchandising Manager Europe).

The people behind Mittelmoda know how to make you feel welcome and taken care of. Arriving at the train station, a car was waiting to take me to a four star hotel where all participating the event were staying. Then later that night, I was invited to dinner and drinks with the other contestants. What I discovered is that along with showing your collection at this competition, it’s also an opportunity for designers to expand their network.

Even though Siri did not win any prices, she feels more inspired than ever to continue her dedication towards her new fashion line – Norwegian Rat.
- I feel more inspired than ever and I am even more ready to give all that I got to work our ‘Norwegian Rat’ onto its feet.

Norwegian Rat
As with most designers, Siri wanted to launch her own fashion brand, and it all started in a dark and murky cellar… No, actually it started one evening spending time with her three friends. They all liked her idea and soon they were making plans for their first collection.

Then comes the question; Why Norwegian Rat?

- Simple really. We wanted a name which could be linked to Norway. For a while we joked around with the name ‘Moose of Norway’, but then Thomas grabbed Oxford Dictionary and started searching for anything beginning with ‘Norw’. We ended up using the name ‘Norwegian Rat’, says Siri.

According to Wikipedia, Norwegian Rat (Rattus norvegicus) is the most common name for the brown rat. In the early 18th century people thought that the rat came to England by ships from Norway, hence the name. Academics later discovered this to be false, but the name stuck.

For the past year they have been working on creating the concept, the brand and the products. The road to success is about good planning, and they have taken inspiration from successful business role model of Moods of Norway.

Norwegian Rat is for guys and girls who are conscious of image and quality. The concept is carried by a commercial reflection of the dark and obscure sides of Norwegian culture, together with a taste of underground rock’n’roll. The first collection will consist of a complete outfit for both genders, and more will come within the next few years.

Why will you succeed where others have failed?

- Where others have an idea, we have a concept. To quote our homey Henrik Ibsen: “Det som du gjør, gjør fullt og helt, ikke stykkevis og delt” (Tequila translation: What you do, do it fully and completely, not in bits and pieces.)

If you were to choose one musician to put your clothes on, who would that be?

- Thom Yorke, she says without blinking

Photo: Steven Stieng