Story

april 29, 2016

Text Maren Serine Andersen

Luca Sorheim and Maren Serine‘s voices blended softly together with the buzz of a strikingly stylish crowd gathered together. The fields of Fashion, Art and Music were united by rmingling while sipping on trendy beverage on a photo exhibition opening in downtown Oslo that evening. They were climbing a steep stairway leading from the basement of the venue, F5 Concept Store, up to ground floor. Right before reaching the top, a wide-eyed Luca told Maren Serine to stop. He seemed to have noticed something on the final step and started giggeling with a very amused look on his face.

When they arrived earlier in the evening they were greeted by the smile of Benjamin Krystad Marthinsen, co-founder of F5 and co-designer of resident brand GRAA. After explaining them about the exhibition vernissage that tempted them with a look at the ongoing renovation down in the studio area. This was a little after welcoming them to the vernissage that they arranged, and off course a few habitual jokes thrown between himself and Fredrik Austad, that (that hva?). Fredrik Austad had already seen the changes as he used to come by the store quite often and remained in the energetic atmosphere upstairs together with the host.

On their way down the stairs to the basement, Luca Sorheim and Maren Serine went noticed how they calmed down feeling the rather contrasting calmness to the loud music and ensemble of high-pitched voices that they still could hear from the floor above. They were both a bit caught off guard when it came to the social And then they bumped into Gard Eiklid from Rod Bianco Gallery and in-house designer Magne Risnes for brand AÙMA. The tall and fair haired welcome committee had also taken their escapes from the cultural mingling spree in the main room to relax for a bit. After catching up with the guys, the definite highlight of evening took place.

Perfectly timed with one of mon Dieu’s favourite looks from Givenchy Spring 2016 menswear collection, physiotherapist Sven Renberg, gave an improvised performance presenting the art of tying a man’s Lungi. He had recently returned from a trip to Myanmar and couldn’t have been more pleased with the new centrepiece of his summer wardrobe.

After the performance, it seemed like a good idea for Luca Sorheim and Maren Serine to cool down their sudden excitement (med lungien, sant?) with something to drink. It was then, on their way up the stairway that they stopped and started laughing. They both noticed the sign placed on the final step on the stairs, and both had the same theory of why it had been placed there.

After the funny distraction they finally got to the top and Luca Sorheim told Maren Serine to start looking at the photo exhibition arranged on the walls in the exhibition space of the store while he got them something to drink. As she was navigating her way through the flood of guests towards the white walls in the back of the store, she suddenly recognized someone familiar in front of her and went over to faire la bise that is the way of greeting each other in France.

A few moments later Parisian stylist Oswald Amoa briskly tapped his index finger on the cigarette in his hand while explaining the story of his brown hat. In a curious way the headpiece looked brand new while it simultaneously could have belonged in the 1940’s. Maren Serine concluded that maybe the combination with a contemporary cut coat in shiny green material enhanced the confusing effect that the hat had on her.

As Oswald Amoa explained how much he missed Paris these days, Maren Serine realized how monotonous Oslo could be without external style additions. Distinctive style and character could often seem to be heavily outsized by an overflow of Scandinavian minimalism combined with trendy streetwear brands and rebelliously intended sporty references in a color palette dominated by white, black, grey and navy. They discussed how quickly the cultural identity of Oslo was growing at the moment and how easy it can be to get high on your own supply. They concluded that from a philosophic point of view, mimesis easily can become dominated by the imitating kind in such a small place compared to the rest of the world. It is always refreshing to visit Fashion capitals like Paris to get inspired. Interesting fashion underdogs like Moscow offer some really different and game changing contributions. To play it safe and take all the short cuts might be a slippery slope to hubris. (litt langt avsnitt)

The Chronicles from Copenhagen Fashion Week F/W 16 and Oslo Runway F/W 16 is still coming up.