Norwegian fashion set Hell on fire
Things got really hot when Anti Sweden Jeans staged their fashion show in Hell, North Trøndelag, in opposition to Norway’s established fashion industry.
Download film footage here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22579877/WEb%20spot%20Antisweden_1.mp4 or watch on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4WzUdIHsfU
People fascinated by darkness and the occult have always been drawn to Hell in Trøndelag. Last night the place truly turned into Hell on Earth when Anti Sweden staged “Fashion Week In Hell”.
“We wanted to launch our new collection in a place which mirrors the qualities in our design. Hell is raw, real, exotic and mythical,” says Anti Sweden Jeans managing director Kjetil Wold.
“With Anti Sweden Jeans we want to show how it’s possible to showcase what’s exotically Norwegian without resorting to the tired old ‘Welcome to Norway’ clichés. Hell has opened up its historical train station for us and the place has an inspiring attitude when it comes to new thinking on profiling the destination commercially. And then we also got one hell of a party,” says Wold.
Burnt their own collection
The new collection was started as early as 2009 when Anti Sweden burnt Swedish ‘posh jeans’ at Hell train station and used the remains to design their own special collection. Swedish rivals didn’t escape the flames this time either. The old station’s platform was turned into a catwalk and featured burning Swedish jeans next to a Hell sign made out of two metres tall pieces of timber - also on fire. More surprising perhaps was the fact that some of Anti Sweden’s own collection ended up in the sea of fire. After their round on the catwalk the models undressed and burnt the collection at the spot.
“Anti Sweden is Norwegian Black metal manifested in black jeans. Black metal is extreme as an expression and this is where we get our inspiration. This is a tribute to the dark side of Norway’s soul and black metal’s ink black aesthetics. Our clothes should smell of burning rather than having a sweet waffle aroma,” says Wold.
Fronted by Alice Cooper’s daughter
Calico Cooper, the controversial performance artist and daughter of rock legend Alice Cooper, was first of the models on the catwalk. She travelled from Hollywood to Hell to be part of the show.
“Anti Sweden has captured the essence of black metal with their design, and rock is something which has followed me from birth. If there’s something I know a lot about after years touring with my father, it is what real rock is and what people want. This fashion is becoming renowned with rockers in Hollywood, and they are very particular about what design suits their image. Fronting Norwegian fashion in exotic surroundings in Hell of all places was something I simply couldn’t miss,” says Cooper.
Fashion for metal
Legendary band 1349, named after the year the Black Death arrived in Norway, also took part in Fashion Week in Hell offering an intense and brutal musical experience.
“We’re not too familiar or concerned with fashion in itself, but we are very into style, appearance and the need for a unique and clear expression. There’s no doubt Anti Sweden and 1349 overlap to a great extent,” says Frost from 1349 and Satyricon.
Sigurd Wongravwen, vocalist in the world famous Black Metal-band Satyricon, was an obvious guest in Hell.
”Anti Sweden combines darkness and extremety with fashion, something we approve, in contradiction to mass-produced Motley Crüe t-shirts from the established fashionindustri. That is something we dont approve. The link betveen jeans/demin and raw music has a long history, and it is good that someone stretches that concept further”, says Wongrawen.
Hell as a tourist destination
The name Hell is the source of many good stories, but also used to create frustration among the locals. At one stage there was even a demand to remove and burn the railway sign reading ”Hell Gods expedition” to get rid of the link to the Biblical Hell. But lately locals have again embraced “Hell” and today a true copy of the original sign is hanging on the station building.
“Living in “Hell” strengthens Hell as a destination. Tourists like it and so do we locals. The photo of the train station is Norway’s best selling postcard, and proves this point. Fashion Week in Hell throws light on the region in an untraditional way, and we feel this is important and right because it makes us stand out from the crowd,” says Hell tourist director, Odd Petter Haugseth.
For more information please contact:
Kjetil Wold at Anti Sweden, tel: +47 9971 0975. Email: kjetil@anti.as
Odd Petter Haugseth, Hell tourist director, tel: +47 9588 9258. Email: odd.petter@snf-arrangement.no
Photo credit: Pål Laukli
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