Press release -
Young designers explore the body
See how a new generation of fashion creatives are experimenting with the human body and clothing.
"Beyond Bodies. Four Nordic Fashion Experiments”
9 November 2024–23 March 2025
The National Museum – Social Area
The exhibition “Beyond Bodies. Four Nordic Fashion Experiments” displays work by a new generation of fashion creatives, who are all recent graduates from Nordic fashion schools. Works by Tilde Herold, Miriam Scheller, Jennie Steen and Ruusa Vuori experiment with the very essence of fashion – the human body – expanding the boundaries of what fashion design can be. Combining traditional and modern design techniques and using materials such as thermal insulation and homespun flax, they create unfamiliar structures and forms.
“Beyond Bodies. Four Nordic Fashion Experiments” is an installation of twelve works, with three pieces contributed by each designer. The exhibition is free to visit as no ticket is required to enter the museum’s Social Area.
THE DESIGNERS
Tilde Herold (born 1994) is a Danish designer with a master’s degree in fashion design from the Royal Danish Academy in Copenhagen. She is currently resident at ALPHA Studio.
“In my experience as a fashion designer, the understanding of the body within the profession tends to be narrow. I have therefore granted myself the opportunity to freely and interpretively study another type of body.”
– Tilde Herold
Miriam Scheller (born 1997) is a German-Nigerian designer from Munich. She has a master’s degree in fashion and textile design, specializing in knitting, from the Swedish School of Textiles – University of Borås.
“My German-Nigerian heritage plays a central role in my creative work and consistently provides new inspiration, considering that cultural identity is an important topic in our current times.”
– Miriam Scheller
Jennie Steen (born 1994) is a Norwegian designer based in Oslo. She holds a master’s degree in design, specializing in fashion and costume design, from Oslo National Academy of the Arts.
“I wish to challenge the way we perceive, use and work with clothes.”
– Jennie Steen
Ruusa Vuori (born 1999) is a Finnish designer based in Helsinki. She has a degree in fashion design from Aalto University and is the winner of the ALPHA Award 2024.
“Working with different materials and processing them by hand is an essential part of my practice. The hypnotic rhythm of handiwork and the movements of my body while weaving, knitting, cutting, and sewing, have deepened my relationship with both inherited and newly acquired materials.”
– Ruusa Vuori
NORDIC COLLABORATION
The exhibition is a collaboration between the National Museum and ALPHA – a Nordic platform for newly established fashion designers. The collaboration also involves the Museum of Design and Craft – Röhsska museet; Emma – Espoo Museum of Modern Art; and Copenhagen Contemporary. Every four years, the National Museum co-curates an exhibition in collaboration with ALPHA. The goal is to strengthen Nordic curatorial practice, through communication between the institutions and the exchange of knowledge. “Beyond Bodies. Four Nordic Fashion Experiments” has been co-curated by National Museum curator Hanne Eide and ALPHA director Ane Lynge-Jorlén.
For further information, please contact Mari Grinde Arntzen at the National Museum’s Communications Department. mari.arntzen@nasjonalmuseet.no
We hope you will also take time to enjoy our other current fashion exhibition: “Ephemeral Matters. Into the Fashion Archive”
Topics
The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design is the largest art museum in the Nordics. The collection contains 400,000 objects ranging from the antiquity to the present day and includes paintings, sculpture, drawings, textiles, furniture and architectural models. The new museum building opened in June 2022. At the National Museum visitors can experience a comprehensive Collection presentation of around 6,500 works, as well as a varied programme of temporary exhibitions and events.