Steen & Strøm 225, Oslo’s luxury department store set within the city centre’s Promenaden Fashion District, has been one of the leading destinations during Oslo Runway – the official name for Oslo Fashion Week. The department store was the headline partner with Oslo Runway and was tasked with hosting several elements of this year’s program.

Steen & Strøm is in the midst of celebrating its 225th year, making it the world’s oldest and longest trading department store. Recently, it prepared a series of events to inspire and boost cutting-edge Norwegian brands, including an innovative pop-up event in collaboration with ESP and Fretex Arkivet (detail below) and a discussion panel at the store. The pop-up aimed to demonstrate the different perspectives of modern, durable Norwegian design.

David Wilkinson, Executive Director of Steen & Strøm, commented, “We are proud to continue our support for Norwegian fashion and design by dedicating part of our ground floor to the unique pop-up store concept by Fretex Arkivet and ESP, both promoting conscious consumption and circularity. We hope visitors will feel inspired to commence their sustainability journeys and use this opportunity to get educated and inspired.”

An Innovative Pop-Up concept with ESP and Fretex Arkivet
ESP is well known in Norway for making locally produced on-demand wool outerwear inspired by archives at the 70-year-old outerwear factory she took over in 2015. Following the merger with Manufacture Oslo in 2020, the production space for the Norwegian fashion cluster, new opportunities, including more digital innovation and tools to reach out to and communicate, have opened for including digital customization done by Manufacture Oslo in Clo3D with local crafts.

Every purchase at Fretex Arkivet contributes to the Salvation Army’s social work to help those at risk of exclusion and low-income families.

Sustainability Panel at Steen & Strøm
Steen & Strøm was also part of the opening talks that reflected the aim of Promenaden Fashion District in attracting more local and international brands while focusing on sustainability and making Oslo a top retail destination with current and future luxury openings. One of its recent additions was Dior’s ‘first to Nordics’ boutique, which now sits together on Nedre Slottsgatte (the main street of Promenaden Fashion District) alongside other premier international brands like Bottega Veneta, Louis Vuitton and Saint Laurent.

Following the Runway’s agenda, Steen & Strøm hosted its major night event at the department store – Oslo Runway by Night x Vogue Scandinavia, a panel about circularity and responsibility in the industry and how Norwegian brands can help drive the sustainability agenda.

The panel introduced by Kaia Kongsli, Steen & Strøm’s head of marketing, was moderated by Martina Bonnier, Vogue Scandinavia’s Editor. Under the title “Let’s Talk Conscious Consumption”, leading people who help shape Oslo’s fashion scene were invited, including fashion model Sara Flaaen, entrepreneur Anniken Jøgensen, ESP Funder and Creative Director Elisabeth Stray Pedersen.

The panel discussions included how to shop more consciously, while Sunniva Hartgen-Sverdrup shared useful advice on what to look for when shopping vintage and how to take care of garments.

The week reflected the forward-thinking, progressive nature of the department store and Oslo, which are finding added momentum with the recent openings of the new National Museum, The Munch Museum, and ThePlus, regarded as the world’s most environmentally friendly furniture factory – where the program took place.

These recent developments point to Norway’s ability to make ripples across the worlds of design and sustainability.

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