The exhibition “Beyond Bodies” showcases works from a new generation of emerging fashion talent, all recently graduated from Nordic fashion schools. Working at the intersection of fashion, handicraft, and art, these designers – Jennie Steen, Miriam Scheller, Ruusa Vuori, and Tilde Herold – expand the boundaries of fashion.
“Beyond Bodies” is presented as an installation in the social area of the museum, where you can experience three works by each designer. All the works experiment, from different perspectives, with the very essence of fashion – the body.
The works blur the boundaries between fashion and art. Using a mix of traditional and contemporary fashion design methods, craft techniques and materials – including pre-loved and recycled fabrics, innovative knitwear, homespun flax, insulation materials and hand-dyed silk – they create unusual shapes and hybrid forms that raise questions about heritage, identity, and borders.
Jennie Steen
Jennie Steen is a Norwegian designer based in Oslo. She holds a master’s degree in fashion design from Oslo National Academy of the Arts. Steen works as an independent designer and experiments with clothes as artistic expression.
“In my artistic practice – using clothes as a medium – I use my curiosity and handicrafts to understand truths about myself and the world. I wish to challenge the way we perceive, use and work with clothes, and let the process and exploration become an active part of the final result.”
– Jennie Steen
Miriam Scheller
Miriam Scheller is a German-Nigerian designer from Munich. She holds degrees in knitting, bodywear, and sustainable design from the Swedish School of Textiles – University of Borås, Amsterdam Fashion Institute, and Shenkar College of Engineering.
“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. I strive to make my designs conversation starters to connect beyond the physicality of textiles and design and to showcase emotional inner workings. I view design as an art form that allows me to explore and learn more about myself and the world, which brings responsibility and immense joy.”
– Miriam Scheller
Ruusa Vuori
Ruusa Vuori is a Finnish artist and designer based in Helsinki. She holds a degree in fashion design from Aalto University and is the winner of the ALPHA Award 2024. Through garments, her work focuses on embodied knowledge and explores spatial perception.
“My work emphasizes the sensory aspects and sensitivity to embodied experiences, developed through my background in dancing. My work develops by experimenting, through a process where one’s body is the subject. I have tried to listen, analyze and illustrate the information that the body-subject has internalized and present it in a wearable form. Processing different materials by hand is an essential part of my practice. The hypnotic rhythm of handiwork and bodily movements while weaving, knitting, cutting, and sewing, has deepened my relationship with both inherited and newly acquired materials.”
– Ruusa Vuori
Tilde Herold
Tilde Herold is a Danish designer with a master’s degree in fashion design from the Royal Danish Academy in Copenhagen. She is a 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. In the series ‘Soulmate’ I have chosen to explore the body through an interpretation of Aristophanes’ story about ‘the missing half’; a story about soulmates, which in its purest form is about love. I have moved from clothing to sculpture, which has taken the body out of the equation and freed the process from some of the preconceived ideas, limitations, and understandings normally associated with clothing. In my experience this creates new premises for the perception of the works.”
– Tilde Herold
Partner Institutions
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 the Nordic curatorial practice, through communication between the institutions and the exchange of knowledge.
Project Manager: Anneline Berg
Curators: Hanne Eide and Ane Lynge-Jorlén
Curator Education: Stine Marie Brænne Olstad
Press Contact: Mari Grinde Arntzen
