BOREAL: AN HOMAGE TO NORWAY

december 2021

story

finn, ingeborg, and søren winger


my great-great-grandfather finn winger left loppa, a remote island above the arctic circle, in 1898. the region is defined by exposed mountains, volatile seas, and long winters broken by brief summers. life in loppa is rich with wildlife, rugged landscape, and tradition.

i first learned about his story through my grandmother, who shared fragments of memory and oral history that had been passed down through our family. hearing about him sparked a deeper curiosity about the life and culture he left behind, and the ways that migration reshaped both his experience and ours.

as i began tracing his life, i turned to research as a way of piecing together lineage. i studied norwegian folk culture, traditional clothing, and the landscapes that shaped daily life in the north. i explored the patterns of norwegian immigration to the american midwest in the late 1800s, and how this history echoed in my own family story.

this collection ties fragments of my family history, folk tradition, and the landscape of norway into 12 carefully composed garments. i approach making as a way of holding onto ancestry, carrying forward a legacy of craftsmanship to marry story, body, and material.

norwegian women, 1890s

to bring these ideas into a tangible form, i created a collection that embodies this connection. i designed garments inspired by norwegian folkwear, translating motifs, silhouettes, and techniques into contemporary forms. sourcing norwegian relics allowed me to bring primary materials into the work itself—objects that carry the touch of the culture i was referencing—layering history into the textiles and adding depth to each piece.

the bunad, norway’s national folk costume, carries this sense of place. each one is tied to a specific region, defined by its embroidery, fabrics, and silver sølje jewelry. based on rural dress from the 18th and 19th centuries, bunads are worn for national holidays, weddings, and other milestones. made from wool and linen, they are built to last, handed down and altered across generations.

relic from finn winger

finn winger and family

women’s and men’s bunad