Norwegian Rain

A SARTORIAL TAKE ON WATERPROOF, EXTREME OUTERWEAR INSPIRED BY JAPANESE SENSIBILITY & LIFE IN THE RAINIEST CITY OF EUROPE

Slowly and steadily, in the rainiest city of Europe, a rain project has evolved into an award-winning designer label based on the concept of dugnad*.

In center, the duo. Bespoke tailor / designer T-Michael - known for his conceptual approach to his hand- craft, and creative director Alexander Helle – a business graduate, that founded the rain project based on flourishing collabs between local expertise from the creative scene of Bergen.
Raining 2 out of 3 days inspired the duo to balance fine tailoring techniques and 100 % waterproof, eco fabrics from Japan to create raincoats that don’t look like raincoats. Classic and experimental. Tradition and innovation. Come rain or shine. The high tech is hidden!

Norwegian Rain is (...) “definitely this year’s most stylish way to stay dry” Associate Editor Robert Johnston British GQ 2013

From AW14, Norwegian Rain will be retailed in independent stores in 19 countries and worldwide through their web store @ www.norwegianrain.com.



ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

- Nominee “International Woolmark Prize 2014”
- Winners “Award for Design Excellence 2012” Norwegian Design Council
- Nominee“Honors Award for Design Excellence -2012”
- Norwegian Design Council “Designer of the Year 2012” Norway
- “Talented Newcomer 2010” Vogue Italia & WHITE
- “Vogue Talents” Vogue Italia 2010


HISTORY

Founder and creative director, Alexander Helle, is born and raised in Bergen, a city in Norway known for its heavy rain, underground music scene and the encapsulating 7 mountains that bring wild nature all the way into the city streets. Living in Bergen means a life in rain. You can hate it or love it, but no matter how you approach it, one thing is certain: It will rain tomorrow. Or the day after. 2 out of 3 days.
It was however a sojourn in Milan that initiated inspirational idea of merging tradition, technology and style. With dry living as motiva- tion, he went home to join forces with local expertise. When bespoke tailor / designer T-Michael came onboard the project material- ized. Michael’s 17 years of tailoring and experience as owner and creative director of T-MICHAEL, balanced Alex’s degree in Master of Business and brought depth to ideas. A versatile duo full of contrasts was born. Drop by drop, the rain project evolved into a joined workmanship between rain-drenched creatives of Bergen including the graphic design studio, Grandpeople and pho- tographer Bent René Synnevaag.


TECHNOLOGY

Norwegian Rain has teamed up with specialists in rainwear making and leading eco-conscious suppliers in the industry, The col- lec- tions conceal some of the highest level of weather protection available. Each garment consists of three layers; a highly water- repel- lent outer shell. A high tech waterproof and breathable membrane laminated to the inside of the garment. The third layer is the satin lining, this keeps the technical and the high-performance aspects hidden. A heat sealing film is applied to each seam to eliminate water seeping through the perforations caused by the sewing process. Additionally each garment has a basic, yet func- tional con- struction that increases ventilation whilst keeping water out.


ECO

The hi-tech, recyclable fabrics (including the membrane) from Japan is made of 100% recycled fibers and organic cotton. No solvents are used in the production of the membrane, waste is eliminated, oil and energy consumption are decreased, while CO2 emissions are reduced by approximately 80% compared to normal production.


*”DUGNAD” IS AN OLD NORWEGIAN TERM FOR PEOPLE GETTING TOGETHER AND VOLUNTARILY WORKING TOWARDS A COMMON GOAL THAT BENEFITS THE COMMU- NITY, NEIGHBOURHOOD OR AN INDIVIDUAL. ORIGINALLY THIS TERM EXPRESSED THE FRIENDLY SPIRIT OF PEOPLE HELPING EACH OTHER OUT WHEN A FOUNDATION, BARN OR FENCE NEEDED TO BE BUILT.