As the proud owner of a BRGN jacket and boots I am thrilled to talk to you today.
Karine - Tell me about the lovely city of Bergen?
Situated at the west coast of Norway, Bergen is like Oslo’s rebellious little sibling. The city has its own unique attitude, filled with great culture, food, art and fashion. Beautifully surrounded by seven mountains and one boarder facing the fjords, Bergen is exposed to wild coastal weather with lots of precipitation. As one of the rainiest cities in Europe, it offers the perfect location to develop and test weatherproof fashion.
You started BRGN with Ros-Mari Tobiassen Gaundal - how did this partnership come about?
We started off as colleagues, but early on became friends. On one of our regular hikes up the mount-Fløyen, Ros-Mari asked me if I had ever thought about starting my own business or brand. I responded that the thought had crossed my mind many times, but I was searching for a partner to companion me. Ros-Mari responded that she would like to start a business with me. Later during the hike, she asked me where she could find a nice fashionable raincoat. After discussing for a while, we realized that no brand could meet either our standards or needs. This resulted in the idea of BRGN.
Can you tell us about your fashion and sports background?
Already as a kid, I started sewing clothes for me and my friends. After high school I took my degree in fashion, at Esmod Fashion Design School. The second- and parts of the third year, I did in Bordeaux, as I wished to get a foot inside the sportswear industry in southwestern France. This way, I got to work as an intern during my studies for a surf & skate brand in Bordeaux. After finishing my degree, I got a job in western Norway for Kari Traa, which was a new sportswear brand for girls only at the time. During my years with the brand, it grew to become the biggest brand for technical base layer for women in Norway. I got to develop the bestselling base layer product for women in Scandinavia. This was based on my love for mixing aesthetics with function. But also because of my long experience attending “afterski”, where I was wearing my older brother´s old grey or navy tired-out, wool base layer. I later worked for several brands developing products and solving problems for everyday life.
When you design the BRGN collection - how are you influenced?
I am both influenced by the Scandinavian lifestyle and the Norwegian west-coast weather. In Norway, we are all about layering and the fashion needs to be practical in the typical west-coast climate. I love finding the Silverline between aesthetics and practicality. Wearing faux-fur and high heels is challenging- to say the least, when strutting through the city on cobblestone, with rain blowing sideways.
Do you have a fashion designer or icon who has inspired you?
My grandma was truly an icon and inspired me a lot. She was a modiste for the National Theatre and the Opera in Oslo and had a room filled with feathers, exotic fabrics, patterns, needles and trims. I loved spending time there, searching for treasures and learning different handicraft skills from her. I would make dolls that she then made the dresses for. She taught me how to hand stich hems and make simple patterns, and we practiced rose painting together. This ended in us rose painting everything in her cabin one autumn J Having the creative side from my grandma and the practical skills from my engineer dad made me want to find both aesthetic and practical solutions when facing design challenges.
Is there a signature look for BRGN?
The belted coat with leather Chelsea boots
Do you have a mission statement for the brand?
Our mission is to end the need to compromise fashion for functionality. By providing modern urban customers with high quality outerwear, BRGN makes life both easier and more fashionable. With its hidden technical fixtures and fashion design, BRGN differs from other outerwear brands. Enjoy being both warm and dry, and dress fashionable and functionally, in all sorts of weather.
Who would you say is your BRGN customer?
The BRGN customer is all about the urban lifestyle. Enjoying their day-to-day activities with the friends, exploring culture and events. At the same time, they are grounded and connected, caring about the environment, with all its nature and wilderness.
If a man or woman was to own just one item from your collection - which one would you suggest and why?
This has to be one of our coats. You will be able to enjoy your purchase for several years because of its endurance, and you can use it for any occasion and in any weather. So, even if you are out walking your dog or on a way to that fancy restaurant, there is no need to mind that occasional shower.
Do you have any words of positivity to share with our Scoop readers?
Fashion is stepping up and taking a more active part to make the industry more sustainable and inclusive. When meeting up with other brands now, we end up in discussions on how we can make each other better and how we can improve the industry. I love that. I think the future is filled with all colors, and it is bright.
