AWAN SS24: Centering Human Stories Through Fashion And Performance
Setting the Scene
For Spring Summer 2024, AWAN presented a runway experience that moved beyond traditional fashion presentation to focus on lived experiences, vulnerability, and emotional connection. Developed in collaboration with COLLECTIVE OSLO for Oslo Runway, the show transformed fashion into a platform for storytelling where personal narratives became inseparable from the garments themselves.
Reframing the Runway Experience
Presented at Revier Oslo in front of Norwegian and international fashion press, the AWAN SS24 show invited models to walk alongside their own personal stories. Rather than presenting anonymous silhouettes, the experience centered the emotional realities, struggles, and journeys of the individuals wearing the collection, creating an atmosphere balancing intimacy, strength, and collective reflection.
CLIENT
AWAN
EVENT
Oslo Runway
LOCATION
Revier Oslo
CATEGORY
Fashion Show
Creative Production
Brand Storytelling
DELIVERABLES
Concept Development
Creative Direction
Fashion Show Production
Performance Direction
Spatial Storytelling
Audience Experience
Choreography Collaboration
On Site Production
PRODUCTION
Concept & Production
Collective Oslo
AWAN
Fashion as Shared Human Experience
Throughout the performance, actress Iman Meskini narrated the personal stories of the models as they moved through the space. Themes of perseverance, illness, motherhood, career setbacks, and resilience unfolded live alongside the collection, transforming the runway into an emotionally charged storytelling experience.
Founder and designer Anette Miwa Dimmen described the show as a reflection on how clothing connects to identity, confidence, and lived experience. AWAN’s signature “flow” wardrobe philosophy, centered around comfort, freedom, and emotional wellbeing, became the foundation for a presentation where fashion was positioned not as performance alone, but as something deeply connected to the realities of everyday life.
Recognized by Scandinavian Vogue for placing personal experiences at the center of the runway, the show reinforced AWAN’s mission to merge wellness, sustainability, and emotional authenticity within contemporary fashion culture.
Our Approach
Our approach focused on transforming the runway into an emotionally immersive and human centered experience. Rather than creating distance between audience and models, COLLECTIVE OSLO developed a format where storytelling, movement, and vulnerability became central elements of the presentation itself.
COLLECTIVE OSLO co led the concept development and production together with AWAN, shaping the emotional rhythm, scenography, choreography, and audience experience of the show. Through live narration, movement direction, and carefully paced staging, the production created space for reflection and empathy while maintaining the visual elegance and contemporary identity of the collection. The result was a runway presentation where fashion became a vehicle for human connection, representation, and shared emotional resonance.
AWAN SS23: Presenting Circular Fashion in the World’s Most Sustainable Furniture Factory
Setting the Scene
For Spring Summer 2023, AWAN presented a runway experience exploring the relationship between fashion, sustainability, and contemporary lifestyle. Developed during Oslo Runway, the show took place inside The Plus, internationally recognized as the world’s most sustainable furniture factory, creating a powerful dialogue between architecture, innovation, and circular fashion design.
Fashion Inside a Sustainable Landmark
Created in collaboration with Norwegian lifestyle brands including SWIMS and Varsity Headwear, the presentation transformed the industrial and architectural setting of The Plus into a contemporary runway environment surrounded by the forests of eastern Norway. The location itself became an extension of AWAN’s values around circularity, comfort, and responsible innovation.
CLIENT
Costume / Bonnier Publications
LOCATION
The Vigeland Museum
CATEGORY
Brand Activation
DELIVERABLES
Creative Direction & Full-Scale
Production
Concept Development
Guest Experience
Spatial Design
Show Direction
Brand Integration
Artist Collaboration
Talent Booking
AV & Lighting
On-Site Production
Post-Event Content
Community, Representation, and Circular Fashion
Rather than using traditional runway casting alone, AWAN invited prominent voices from Norwegian business, culture, sustainability, and fashion to present the collection. The cast included Heidi Aven, Kamilla Thue, Aissatou Ceesay, Birgit Liodden, and Iselin Shumba among others, emphasizing the brand’s belief in representation, individuality, and lived experience.
Recognized by publications including Forbes, Scandinavian MIND, and Vogue Scandinavia, the collection reflected AWAN’s “comfort first” philosophy through fluid silhouettes and performance based jersey fabrics made from wood fibers. Designed to move effortlessly between everyday life and elevated occasions, the garments embodied the brand’s vision of fashion that allows people to feel comfortable, confident, and unrestricted.
Our Approach
Our approach focused on creating a runway experience where location, casting, and storytelling reinforced the deeper values of the AWAN universe. Rather than presenting sustainability as a marketing statement alone, COLLECTIVE OSLO helped shape an environment where architecture, human stories, and circular fashion principles existed in direct dialogue with one another.
COLLECTIVE OSLO co developed the concept and production of the presentation, helping translate AWAN’s future oriented philosophy into a physical and emotional experience. Through site specific staging, unconventional casting, and immersive storytelling, the show balanced industrial minimalism with emotional warmth while positioning AWAN as a contemporary fashion brand rooted equally in wellness, sustainability, and personal identity.
