At Oslo Runway, Pearl Octopuss.y lit up the MUNCH museum with a shimmering SS26 show inspired by Edvard Munch’s radiant 'Solen'
Earlier this year, Pearl Octopuss.y was invited to collaborate with the MUNCH museum, the extraordinary waterfront space dedicated to Norway’s most famous painter, for its SS26 Oslo Runway show. In the very first meeting, designer Cathrine Børter took a tour of the impressive building, considering various show spaces. When she came upon 'Monumental' a double-height room featuring some of Edvard Munch’s largest and most ambitious works, she immediately knew this was the place. “It felt almost sacred, with the magnitude and beauty of the paintings,” she says. One painting in particular, ‘Solen’ stood out above the rest. It depicts, as the name suggests, a sun, its rays exploding over the Norwegian archipelago. “It immediately resonated with us,” says Børter, noting that it just so happened to neatly coincide with the brand’s two previous collection themes, ‘Dawn’ and ‘Eclipse’.
It’s a fitting starting point for a brand that revels in rhinestones and shimmery fringe – materials that catch the light. In fact, the very first look that came through the massive hall was unapologetically maximalist – a frenzy of crystal, arranged in an organic pattern reflective of nature itself. “All the elements blend together, making it look harmonious despite the chaos,” Børter notes. As the collection unfolds, more overt swirly sun-shaped graphics adorn sharp black blazers. Elsewhere, vibrant red fringe bursts from statement clutches.
Thank heavens for the brand’s more-is-more mentality; in a massive exhibition space filled with gargantuan Munch masterpieces, it could be easy to get distracted from the clothes. But Pearl Octopuss.y’s pieces beg to be looked at. This time around, ethereal silk gowns with floor-sweeping fringe are juxtaposed against wide-shouldered fringe leather jackets – a symphony of texture and colour as complex and enchanting as the paintings themselves. Elsewhere, sensual draped going out tops with tough-as-nails metal closures and gleaming silver orbs hanging off the models’ frames. “We wanted to harness the feelings that the painting invokes; a sense of awe or overwhelm from the sheer scope of it, but also tranquillity and harmony,” Børter says. “Again, the themes of balance and contrast are key, and I think these looks capture that well.” Each detail is considered, from the rhinestones decorating the models’ faces down to the hand-embellished shoes.
As the models took their final walk, the light refracting off those signature embellishments like the sun’s rays, Pearl Octopuss.y’s own artistry was on full display. “Being able to show our creations alongside Edvard Munch’s works is a huge honour,” says Børter. “It just felt like a once in a lifetime opportunity we couldn’t miss out on.”
See all the looks from Pearl Octopuss.y's SS26 collection below.
