A Norwegian Tale from the GNK Kiltmakers Studio !
Guest Author - Pernille Olstad
Successful GNK Apprenticeship Kiltmaker and graduate of the Edinburgh Kiltmakers Academy, Ellie is fascinated by traditional craft skills. She is a talented linguist, creative writer, fine kiltmaker and advocate of cultural exchange.
Norwegian native Ellie holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Global Business from Akita International University, Japan and a Master’s Degree in Creative Industries from the University of Edinburgh.
Here we share with you a Norwegian tale, told direct from Gordon Nicolson Kiltmaker's Edinburgh Sewing Studio.
This wonderful chronicle showcases the heritage craftsmanship that defines the work by Gordon Nicolson Kiltmakers (GNK) sewing studio, in kindred comparison to the rich cultural ancestry of Norway's traditional Bunad.
Let today's Kiltmakers Chronicle Author and resident Kiltmaker, Ellie, tell you in her own words...
Norwegian Bunad - national and family tradition - dressing for celebration
When I was in my early teens, preparing for my confirmation (a Norwegian rite of passage), my mother sat me down and asked what bunad I want to wear. Without thinking, I burst out: “The one you have! Same colour and all!”
I do not remember exactly when I fell in love with bunad, nor do I really remember how. It has been a gradual love, slowly growing at every skirt I saw twirled on 17 th May (Norway's Constitution Day); every muted chime of silver filigree taken out of the jewellery box; and every touch of elaborately woven wool. Bunad, the traditional dress of Norway, emerged from the folk dress of people in rural communities over 200 years ago.
With almost 450 regional variations, each folk costume carries an incredible weight of community, local traditions, and cultural heritage. Similarly to tartan which carries with it the history of clans and communities throughout Scotland, Bunad can represent anywhere from a region, all the way down to a specific valley from any of the many Norwegian mountain ranges.
My mother, from a rural community in the middle of Norway, carries her royal blue wool bunad with the poise of a first-grade piper. It was handsewn by her mother, my grandmother, after attending a course held by a local craftsperson in preparation for my mother’s confirmation. Her regional variety features intricately woven wool with a symmetrical flower pattern, delicate filigree brooches and a beautifully embroidered pocket, in fact not very dissimilar to a sporran. Her bunad represents family, heritage and community – not only in its history, but in its creation – handmade by my grandmother and my mother, with growing room to last a lifetime and beyond; in hopes to pass it down to her own potential future daughter, me.
Here at Gordon Nicolson Kiltmakers, I have met many a “grandpa’s kilt”, grandmas buying their grandson his first kilt, and soon-to-be spouses choosing tartans to symbolise their past, present and future as a family. Scotland carries an immense intangible cultural heritage through its most iconic garment, the Kilt. My meeting and love for the kilt was more immediate than bunad and less momentous than my first love.
When I came upon the opportunity to be trained in kiltmaking through GNK and their Edinburgh Kiltmakers Academy (EKA) after finishing my Masters here in Edinburgh, I dove in head first. It has been over a year since I started my journey down many, many, meters of tartan and threads, and at every turn my love for the craft has grown, likewise more and more similarities to bunad have become apparent.
"The kilt is an icon of Scottish culture and heritage and it is still an important symbol of family and being a Scot. In Scotland many men get a kilt for their 21st birthday, their graduation, their wedding, worn at Hogmanay, and at important occasions throughout their lives. They are made for life. Many Americans and Europeans, Australians, New Zealanders, Scandinavians and sometimes Africans with Scottish ancestry will make a point of purchasing a kilt at some point in their lives. They are not associated with any particular social class or religion; it’s an inclusive garment with tartans to reflect a person’s family name, beliefs, hometown, etc."
Scotland and Norway, both being countries of immense natural beauty, are also countries of harsh weather and wool. Wool, a brilliant fibre, that retains heat despite being wet, is naturally fire retardant, and oh so very durable. The kilt: wool. Bunad: wool (well mostly anyways, quite a few features beautiful silks and linens as well). This is not where the similarities end, as quite serendipitously, the EKA was contacted recently by none other than the British Council and the Norwegian Institute for Folk Costume (NBF) interested in exactly that: “How do Scottish and Norwegian traditional dress and its customs compare and contrast?”.
Norsk Institutt for Bunad og Folkedrakt Visit
The Norwegian Institute for Folk Costume (Norsk Institutt for Bunad og Folkedrakt ) is the highest authority on bunad, its history and practices in Norway. They are an UNESCO accredited institution of the living cultural heritage variety which works to promote knowledge about traditional folk dress and costumes. They strive to do this through documentation, advisory services and most pertinent in our case, research and outreach. In collaboration with the British Council, Kitty Milward reached out to the EKA on behalf of her and Camilla Rossing, the director of NBF, about a potential research project examining this specific junction of traditional dress.
I would like everyone reading this to now imagine my excitement when reading their email. Think: your favourite dinner AND pudding on your birthday after you just got gifted an all-expenses-paid for trip to Isle of Skye. Then times it by a 100. That was the excitement.)
I thought it inconceivable for anyone else to be interested in the very specific niche, this little blossoming intersection that I have found. Yet, here they were. On a Friday in March, Kitty and Camilla came and visited the EKA to explore what the scope of their research project could be. We had a wonderful time showing them the Academy and the craftmanship, skill and passion of the students, tutors and staff. Camilla also shared some material from the campaign NBF spearheaded to have Norwegian traditional costumes, its craftsmanship, and social practices inscribed to the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. In collaboration with other heritage and crafts institutions in Norway, they accomplished this significant undertaking after several years at the Intergovernmental Committee Meeting in December 2024.
Their dedication to preserve, inform and blossom the heritage craft of Bunad sets an example for how important it is to bring traditional skills to the forefront.
That is exactly what we at GNK strive for; what I burn for. With kiltmaking classified as an endangered heritage craft it is imperative that it is carried forward by passionate, skilled and detail-oriented craftspeople.
On a Friday in March, there was an incredible exchange of knowledge, history and passion for two seemingly different yet interconnected traditional heritage crafts here at the EKA. I decided to honour both my loves that day; I wore parts of my bunad with a modern twist while showing Kitty and Camilla around our St. Mary’s Street location. The delicate silk damask, intricate silver filigree and what my colleagues referred to as old timey shoes all shine a light on my heritage, on the history of the garment’s origin and its place in the rainbow of different Bunads.
Thank you to Ellie, for her wonderful account of the Norwegian Institute for Folk Costume + British Council visit to the Edinburgh Kiltmakers Academy in March.
We are delighted to report that this fascinating conversation continues, leading to further discussion, research and plans for collaboration. We are excited to follow Ellie and the EKA's progress as part of this encouraging exchange - sign up to our newsletter if you too want to see where this journey leads !
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