Co concept and production -  Collective Oslo

For SS24 AWAN created a different experience to tell their story. In front of the international and Norwegian fashion press at @revier.oslo our (role) models walked to her/his own raw story being told by @imanmeskini before finally creating a beautiful & moving picture of 12 lived & shared experiences in AWAN.

"At the end of the day it all comes back to our lived experiences. How we feel in our clothes. How clothes can make us feel about ourselves. And what kind of lives we live - in our clothes.

Our Oslo Fashion Week/Oslo Runway show was meant to remind us of this. To bring to the surface the experiences and stories that make us who we are and bind us together – as people. As We Are Now.”
Anette Miwa Dimmen, AWAN

"In a retelling of powerful, personal stories, AWAN put its models' experiences centre stage at Oslo Runway”

“This season, As We Are Now (better known as AWAN) presented a collection of powerful stories. Tapping into personal retellings of hardship and accomplishment, founder Anette Miwa Dimmen invited a line-up of models who had a core roster of messages to convey. Spanning health struggles and teen pregnancies, career lows and breast cancer, they were stories of perseverance.

Actress Iman Meskini of Skam fame was one of the inspiring individuals. First to step onto the runway, she was tasked with reading the models’ stories out loud, her clear voice echoing throughout the white-walled space. Dressed in AWAN’s signature “flow” wardrobe concept (where every piece should make the wearer feel good about themselves), of course. “My inspiration and consideration for each of our styles is always the women who will wear them,” says Dimmen. “Will this piece make a woman feel good about herself? Will she wear this and feel free, comfortable and confident in most situations?”
- Scandinavian Vogue

Interview with AWAN founder Anette Miwa Dimmen

Profession: Founder/Designer of AWAN
Age: 44
Nationality: Norwegian

Who is Anette Miwa Dimmen? 
I am a dreamer and a doer in equal measures. I am the founder, CEO and designer of AWAN – a tech enabled and mission driven fashion brand based on circular principles. I am a mother to Leo and Mila.

Tell us your story and journey with AWAN
The AWAN journey began because I was constantly searching of sustainable clothing that combined the comfort for homewear with the style of occasion wear. Frustrated by the lack of options in the market, I decided to take matters into my own hands and design this for myself.

However, as I delved deeper into my research, I couldn't ignore the glaring issues plaguing the fashion industry. The limited representation for women, the lack of diversity, the wastefulness, and the broken supply chains—all interconnected and in desperate need of change

To bring my vision to life, I launched AWAN with a Kickstarter campaign. Instead of seeking advice solely within the fashion industry, I chose to engage with the tech startup community. After all, I wanted to create a fashion brand that was radically different, almost anti-fashion, yet proudly carrying the fashion label. My goal was not only to solve my personal fashion dilemma but also to build a fashion brand that could be part of the solution rather than the problem on a larger level.

This journey led me to receive grants from Innovation Norway, win a regional startup pitch competition, become a Norwegian finalist for Founder of the Year and Startup of the Year at the Nordic Startup Awards, and get into the Antler accelerator in Stockholm, where we secured our first investment from a global venture capital fund.

Now, five years into this journey, I feel like we're just scratching the surface of creating a disruptive fashion brand anchored in comfort and circularity.

What is your vision with AWAN?
We want to be a pioneering brand in a new category which we have coined wellness fashion, which is fashion with personal wellness and wellness of our planet as core foundation. We also want to build a blueprint platform for circular growth. Using our own brand as an example to inspire others to adopt circular principles, thereby reducing waste and overproduction.

How is your creative process? 
It begins by allowing myself the space and time to access my own creative thoughts and ideas, after having gathered all the necessary data points, reflections, and inspirations. If I feel lit up by a direction, I move on to organizing and structuring my creative flows to see how they align. The next step involves presenting these ideas to the team and initiating testing with our community.

How do you see the future with sustainability in fashion?
In the near future, adopting sustainable practices in the fashion industry will become standard requirement, not just a choice. Customers' expectations are shifting, and government sustainability regulations will become stricter. What sets AWAN apart is our commitment to going beyond using sustainable fabrics; we're disrupting the fashion supply chain through data-driven, on-demand shopping, while connecting the dots between fashion, wellness and sustainability with the help of  technology.

Do you have any upcoming projects? Can you reveal any secrets?
We just launched our Equity Crowdfunding Campaign allowing more people to become investors in our company, as we expand our collection and take our concept to larger markets. You can check out our campaign here

How can the fashion industry grow with the changes?
Every disruption in an industry presents an opportunity for innovation and transformation. Currently, the fashion industry ranks as the third most polluting globally, and it's evident that the traditional fashion landscape has become outdated, characterized by obsolete supply chains and categorizations. However, this very fact makes it an incredibly exciting and intriguing arena for brand like AWAN driving positive change.

Concept + production: AWAN + Collective Oslo
Photo + film: Ida Neerbye/Oslo Runway/ignat Wiig Productions, Marion Hansen
Choreographer: Elisabeth Snaprud
Moderator: Iman Meskini
Models: Gabriel Bøen, Renate Lie, Nae Nishimura, Elisabeth Rasmussen, Mei Wen, Vilde Regine Tellnes, Anna Karenina Anda Barron, Priscilla Louisa Kwaa, Samantha Gurah, Christine T. Kvaalen, Børge Hennø
Hair + Makeup: Dugg