Ramona Salo Myrseth from Kåfjord has been described as an exciting and much-needed addition to the Norwegian fashion design world. She is true to her Sea Sami roots, but still dares to explore and challenge stereotypes in Sami design.
Ramona Salo Myrseth is a designer, storyteller and communicator from Birtavarre in Kåfjord. Growing up in her multicultural home municipality, where the indigenous festival Riddu Riđđu is organised every summer, has inspired her. The same goes for nature, the northern lights and the colours of the north. In her collections, the Sami have been allowed to mix with other indigenous cultures, regardless of expectations and boundaries. The result is unique clothes with a personal expression that redefines what we see as Sami design.
I believe that human memory lies with the indigenous people. After all, we are all indigenous people..
Ramona Salo Myrseth, subjekt.no, 2019
The Sami half hour
Myrseth is a graduate of the Oslo National Academy of the Arts. Even before her final exams in 2018, she had already travelled around with her collections, including at Beijing Fashion Week.
Myrseth made a real breakthrough when she won the Doga award for her masterclass «The Sami Half Hour» in 2018. The label is an annual design and architecture competition that aims to highlight emerging designers in Norway. Shortly afterwards, the National Museum purchased an outfit from this collection.
The modest ambition of the brand winner was to show that indigenous people are not isolated tribes, but people of the world. That they are part of a global culture of myths, stories and traditions that do not relate to borders or nations..
From the Jury's statement when Myrseth was awarded the Doga Prize 2018.
Sustainability and ecology are important to Myrseth, and she describes her work as an eternal process, where one collection is a continuation of another.
In addition to clothing design, she works with performing arts and organises workshops for children. Her themes are linked to the sea, sustainability and ecology, and she creates costumes on commission related to this perspective.
"Sustainability is easy to talk about, but difficult to implement, as you realise when you have to think about sustainability at every stage. So maybe you need fewer links, but also fewer products.
Ramona Salo Myrseth, D2, 2019
Artic wool
A collaborative project between Birtavarre Husflidslag, designer Ramona Salo and Ullkarderiet i Kåfjorddalen/Løvli Naturull. The film shows the process and the collaboration through the corona pandemic, and is filmed in Kåfjord municipality. The video was filmed and edited by Ørjan Marakatt.
Facts about Ramona Salo Myrseth
- Designer, storyteller and communicator
- Born in 1991
- From Birtavarre, Kåfjord
- Educated at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts
- Mixes elements from his own background with modern expressions
- Concerned with ecology, sustainability and identity
- Won the Doga award for his masterclass The Sami half hour
- Has shown collections around the world, including at Beijing Fashion Week», Copenhagen and Prague
- Won first place in the Diploma Selection design competition in Prague
- One of the winners of Ungkunst 2020, at Festspillene i Nord-Norge
More about Ramona Salo Myrseth
Exhibition at the Centre for Northern Peoples 2023
Sustainability as a driving force, Hakapik
- I want to tell my own story without the pressure of representing an entire culture, subjekt.no
- I would be happy if indigenous people and the fashion industry did not work together, dn.no
Sami clothing design gives newcomer award to Kåfjord woman, mynewsdesk.com
