Upon the beginning of my admiration for the oversized blazer coming back into style, I wondered whom do I have to thank? Who gets the credit? How do I style it? Do I pair it with the classic jeans, bodysuit, and sneakers? Over a babydoll dress? Do I partake in the recent trend of throwing it over bicycle shorts? I knew the blazer wasn’t a “new” look—rarely anything in fashion ever is—but some movement or influencer from somewhere must’ve propelled it to the forefront. 

When you think of the plethora of Instagram influencers, Norway is probably not at the top of your list. Yet out of Scandinavia comes a group of four female influencers making a mark in the fashion world. Their vantage points are so varied from one another but so spot-on; each one is a style icon. It was to this group of women that I traced the comeback of the oversized blazer back to. So after much deliberation with myself, I am giving the oversized blazer reboot credit to Celine Aagaard from Oslo, Norway. Aagaard is part of a group of influencers who have influenced fashion in Scandinavia and across the globe.

While Aagaard is the oldest of the four, and you may have not heard of her, many of you may already be following Darja Barannik, the youngest and arguably the most famous, who is also in the same group of influencers. Barannik, along with Aagaard and most of the Norwegian influencers, has one essential goal in common: sustainability. These major influencers out of Norway all stress sustainability in fashion, outing environmental depletion at the forefront of their message, re-wearing pieces, and vintage thrift shopping. 

In Norway, the overall idea surrounding fashion has been to fit in; there, conformity is a point of pride. Norwegians are altruistic and tend to put the good of everyone over the good of oneself. 

“Fashion culture has taken some time to develop here; the Scandic Law of Jante, or ‘everyman’ concept that advocates for consensus and fitting in rather than strident (sartorial) self-expression, still exerts a strong influence” (Nast). While social media has helped to promote individuality, it seems that primarily, and almost exclusively, influencers are the only ones trying to stand out from the crowd. 

Norway is one of the few countries where young having wealth is prominent. Norwegians are the only country in Europe where millennials are getting richer, and in addition to that, they are making more than millennials in the U.S. (Maddy Savage). Having the money to spend on attire and accessories makes the nation a centerpiece of the industry. With the millennials are spending money and branching out in fashion, naturally, so are the teens.

Norwegian fashion is becoming increasingly notable on so many levels. While there is not an overabundance of pattern mixing, there is a spectrum of styles the influencers promote from minimalist and neutral colors to pastels and textural fabrics. Norway is definitely the country to watch when it comes to pushing the boundaries of fashion while keeping the classics in their repertoire.