Norwegian Air HoNORs Norway With Fashion Show in Los Angeles
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APEX Media spoke with Anders Lindstrom, Norwegian Air’s director of Communications for North America, at the NOR show at LA Fashion Week to find out why the airline became involved in the event.
Norwegian Air and Visit Norway took over the final night of LA Fashion Week on Wednesday with a vision in mind – to “do something different and to promote the destination of Norway in a fashionable way.”
That’s how Anders Lindstrom, Norwegian Air’s director of Communications for North America, explained the event, which was held at the Petersen Automotive Museum in the heart of LA’s Museum Mile.
“This came about with the idea creating a fashion brand, NOR, based on elements of Norway. It was an idea we had together – Norwegian Air, Visit Norway and Avinor, the company that owns and operates all the airports of Norway,” he explained. “We wanted to do something different in the LA market and we came up with the idea of doing something with LA Fashion Week, and putting a bit of a different spin on it.”
The spin was to bring up-and-coming Norwegian designer Veronica B Vallenes to the City of Angels, with the unveiling of a one-time clothing line called NOR, with looks inspired by Norway. “We wanted someone who wasn’t known here, but who has done beautiful things in the past, someone we knew we could trust with creating new designs,” Lindstrom said.
The packed show opened with a video, filled with images of Norway, followed by 19 looks ranging from silky sheaths to layer-on-layer coats and narrow slacks. Selected outfits are available for purchase online, with proceeds going to UNICEF, Norwegian Air’s corporate responsibility partner. NOR was basically “a one-off opportunity. These are the only ones she will produce, just for this show,” Lindstrom says. The consortium is also offering the NOR Dream Trip Contest on the same website, with airfare, hotels and a visit to the designer’s studio included. The winner will be announced on November 14, 2018.
“We actually are the largest airline out of LAX to Europe, more than any of the American carriers.” – Anders Lindstrom, Norwegian Air
Making a fashion splash in Los Angeles makes sense for Norwegian Air, as Lindstrom stresses how important the hub is for the carrier. “Norwegian Air has been flying out of LAX since March 2014. We now have eight routes, including Oslo, Stockholm and Copenhagen, and we also fly nonstop to Madrid, Barcelona, London, Paris and Rome,” he says. “We actually are the largest airline out of LAX to Europe, more than any of the American carriers. The same is true of the Bay area, where we fly out of Oakland.”