Moods of Norway was ‘born’ in Honolulu, Hawaii, the brainchild of designers Simen Staalnacke and Peder Børresen, who had just completed their studies in Australia and Hawaii. “The idea for the concept came after a party,” they said during a whirlwind spring visit to San Francisco, where their fall and winter 2008 collections was shown at the 16th annual Norway Day Festival in May. 
Photo: Eirik Knudsen/ Moods of Norway
The collection also pays tribute to Norwegian winter sports idols such as legendary figure skater Sonja Henie and cross-country skier Oddvar Brå. Images of Henie’s magical spin, Brå’s broken ski pole and the 10 mountain guidelines for safe skiing can be found adorning T-shirts and hoodies.
The design duo is skilled with color, as typically seen in their men’s suits. An impressive array of plaids and solids mix and match to make a couple of three piece suits into an entire wardrobe.
But the pièce-de-résistance in the menswear must be a paisley/psychedelic printed suit in hot pink, lime green, blue and black, in which the wearer will no doubt be the talk of the party – if not the town.
More than anything, the clothes are functional, fun, easy to care for and well-made, embracing rustic and downtown sensibilities with flair. A collection of eyewear is also in the included.
They were extremely well received by the Norway Day Festival goers in San Francisco, where the area around the stage was packed during the 45-minute show, – which also included selections from another renowned Norwegian label: Oleana.
Barely four years after the initial brainstorming session in Hawaii, the company is now represented in polished shops and showrooms in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Benelux, Iceland, Australia, Japan, and the United States. Its flagship store opened in Oslo in February this year, located next to a Louis Vuitton boutique.
Moods of Norway has its headquarter and showroom in Stryn, a small town famous for glaciers, salmon fishing, and, according to Simen and Peder, one newly opened escalator.