OSLO.- The International Library of Fashion Research is a repository of specialized fashion research and contemporary fashion publications. The collection is continually growing through donations from global fashion houses, publishers and practitioners. The library will be open and accessible to general visitors.

The inauguration is marked by a two-day event programme with international visitors.

The International Library of Fashion Research (ILFR) was launched in 2020 by Elise By Olsen (b. 1999). It is an independent fashion library based on a large donation from the late fashion theorist Steven Mark Klein. The ILFR is housed in the Station Master’s Building at the National Museum in Oslo. The collaboration between ILFR and the National Museum have so far resulted in three projects, including the Fashion Research Symposium that gathered 170 students, researchers and fashion professionals in September 2022.

- Archives are in vogue, and there is a great demand for this type of material, not least from the fashion industry itself. It is very exciting for a research institution like the National Museum to have the opportunity to bring our perspectives to this collection, says the National Museum’s Director Karin Hindsbo.

The International Library of Fashion Research has an ambition of becoming the world’s largest and most comprehensive repository of fashion publications and other documentation connected to the fashion industry. The library will function as a free and accessible resource for fashion professionals, researchers, students and enthusiasts.

The library’s collection is fast-growing. Since the establishment, it has accepted significant donations, including material from the French fashion house Hermès, the international magazine distributor KD Presse, the Japanese fashion house Comme des Garçons, and the design agency M / M (Paris). Much of the material in the ILFR archive is digitized and available on the ILFR website.

The library’s interior has been developed in collaboration with architect and professor Vesma McQuillan and students at Kristiania University College. The shelf system made by extruded aluminium profiles is designed by the Italian design duo Formafantasma for Hem. The curtain textiles come from Kvadrat Textiles. The tables are custom-built with recycled MDF, and the display cases are reused from the National Museum – Architecture.