Designer: Black Rat
Black Rat is a dark Norwegian clothing label, run by designer Siri Rat. It is tightly connected to Oslo’s underground through its sustainable street wear. The label was launched 12th of December, 2012, at 12.12.AM.
Rat is the new Black
The idea behind Black Rat is built on the rat itself. This colorblind animal can only see in the range from black through tones of grey to white. This is also Black Rat’s specter, with a few elements of colour. The rat also lives in herds in the underground and it is nearly immortal – It should be just as difficult to kill a piece of clothing from Black Rat as it is to kill a rat.
Quality and craftsmanship
What is the point in investing in a piece of clothing if it doesn’t last forever? In Norway there is long tradition for national costumes, called bunad, and Siri comes from a tailor family who have been making these costumes since the 1800s. Next to Black Rat, Siri work together with her mum in the family business, Sidserk Systue. There they make all kinds of bunads and educate others in making them correctly. Siri takes this expertise into her streetwear-label and this way combines the past with the present in regards to quality, material and details in the design-process
“A bunad shall last for 100 years and that is just as long as I want Black Rat clothing to last as well. ”
— Siri Rat
Transparency
Black Rat aims on being as sustainable as possible. You should know what you are wearing, where it comes from, what it is made of, and who’s sewn it all together. The fabric qualities are mainly natural fibres such as bamboo, organic cotton and wool. All of them are certified.
A part of the sustainability chain is also the quality check. The main guideline behind any Black Rat design is that it should be timeless. Each garment should be able to work in any season, any year and be combined with any other garment you have in your wardrobe.
“Think like a rat and you’ll stick in there forever. ”
— Siri Rat
Music
Music is a huge part of Black Rats inspiration and passion. We would go so far as to say that without great bands, there would be no Black Rat. The label is inspired by, and coexist with Norwegian emerging underground music, and you will always find musical inspiration close to Black Rat’s design. Watch this space, and you might even get some tips!
The start
Siri graduated from the international fashion academy ESMOD, department Oslo in 2009, with a specialization within menswear design and already has a lot of merits under her streatwear-belt. With her graduation collection she won the award for “Best Menswear Design”. The same collection made her finalist in the 2010 Italian “Mittelmoda”, one of the most sought-after and well-known fashion competitions at an international level. In 2011 she was hand picked as one of six to present a collection under the MOMENT event in Tallinn. By February 2013, Oslo Fashion Week announced her “Newcomer of the year” with her first Black Rat collection.
Black Rat enjoys the fun of being in the start pit of an emerging label. They are not in a hurry and some of their products are still made exclusively by Siri’s own hand in Oslo, Norway.