Bunad - The Bunad Movement

The Bunad Movement

The bunad movement has been carried forward by enthusiasts all over the country and new bunad variations are frequently created and proposed for approval. Designers such as Lise Skjåk Bræk have developed entire lines of costumes based on the bunad tradition. In the field of folk costumes it is common to differentiate between bunad and folk costume, the latter being the local dress in previous times with all its variations and use. Modern interpretations of these costumes have often modified or done away with completely parts of the traditional dresses in order to align them with a more conventional idea of beauty and fashion. For example, few Norwegians still use the headdresses and headpieces that were a part of the traditional costumes, preferring instead to show their hair, in accord with modern, western fashions. Ironically, these headdresses, like the one in the photo at the top of this article, would often have been seen as the most important part of the costume for native practitioners of the customs as the headdress often indicated an individual's social or marital status.

There is a continuing debate about the extent to which bunads must conform to the standards, or whether it is acceptable to vary or improvise based on general themes. Some groups (sometimes derisively referred to as the bunad police) argue that bunads must be sewn and worn according to strict standards; others advocate a more creative, lenient approach.

Bunads are nowadays often viewed as a status symbol, ranging in the price of $2,000 - 10,000, depending on the desired design, material, embroidery, gold, silver and accessorizes. The price also depends on whether the customer buys from a well established company like Husfliden, from local sewers or decides to sew or do part of the embroidery themselves. It usually takes up to a year to finish making the bunad, and it has become a tradition for parents to give their children a bunad as a confirmation gift, which they will wear on their confirmation day.

Criticizing that only wealthy people can afford to purchase a bunad and to carry out this tradition, Norske Bunader moved the production of some Norwegian bunads to China. This shift has lowered the price and made the national costume more affordable. It has also caused major concerns by patriotic citizens who believe the Norwegian national costume should be completely authentic and only produced domestically. Although some people argue that traditional bunad producers such as Husfliden and Heimen contradict themselves by having immigrants sew bunads and make embroideries at their company, they respond by claiming that the immigrants are equally licensed as Norwegian sewers and that the bunads are still made in Norway.

• Hardanger bunad with a bridal crown (brudekrone)

• Hulda Garborg in bunad

• Hulda Garborg in bunad

• Norwegian immigrants in the U.S. wearing their traditional bunads

• Budeia - painting by Gerhard Munthe (1890)

• Frieriet – painting by Nils Bergslien (1853-1928)

• Kven er størst måttru – painting by Nils Bergslien (1853-1928)

• Folkedrakter fra Gran i Telemark – painting by Johannes Flintoe

• Two young women in bunad in Trøndelag

• Young girls in different national costumes at Akershus

• Boy in bunad.

• Bunad from Setesdal (Setesdalsbunad, female)

• Setesdalsbunad (male)