a lament for Norden

Some very sad news this time. Whenever words ‘Brussels’ and ‘fashion’ are used in the same sentence, often it’s going to bring disappointment to the hopeful ones who still believe that there’s taste and extravagance still hidden somewhere in the backstreets of our capital. Might need some super power Google-maps equivalent to help me on that one. Especially after the bummer news that the beautiful Norden shall soon seize to exist. For those of you who are a bit too late to discover this magnificent retail point on Arteveldestraat in the Dansaert neighbourhood, all I can say is that Norden has always been a tiny island of Stockholm right in the heart of Brussels and naturally in my heart too. And right now, as it have become, they are having a mad 70% off sale which goes down to the vintage Scandinavian furniture and any display items. I had a chat with a sales girl (who immediately recognised that I work at COS, making me feel like some kind of weird celebrity), she revealed that the Paris shop is going very well, but here in Brussels there are may be a handful of 20 loyal customers. That’s very sad to hear indeed. I started to panic, told her that I want to open a boutique, that I love anything Scandinavian, that I live the style as my place resembles the interiors of Norden to every little detail, that I can’t live without my favourite Henrik Vibskov clothes, which I got in that shop. I sighed ‘What am I going to do now?’ and still haven’t found the answer.
Norden has been pretty unique. They stock