A 17-Year-Old Dream: The Bunad Shoe

At 13, I dreamed of becoming a shoe designer. That dream took me to Milan, where I studied industrial design, and eventually to my first job in the footwear industry—as a sole assembler at Dale Skofabrikk. One of the shoes we produced there was the Bjørgvin bunad shoe, and it was in that role that I truly immersed myself in the history of Norwegian shoemaking and, in particular, bunad footwear.

During my first year at the factory, five different people asked me the same question: Why doesn’t anyone make a more comfortable bunad shoe? That question stuck with me. It led me to dive deep into the history of Norwegian bunad shoes, determined to understand their origins and evolution.

I traveled to every folk museum within a day’s drive, spoke with every expert I could find, and uncovered a clear pattern—the bunad shoe has always been an afterthought in the history and development of the bunad itself.

Seventeen years have passed since then, and the bunad shoe has remained on my drawing board. I’ve made small adjustments here and there, but my plan was always to leave it for later—a “retirement project” I could return to when the time was right.

But as I’ve watched the evolution of bunad culture in recent years, it became clear that if I didn’t act now, it might soon be too late. The way people wear bunads is becoming increasingly flexible, and traditional bunad shoes are often swapped out for sneakers. That’s when the thought struck me: Of course, you should be able to get the comfort you want without sacrificing tradition!

And with that, the EYKR project was brought to life.

My research on bunad shoes began in 2007, when I started working on the factory floor at Dale Skofabrikk. My job was to assemble soles on the Bjørgvin bunad shoe, and I quickly became fascinated by its history. The bunad shoe felt uniquely Norwegian, and in my opinion, one of the few shoes that truly deserved to be produced locally in Norway.

Driven by curiosity, I took the initiative to request time off to travel to every folk museum within a day’s drive from Dale in Sunnfjord. There, I discovered many different interpretations of what were considered the most common shoes during the traditional folk costume era. The variety was striking—many of these historical shoes looked nothing like today’s bunad shoes, which were industrialized in 1930.

Inspired by my findings, I designed a collection of bunad shoes that reflected the original folk costume era. For example, at the time, the technology to tan leather black didn’t exist, so most shoes were dark brown, not black like modern bunad shoes.

As my career moved forward and my focus shifted to modern footwear development, the bunad shoe remained in the back of my mind. Nearly every year on May 17th, the same question kept coming up:

“Why hasn’t anyone made a bunad shoe that’s actually comfortable to walk in?”

While bunad shoes have remained largely unchanged since 1930, people’s expectations for comfort have evolved dramatically. At Kastel, we have spent over 10 years researching how to meet the growing demand for comfort—regardless of activity, weather, or occasion. Through this process, we’ve learned a lot, and after years of discussing what a more comfortable bunad shoe could look like, we finally began testing.

The result? A shoe made with 3D-knitted Merino wool, offering excellent breathability, temperature regulation, and even machine washability. The natural fibers prevent odor buildup, and since the shoe can be washed on a wool program, maintenance is simple.

Of course, the sole is key to comfort, so we chose a super-light EVA sole with a rubber outsole for grip. The cushioning is soft and comparable to a modern sneaker—but with a more discreet design that stays true to the bunad aesthetic.

The final result is EYKR, named after the Old Norse word for “increase”—because the goal of this shoe is to increase comfort without sacrificing tradition.