Images courtesy of Ganni.
The global fashion community has been looking for a return to the runway. In the case of the most recent Haute couture week in Paris, there was a mix of intimate catwalk shows and fashion films. The first proper taste of things as close as possible to how they once were was given last week at Copenhagen Fashion Week.
It’s fitting that the city of Copenhagen should be the one to lead the way in physical fashion presentation. Why over one of the Big Four? The values that it has consciously placed at its core are what makes it unique. CPHFW is the most serious and ambitious when it comes to implementing responsible business practices. There isn’t a disposable drinking vessel in sight, and only electric cars are being used to shuttle guests between shows venues.
Beyond actions like these, though, its commitment to creating a more sustainable fashion week model extends to its relationships with the designers that are part of it. The only major fashion week to have put minimum responsible practice standards in place for all participating designers and brands was set up by Cecilie Thorsmark, CPHFW’s CEO. I didn’t want to fall into that category with our fashion week because I have witnessed how there’s a lot of talk and too little action. I knew from the beginning that we would have to adopt a radical approach. She says that the initiative was launched in 2020 and will come into place in 2023, noting that she wanted to set standards and demands for participants.
It is not easy to meet these requirements, requiring major shifts for designers big and small regarding how they approach their crafts. The journey towards building more responsible fashion practices in no way requires any compromise when it comes to the creativity and quality of the work on show, according to each of the people who presented last week. We share some of the highlights of the event.
James Cochrane is a photographer. The images are courtesy of (di)vision.
James Cochrane is a photographer. The images are courtesy of (di)vision.
James Cochrane is a photographer. The images are courtesy of (di)vision.
(di)vision
(di)vision opened the week with a show on the top of a multi-storey car park in the city’s center. Designers Nanna and Simon Wick took the comfort-first approach to dressing so many of us have leaned into as a starting point and brought a fresh vibrancy to easy-wearing staple through clever fabric choices, patchwork details and richly textured prints. Body-cladding dresses and polo neck vests were bricolaged from scraps of jersey and denim, and baggy, hemmed trousers were cut in electric blue vinyl. The relaxed spirit that defined much of the collection was balanced out by the early 2000s sexiness of the womenswear, and the twinset worn by Dior Men’s muse Peter Dupont was a perfect example.
The image is courtesy of Peter Lundvald Nielsen.
The image is courtesy of Peter Lundvald Nielsen.
The image is courtesy of Peter Lundvald Nielsen.
P.L.N.
Some of the most exciting moments can be found away from the official schedule. P.L.N., a new, a-seasonal venture by Peter Lundvald Nielsen, was proof that it was. He presented a broodily noir 12 look collection that, while certainly melancholic in tone, demonstrated a rare knack for fabric manipulation, taking things far beyond a chintzy all-black-everything. The floor-skimming oilskin canvas coats were pulled in at the waist to yield an almost clerical fit, and the beginning of a gorgeous patina could be seen at the elbow crease. Wide-legged jeans were cobbled together from patches of black and gray denim, while a silvered corduroy notch blazer was given a similarly weathered treatment. The denim tote with whipstitched handles and intricate graphic embroidery is the highlight of the collection and is made by Berlin-based artist and Balenciaga associate Tobias Spichtig. You heard it first, P.LN.
James Cochrane is a photographer. Stine Goya created the image.
James Cochrane is a photographer. Stine Goya created the image.
James Cochrane is a photographer. Stine Goya created the image.
Stine Goya.
Since founding her eponymous label in 2006 Stine Goya has flown the flag for a more romantic side to the fashion world. The designer presented an off-schedule physical show and on-schedule film of the event produced by London-based visual artist and poet Julianknxx. Stine looked to one of the most well-known examples of creative collaboration in cultural history: The Bloomsbury Group. The group of artists, writers, and intellectuals would often meet at Charleston, the country house in the south of England, where they would translate details like building silhouettes, wallpaper details, and ceiling mouldings to painterly jacquards, printed cottons, and needlepoint-embroidered mesh dolly dresses The pieces that suggested a celebratory exuberance were candy-pop checkerboard knits, which have already found favour with the likes ofKendall Jenner andHaley Bieber, and twin sets, gowns, and cocktail dresses in a ribbed lime green lurex knit.
The image is courtesy of Han Kjbenhavn.
The image is courtesy of Han Kjbenhavn.
The image is courtesy of Han Kjbenhavn.
Han Kjbenhavn.
Han Kjbenhavn is here to put paid to the idea that fashion in Danes is all about balloon-sleeved floral dresses, wide-legged cropped pants and Cashmere car coats. It started life as an eyewear brand in 2008 and has since grown into a mainstay of the Danes capital’s scene with a full ready-to-wear offering. The label’s first-ever women’s-only presentation was held along a graffiti-ed corridor. Workwear influences were replaced by overt sexiness and a flair for glamour that was not yet seen from the brand. There were barely-there bandeau bralettes, lycra bodysuits, and structured gowns with necklines composed of tapered slivers of fabric that hung precariously to diamanté chokers, and waist cutout gowns that dripped with silver sequins.
James Cochrane is a photographer. The image is courtesy of Saks Potts.
James Cochrane is a photographer. The image is courtesy of Saks Potts.
James Cochrane is a photographer. The image is courtesy of Saks Potts.
There is a person named Saks Potts.
The world has come to associate with a new generation of Danes the name Saks Potts. They are known for their tailored, shearling-trimmed leather coats, but they also have a fun take on fashion that is fun and refined in equal measure. The new vision for the brand was presented this season by Barbara and Cathrine, who decided to evolve the template that is now expected of them, and present a new, moreholistic vision for their brand. We both love the coats, and they’re something we’ve really focused on for a long time, but this season it was also very important for us to design in full looks, and offer our customer everything that they need. Barbara says they wanted to take the sexy parts of the DNA and make a full wardrobe. The wardrobe looks like a carefully thought-out array of more sexy pieces like floral bolero tops and bralettes and orange leather miniskirts, with a sense of classic takes on high-end dressing.
The image is courtesy of A.
The image is courtesy of A.
The image is courtesy of A.
A. Roege Hove.
After five seasons of developing her eponymous knitwear label, it was her runway debut at the end of the season. If first impressions count, then this was a good’un, cementing her reputation as one of the promising voices in Danish fashion, but also as one of the most exciting young knitwear designers revitalizing the medium today. She masterfully demonstrated that she is versatile. The young designers demonstrated the sculptural potential of her chosen technique, how it can yield spaghetti strap or halter neck dresses, or office-appropriate alternatives as colour-blocked pencil skirts, and how it can be used in a variety of ways. The power and potential of knitwear as a garment-making technology was showcased in the collection.
Simon Birkres is a photographer. The image is courtesy of Ganni.
Simon Birkres is a photographer. The image is courtesy of Ganni.
Simon Birkres is a photographer. The image is courtesy of Ganni.
Ganni is a person.
Without mentioning Ganni, it is impossible to talk about the fashion of the city. The label has risen the ranks of the Swedish fashion scene to become one of its proudest global ambassadors. Ganni took to the top of CopenHill, an artificial ski slope on the roof of a Bjarke Ingels-designed skyscraper on the industrial outskirts of the city, where models walked a raised runway overlooking the wind turbine. Ditte told us that the clothes were born of a desire to celebrate the idea of a higher love, of saying yes to yourself and to the world, and just embracing what you have and being happy about it. The bolshy confidence of a shirred, traffic-cone orange dress was complemented by the reassuring comfort of bright, chunky knits, and the cheeriness of text placement graphics on ruched crepe pieces was countered by the slick severity of a princess-seamed coat in black wool Whatever you do, Ganni gave you something to say yes to.
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images: i-D
source: i-D
