By Lotus Ladegaard
Copenhagen Fashion Week SS17 is just around the corner. Once again the insiders of fashion industry and fashionistas will converge on the Danish capital to view the Spring / Summer collections for 2017 of the crème de la crème of Danish and Scandinavian designers. Regardless of your preference for edgy dark street couture or lighter, tailored or flowy garments, CPHFW SS17 will have something to offer for all.
If you like elegantly tailored garments, Malene Birger is an absolute must. Her designs are always classic with a twist of edgy and sexy sophistication. Her SS16 collections were among my Danish favourites for the season. The collection featured garments for any occasion with a perfect mix of tailored and flowy pieces. Her colour scale kept in white and beige nuances with a splash of colour here and there, which makes the individual pieces easy to mix and match and would fit into any young trendy woman’s closet. Malene Birger never fails to impress or surprise with her collections of high-end clothes and is always a “must” every season.
Stacia/Lace By Stacia never fails to impress me. Her collections of evening wear are always stylish and feels rich. Her SS16 collection featured a wide selection of dresses, jumpsuits and garments for any glamorous occasion. I especially enjoyed her transparent black and white print mixed with lace and the more formal garments. Some of the less formal looks fell a bit flat compared to the rest of the collection, but I can always find at least a dozen individual pieces I adore.
Among the more avant-garde designers, Maikel Tawadros is among my favourites. While his garments border on the avant-garde, his individual pieces are still very wearable and I can imagine many young women, who would love one of his garments. His clothes are edgy and strikes a balance between architectural shapes and genteel natural fabrics that allow movement. His SS16 collections, although he kept us in his black and dark universe, also featured a splash of reds and oranges mixed in.
I also highly recommend Elaine Hersby, who is debuting onto Copenhagen Fashion Week with a SS17 collection. While her first two collections were rather simple bordering on boring, her new collection is both editorial as well as demonstrates her style of minimalism, artistry and functionality. She has years of experience from all areas of the fashion industry including Acne Studios and Danish designer Henrik Vibskov. She graduated from Magrethe-skolen with a Bachelor of Arts in Graphic design and her new collections demonstrates those skills. Her garments play with the body’s proportions in an interesting and intriguing way, which makes me excited to see her show.
I am also really excited for Hærværk, which means vandalism in Danish. Hærværk was founded by Niels Gundtoft Hansen. He will be debuting in Copenhagen Fashion Week with a SS17 collection. His is a recent graduate of Royal College of Art in Menswear, and has already been featured on Vogue Italia’s website. After his graduation show earlier, this summer, Dezeen Magazine appointed him to be among the five graduates from RCA to be watched. In July, he was among the winners of the International Talent Support in Trieste, Italy which has led to a job offer from Brioni and after CPHFW SS17, Niels Gundtoft Hansen will be entering into a six-month internship with either Diesel or Maison Margiela. At Copenhagen Fashion Week SS17, he will be showing in Christiania at Alis Wonderland, which is a skate ramp. Models will walk the catwalk while skaters perform on the ramp.
Copenhagen Fashion Week's heavy hitters like Fonnesbech, Mark Kenly Domino Tan, Barbara I Gongini, Henrik Vibskov, Ager Juel Larsen and Designer’s Nest are likely to have a strong impact on the spring summer collection as well.
Copenhagen Fashion Week SS17 also features three shows from three different design schools; Margrethe-skolen, Designskolen – Kolding and KADK, who are showing graduation and bachelor projects. I always enjoy the upcoming designers show, they are free of all the dos and don’ts which often makes for interesting shows.
And of course, there is also plenty of events to attend as well. Fashion as Art features an exhibition by Omi, the fashion photographer whose work can be seen on Vogue, The Smithsonian among many other publications. The exhibition showcases a brief yet substantive dissection of his color series which incorporates the technique of abstract expressionism with high couture. The exhibition will be accompanied by a showcase of Animalistic, a brand of limited edition street couture.
All in all this fashion week is bound to raise the temperature in Copenhagen. And with some new and exciting designers on the roaster and the old stalwarts punching above their weight consistently Copenhagen has become a mini paris for the next two weeks.
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Lotus Ladegaard is a fashion journalist and a Copenhagen native. She was a house model and a publicist before fully committing to the world of fashion journalism.