Before getting into the nitty-gritty, some context. It’s important to note that the Nordic fashion scene is relatively young, and that it has always reflected the democratic values of the region (traditionally encapsulated in the ethos of jantelagen, which values modesty and understatement), and is expressed through a focus on accessibility and functionality. A certain pragmatism or contained fantasy is necessary to design clothes that have to work on bikes, after all.
Stockholm’s fashion week was established in 2005, Copenhagen’s the following year, and together they formed a sort of yin and yang of Nordic design. Broadly speaking, Swedish design was categorized as more precise and dressed-up, and Danish design as colorful and bohemian. CPHFW’s CEO Cecilie Thorsmark challenges those assumptions. “It’s becoming more and more difficult to define the aesthetics of Danish versus Swedish fashion,” she said on a Zoom call. “If we go back a couple of years then I probably would’ve said that Danish fashion is very playful and bohemian and colorful in its vibe, and that Swedish fashion was the opposite: minimalist white, black, gray. But if you ask fashion experts from Denmark and Sweden now, both would say that it’s really evolved in both countries and in new directions.”
The most visible of the changemakers on the CPHFW schedule is (di)vision, an upcycling brand run by the self-trained brother and sister duo Simon and Nana Wick. Workwear touches give their clothes a grittier, harder edge than what’s usually associated with Danish design. “Copenhagen is a city of many cultures–but not in the same way as Paris or New York–so I feel like there are more cultures being made up here,” Simon Wick said on a call. He, too, feels a shift. “Looking back, [CPHFW] was small and cute and had all these women’s wear brands that were super idyllic; it was picture perfect in some way. We are doing things in a more untraditional way,” he says. “It’s kind of what happened with McQueen in London in some way, where rebellion seemed to finally be accepted by the elite.”
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