When Cathrine Saks and Barbara Potts presented their sixth collection at Copenhagen Fashion Week earlier this month, it was all over Instagram. Perhaps it was because they scored distinctive Vetements model Caroline Clante as a runway exclusive (her fierce up-brushed 80s do isn’t one you soon forget — especially since the last time you saw it was above a sweatshirt that read You Fuck’n Asshole). Perhaps it was because so many of fashion’s most followed and genuinely cool new-Balenciaga-wearing bloggers are also Scandinavian. Or perhaps it was just because Cathrine and Barbara’s clothes — buoyed by the sellout success of their patchwork Febbe coat, which was seen on editors in every city last fashion month — are finally getting their dues outside their home country.
Whatever the reason, this season the brand finally started to go global. Cathrine and Barbara presented silk skirts and pussy-bow dresses in Marimekko-esque florals, and a wide-wale corduroy jumpsuit the color of French mustard. Several of the brand’s signature garments, coats, were also instant hits. There was a tie-front overcoat in soft-yellow windowpane check with lilac cuffs and a chocolate-brown leather jacket with the slightly crinkled patina of a lived-in Le Corbusier LC2 armchair. And it was all styled with simple sandals and frayed jeans. “We like that our things could be worn when you’re eating out or grocery shopping,” says Cathrine.
Over the phone from their studio in Copenhagen, Cathrine and Barbara talked to i-D about starting a fashion brand as two 20-year-olds armed with only basic sewing skills and unshakeable optimism.
How did you two meet?
Cathrine: We went to the same kindergarten and we’ve been friends ever since! We’ve always both been in interested in fashion and art, and shared an aesthetic. So when we had the idea [for a brand] about three years ago we thought that of course we should do it. It was always one of our dreams to do something special together. We made one coat first, then built it out from there. Both of our parents are self-employed and have their own companies, so it wasn’t that much of a big deal for us to start something by ourselves.
Barbara: It started out quite small. The first collection was just that one coat in different colors, which quickly became quite popular in Copenhagen. The girls in Copenhagen tend to wear a lot of black and minimalist clothing, so it was new for them to have that much bright color.
Cathrine: We focus on things we really believe in. So our collections normally consist of no more than 20 or 30 styles. Our identity is very colorful, fun, and down to earth. We really like to twist the style of Danish girls, and girls in general, into a more colorful direction.
What does a typical, fashionable Danish girl usually wear?
Cathrine: I think she used to wear a lot of black. But in Copenhagen it’s changed a lot over the past two years. Thank in part to what we achieved here, it’s definitely become more experimental.
Did either of you go to fashion school?
Cathrine: I went to a boarding school where I studied fashion for half a year and learned to sew. And right now, I’m studying at a very old Danish fashion school where I’m learning to knit and do embroidery and old handcraft techniques.
Barbara: I’ve taken short courses in fashion at Central Saint Martins, and I’m currently studying art history.
Cathrine: We were 20 years old when we started the company. We didn’t have any real fashion education. We just made what we thought was cool and followed our intuition. We didn’t know what the “right way” was, we just went our own way.
Related: Five of the coolest things we saw at Copenhagen Fashion Week
How did the first collection come together?
Cathrine: We spent half a year, in 2013, researching materials and manufacturing and spoke to our families and friends and people in the industry, just gaining knowledge. And because it was just one piece, it was quite easy to manage!
What was the most helpful advice you received?
Cathrine: We learned a lot from Barbara’s father, who runs a successful interiors brand. He gave us so many good business tips — mainly, get a good accountant! He was kind of a mentor.
Do you always want to keep the collections small?
Cathrine: We have this idea about not making more styles than feels right for us. I think it will continue to be quite small — but we’re not saying no to making shoes or bags or accessories.
What were some of your references this season?
Cathrine: This collection was called “Farmer Life.” One of our friends has just moved to the countryside and basically lives on a farm.
Barbara: We visited her and fell in love with it.
Cathrine: The whole vibe there… it was so beautiful. We loved the overalls. So we tried to make workwear in a more casual, feminine way. The light pink and light blue gingham also felt very typical [of the countryside]. Our friend had some of that check in her kitchen.
Barbara: We also bought a lot of old books about farming to see what people wore. And industrial books to look at machinery, and plant and herb books.
Cathrine: We have a lot of very different friends. The previous collection was inspired by the body and all the organs because one of our friends is a medical student and we looked at all her anatomy books!
As kids, did you come up with any other plans together?
Cathrine: When we were very, very young we used to collect flowers because we’d go walking in the forests a lot. We’d gather them all together and we had this idea about selling them. We always had a little business intuition I think!
Credits
Text Alice Newell-Hanson
Images courtesy Saks Potts