August in Copenhagen typically means sunny skies, swimming in the sea and buckets of natural wine guzzled al fresco — all to accompany the most sustainable and eco-conscious fashion week in the world, what’s better than that? Though Copenhagen Fashion Week SS24 brought its fair share of wind and rain, there were plenty of exciting debuts and noteworthy shows to make up for it. A. Roege Hove kicked things off and even the storms couldn’t keep this collection from looking absolutely stunning in the courtyard of Designmusem Danmark. Paolina Russo brought the London spirit in their first ever show as winners of the Zalando Visionary Award, while Saks Potts invited us to envision an Italian summer with a playful mix of swimwear and ready-to-wear. And Ganni, always the showstopper of the week with their fully-realised brand vision and, of course, party vibes, showed off some fresh collabs and might have us and Paloma Elsesser reconsidering our relationship with AI? TBD on that…
From P.L.N.’s punk nouveau to Nicklas Skovgaard’s buzzy performance piece, read on to see some of the very best collections from the world’s most forward-thinking fashion week.
Ganni
Ganni’s SS24 show was opened by model, longtime friend and muse of the brand — and frequent i-D cover star — Paloma, in a hooded, logo-ed keyhole jersey gown. She stepped out into Copenhagen’s airy Øksnehallen, which was lined with realistic, talking trees, that represented a more positive take on AI than what we’re accustomed to, created with artist Cecilie Waagner Falkenstrøm. “We wanted the spirit of the AI to be embodied by a physical form, something natural — my first thought was trees — they are such a symbol of hope and life,” creative director Ditte Reffstrup said. The trees spoke of sustainability and of love, core pillars of the GANNI universe, before counting down her runway walk: “3, 2, 1… let’s go! Destination unknown…”
Set to a pulsing soundtrack which left editors wanting the full playlist — it too, was created by A.I., but we’ll allow it — the collection presented “leather-like” cropped jackets and dresses with white contrast stitching, made from Oleatex, a fabric produced using waste streams from olive oil production; easy, slouchy denim, also done in a few eyecatching metallic colourways; a plethora of animal print; and floral, sequinned separates that elevated the GANNI girl to new heights.
The collabs this season are something to celebrate as well — not only will there be a size-inclusive collection made with Paloma, that embodies her personal style and perspectives, but their latest offering with New Balance and cool shades made with Amsterdam-based eyewear brand, Ace & Tate, are surely pieces to add to the SSENSE cart before they’re gone.
Paolina Russo
London-based brand Paolina Russo made its runway debut this season at CPHFW, having won the Zalando Visionary Award, and their playful-yet-intentional SS24 collection was easily one of the highlights of the week. This season creative directors Alex Russo and Lucile Guilmard pushed their suburban nostalgic vision further still, as their warrior princess takes on Copenhagen and beyond.
Entitled ‘Monolithics’, the pair looked to the pastel chalk drawings outside their childhood homes, reminiscent of prehistoric cave drawings, and ethereal songs bridged the gap between their folkloric, pastoral floral designs — airbrushed and laser-etched onto boleros and miniskirts, jackets and baggy jeans, like high-tech reinterpretations of ancient stone carvings — and New Age trance. An inclusive cast wore the label’s printed, sustainable denim and signature warrior-knit bodice tops, bralettes and flounced miniskirts in “crayon box colorways”. Worn underneath were vibrant lycra separates and swimsuits, their neo-tribal, logo designs riffing on classic sports graphics and 00s surfwear, suggesting Paolina Russo’s modern-day heroine is ready for anything.
P.L.N.
For his third collection as part of CPHFW’s NEWTALENT program, P.L.N.’s Peter Lundvald Nielsen concluded his journey from darkness to light. The designer said that he treated the shows as a trilogy, and considering that Peter’s last show took place in a dark warehouse, bass thumping, it’s not hard to believe. The SS24 offering was presented in the Nikolaj Kunsthal, a serene, white church with marble arches, and though still mixing the inspirations of European punk culture with heavy workwear, as well as goth and religious attire, P.L.N.’s latest featured much more colour than ever before. Pops of pale pink, purple and metallic silver, as well as a red and white printed sculptural dress, were seen across the label’s organic cotton hooded T-shirts, liquid flared dresses and linebacker style zip-ups — plus the unisex ready-to-wear items will be available for purchase for the first time ever. And that is certainly a silver lining.
Stamm
Founded and launched by Elisabet Stamm in 2022, the namesake label kicked off its second-ever show to much fanfare — crowds of young Scandi influencers and hypebeast types gathered outside the venue, forming a line that snaked through the parking lot. Just a few days prior, Burna Boy wore Stamm while performing in Malmö, and there was rumoured to be a surprise performance — Swedish rapper Silvana Imam came out in an oversized printed puffer and pants during the finale — but the label has naturally attracted many loyal (and fashionable!) stans in a short amount of time. The SS24 collection, titled ‘Don’t Stop, We’re Dreaming’, drew on Elisabet’s childhood experiences and hip-hop influences. “I had two imaginary friends; Janus and Yanting,” she teased on Instagram before the show. “Later on, I felt more connected to 2Pac, Aaliyah, Snoop Dogg and Eminem on MTV than the two kids who lived next door.” It’s no wonder Stamm’s SS24 collection, replete with graphic hoodies and jackets, baggy parachute pants and larger-than-life sport windbreakers, is as fit for the Copenhagen winter as the big stage.
Nicklas Skovgaard
For his CPHFW debut, NEWTALENT designer Nicklas Skovgaard begged the question, what really is a fashion show? For his SS24 show inspired by Renaissance portraiture, Gerda Wegener’s 1920s paintings of her wife Lili and all things “comfy, cosy and chic”, the designer turned to one of his ultimate muses, the Amsterdam-based artist Britt Liberg, to create a performance piece as runway show. The unconventional approach — Britt flung the garments on and off, buttoning and unbuttoning the pieces while twirling across the stage, all against a backdrop of mannequins dressed in Nicklas Skovgaard — kept everyone talking all week. Not only was it exciting to see a young designer buck the traditional runway format, but it wasn’t all spectacle — Nicklas’ designs, the drop-waist scrunched dresses, bubble skirts and cropped wool jackets, unexpectedly flattering despite their play on the female form, speak for themselves.
Having grown up in Funen inspired by his mum’s way of dressing and having developed a massive Instagram following over the past few years, we expected nothing less from the designer. Nicklas has a vision, and now he’s just made it known. Read more about his journey and get the full scoop on his exciting collaboration with Britt in our feature here.
Saks Potts
Rain and severe weather warnings couldn’t stop Cathrine Saks and Barbara Potts from putting on their SS24 show alongside the water in the suburb of Charlottenlund, just 20 minutes drive outside the city. The area, and the round cafe across the street Horden Rund (Around the World), which is the name of this season’s Saks Potts collection, is very special to the designers. Having met in kindergarten, they spent many of their childhood summers there and, as adults, they’ve gone on to travel all over the world together.
‘Around the World’ represents these personal ties, inspired by their holidays in Italy, while attempting to create the ideal summer wardrobe. “We actually put a suitcase in front of us,” Barbara says. “What is actually necessary? You don’t bring a lot of things. It’s always the beach dress, the shirt…” The holiday essentials! There were easy, silk drawstring trousers — one of the first pieces they designed when taking their buzzy, outerwear-only label to ready-to-wear, seven years ago — to throw on at the beach, oversized 90s polos — the latest addition to their uniform collection — for chilly evenings and scrunched up ‘going out’ dresses in resort colourways.
Saks Potts also collaborated with Italian lingerie brand Oscalito on retro singlets and briefs, styled with clear Saks Potts belt bags and metallic silver flip flops, all effortlessly — a polo tied over the shoulder, jackets open and catching the wind to reveal bright bikinis beneath. Overall, it was an aspirational SS24 offering that has us reaching for our passports.
Latimmier
Instead of backstage, fixing collars and making final touches before his models walk the runway, Ervin Latimer, the creative director of Latimmier, likes to be part of the show: for AW23, the designer sat on a stool and detailed each look to let us into his creative process; for SS24, he opened and closed as Anna Conda, his drag personality. And what a show it was, titled ‘Positions of Power’, the Finnish designer looked to “corporate executives, stock brokers, money, power, glory,” the show notes read, “archetypes of men in power presented and idolized in North-American film and television,” and especially, Martin Scorsese’s Wolf of Wall Street, to play with the performance of masculinities. If our perception of success in the workplace is often associated with a clean-cut uniform, Ervin proposes we tear it to shreds — deconstructed trousers, cut-off sleeves, torn button ups and even a suit made from sweats, complete with striped tie and briefcase, were sent down the very corporate, green carpeted runway. Wall Street might not be ready for Latimmier’s radical take on menswear, but we sure are.
A. Roege Hove
Winner of the International Woolmark Prize and Karl Lagerfeld Award for Innovation, designer Amalie Røge Hove kicked off CPHFW this season by presenting her tenth A. Roege Hove collection in the courtyard of the Designmuseum Danmark. Though rain poured down during the show, the setting was idyllic for its celebration of Danish craft and design — particularly, Amalie’s boundary pushing knitwear.
For SS24, the designer collaborated with Georg Jensen on a jewelry capsule — beaded silver brooches, belts and bracelets — while also inserting the beads into her complex knits. The show’s opening look was a translucent white top, shimmering with bits of silver poking out, and, later, a pleated, flowing evening gown with beads placed inside the skirt. Amalie drew inspiration from “the allure of summer”, while building on techniques of season’s past — programming her various knitting machines to create loose silk knits with playful loops, as seen in the black capped sleeve mini dress, white mini skirts and halters, or square window like shapes that allow the skin to show through in various forms. The latter pieces sat away from the body or swirled up around the neckline, giving the sometimes rigid, ribbed knits further movement. “Part of developing the brand is working with our core pieces, but creating different shapes within knit,” the designer explains. “We’re so used to working so tightly to the body, so it’s also like how can we create something that also allows space.”
Though embracing exposed skin through these techniques has become integral to the brand’s sartorial language, it’s about much more than revealing knitwear — A. Roege Hove has created a sartorial language that’s all about examining the relationship between the body, in all it’s shapes and sizes, and clothes. And it forces us to examine our relationship with fashion, as a whole, in the process.