Copenhagen AW17 Fashion Week
Scandinavian fashion, often known for its simplicity, was as loud as ever at Copenhagen AW17 Fashion Week. The focus of many brands that presented their AW17 collections in Copenhagen, was a far from simple approach to fashion.
Oversized garments, heavy colouring, layering, and the experimentation across entire collections and set design, to the locations of choice, saw brands such as Han Kjøbenhavn, Henrik Vibskov and Astrid Andersen indicating an interesting sentiment of the new season.
Here are a selection of experiences from Copenhagen AW17 Fashion Week.
Han Kjøbenhavn
Guests was greeted with a onfloor runway centered by wood gallows, when the two designers behind the brand Jannik Wikkelsø Davidsen and Tim Faith Hancock presented their collection. The AW17 collection was one that was more serious than what the designers are previously known for. It was also the first time Han Kjøbenhavn showcased womenswear. For the brand there are no boundaries between clothing and the sexes.
Consisting of a colour palette of burgundy, navy, orange and army green in layers, attendants gasped as the show concluded with three models dressed as executioner rats who fake hung three male models, which underlined a somewhat gloomy doomsday sentiment of the clothing.
Henrik Vibskov
Danish drummer, artist and fashion designer Henrik Vibskov presented his collection titled The Five O’ Clock Leg Alignment at an old gas tank by the harbour of Copenhagen, which for the last four decades has been used as theatre. The building was set with an installation piece in the centre, hosting aligned yogis performing a series of synchronised movements in a controlled rusty red temple. In the twisted and surreal set-up of Vibskov, it shows the area – between the balanced and unbalanced – which is where The Five O’ Clock Leg Alignment was set to happen.
This season, the collection has even greater variety in surfaces and materials; bonded wool, coupé-jacquards woven in France, heavy unwashed and washed denim, waxed British cotton, printed plissé. Thermo-coats where the filling is made out of recycled plastic bottles and chunky knitwear produced locally in Denmark. The eye gets challenged by the round shapes in stripes, partly gathered and frilled or overlapping in different layers. The colours and artworks remind us of painted wooden toys, puzzles and board games from the 60s were monochrome prints were hand-coloured and earth tones dominated graphics.
Sports tracks with bending graphical lines, mind zones, striped sporting uniforms and games from childhood inspired the Vibskov design team for the AW17 collection.
Astrid Andersen
Graduating from The Royal College of Art in 2010, Astrid Andersen’s collections are gaining momentum the world over.
The London-based, Danish designer presented an AW17 collection in Copenhagen which, much like the men’s collection that was presented earlier this year, focused on the rich undertones of handpicked fabrics. All garments featured the undoubtedly Andersen contemporary outlook.
Hosted in an old artificial industrial island now brought back to life by art and food markets, colours of burgundy, navy, gold with hints of white, shone in the environment. Andersen managed to combine street-inspired woman’s fashion with something extremely luxurious and exclusive.
Andersen not only closed Copenhagen AW17 Fashion Week, she brought to life a women’s collection that demonstrated exactly what she is capable of.
Copenhagen AW17 Fashion Week has come to a close, for more in the world of fashion visit our archives.
Research by Annabella Pultz Nielsen.
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