Glancing through the cold and breezy streets of Copenhagen this week for the autumn/winter 2023 edition of the Danish capital’s fashion week, I was reminded why Scandinavian fashion has such a hold on our wardrobes.
Nordic women, all glowing skin, minimal make-up and anonymous beach shorts, are certainly very beautiful; but it’s their relaxed, comfort-centric way of dressing that makes them so effortlessly cool. Whether the billowing silk dress with trainers, big baggy jeans and a sequin top or a big mannish coat worn over a mini dress, there is a seeming ease that is not the most certain to find on the streets of Paris.
“I think the most important thing about Scandi style is that it’s always wearable,” says Denise Christensen, CEO of Birger Christensen, the Copenhagen fashion company that owns Remain and Rotate. “It’s definitely what the world is looking at… We inspire women’s wardrobes that they wear every day.”
Danish co-designer Stine Goya agrees: “Comfort is key. You want to look great for the party, but you have to ride your bike to get there.” She designs colorful pieces that work for both: her tailoring is loose and fluid with elastic waistbands, and her sequin sets have built-in stretch to move and bend with the body. Five years ago brands like Stine’s (along with the likes of Ganni, Helmstedt, Brogger and Saks Potts) replaced any ideas we had of Scandinavian minimalism with a riot of feminine colours, sequins and ruffles. Now Scandi fashion has made a comeback, as a wave of grungy new Nordic names has emerged in the last year or so.
“There’s room carved out in Copenhagen’s fashion scene for Gen Z’s edgier looks,” says Ganni co-founder Ditte Reffstrup. “I love seeing how it’s diversified.” Leading the pack is (di)vision, a label that works entirely with dead stock and existing materials founded by sisters from Killín, Simon, 26, and Nanna, 28, in 2018.
Packed with cool Copenhagen kids drinking mini bottles of Jaegermister, their AW23 show went big on the Woodstock ’99 aesthetic of baggy jeans, checked overshirts and ripped tank tops, all of which hit the runway on the backs of friends, family and partners.
Among those in the front row was 30-year-old Swedish influencer Anna Winck, whose heavy grunge, vintage and Y2K-inflected nostalgia is a street style favorite. This week she launched her first label Cannari Concept, inspired by her teenage wardrobe and made with pre-loved and recycled clothes.
For Winck, “Scandi fashion is leaving the cuteness and moving into the coolness, the grooviness.” Whatever new form it takes, the world will undoubtedly be watching.