Fashion Week Report: Copenhagen FW23

Every year Copenhagen fashion week provides some of the greatest names in fashion with colourful and sustainable fashion choices bringing the latest trends to the catwalk. The Copenhagen fashion week committee use this platform to also highlight up and coming designers in regards to their designs, ethics, and sustainability to help new names become big names. This year we saw a range of art and socials theme being discussed throughout the designs.

One theme that has shown through from designs Helmstedt and Selam Fessahaye is a Tour of the World theme, which has been dictated through the use of map prints and abstract prints of islands and oceans. This could be translated to the reopening of the world. A year on from the end of isolations and lock downs seen across the world, travel has once again become the focal point of peoples lives. With more people working from home they are seeing that travel has become more affordable and flexible now to everyone. However, it could also signal the effects of climate changes and be displaying how fragile the world is. It spent the last few years beginning to recover, now we need to help continue with positive changes to the environment. These collections are pushing the fashion boundaries to highlight positive changes and agendas across the socio-political climate.

Although Fall fashion week is providing us all the up-and-coming trends for winter they can sometime come across as dark and moody to match the winters twisted weather and dark sky tones. That is not the case with the Copenhagen catwalks, they are bursting with bright tones full of warmth which can really heat up our moods on the coldest of days. Displayed across Stamm’s collection we see winter essentials featuring small delicate prints expertly repeated to make them focal points. Soulland had attention grabbing ski suits which featured a navy-based coated in colourful blue and pink flat florals to ensure they are the freshest prints on the side of the mountain, and Stine Goya’s collections we were witness to a range of fitted garments paired with puffer jackets featuring bright abstract floral prints bursting with warm tones to carry you through to the better weather.

Tuuli-Tytti Koivula created the most iconic collection for winter this year receiving the Alpha Award 2023 for her ability to bridge fantasy and function and create a reality from them. Each piece from her collection is based upon her own experience skiing and some of the characters she sees going down the mountain. Taking a range of silhouettes and adding voluminous size to them and pairing the creations with embroidery and texture, all the while creating beautiful prints in a range of colours, it is not a shock to anybody as to why she was he front runner to win the awards. Real influence comes from the designers real stories and experiences, and these can be felt throughout each piece.

Working from home has become a staple in a lot of countries, even with offices reopening a lot of companies are finding that remote working has beneficial affects on their team and productivity, so it would only be fitting that the design collections would feature new spins on the "work wear’’ trends. Sliding away from the monotone professional suits Henrik Vibskov has added in all-in-one work wear, in a comforting material and covered in floral prints to promote comfort and also a softness into each design which brings a springtime print through the fall and winter months.

To conclude, Copenhagen is the one fashion week which never disappoints, each year it produces the most aesthetically pleasing colours and patterns, all the while creating pieces of art form infused with personal interest and taste.

	Amy Davidson
	Amy Davidson is a newly graduated textiles designer from Scotland, who loves to travel, the colour orange and hairbands in as many colours and prints as she could possibly get her hands on. Her favourite style of print to work with is anything that’s bold, colourful, and tropical!