The 8 best shows and runway trends at Copenhagen Fashion Week SS23

The Spring/Summer 2023 edition of Copenhagen Fashion Week has come to an end, shining a light on the best designers of the Nordic fashion scene. The event brings together some of the region’s best creatives as well as new names that keep it on our radar.

Our favorites at CPHFW this season included ROTATE, who put together a disco party themed collection, as well as GANNI, who showcased several collaborations on the runway. (D) Vision offered a wide range inspired by the effects of war, while Holzweiler presented dreamy yet technical designs using details taken from parachutes and workwear. Stine Goya had to explore contrast with a strong yet soft ensemble, and Wood Wood put together a runway that celebrated artistic communities.

Keep scrolling to read about our favorite shows and runway looks from CPHFW SS23.

Baum und Pferdgarten shut down Vogmagergade to show its SS23 collection. Bright pink chains covered the runway as models walked in exploring the concept of time. The label has revisited some of its most iconic pieces in its 23-year history, bringing to the fore details such as floral prints, oversized silhouettes, pinstripes and its signature monogram. Ruffled pieces were layered on top of each other, while prints were found on transparent organza materials as the runway moved from blue and black tones to green, peach and tangerine tones. In addition to brightly colored clothing, the brand recently teased a capsule collection of watches and accessories created by Danish watchmaker Skagen.

Closing out the first day of CPHFW, Simon and Nana Wick (D) Vision invited audiences to experience the great outdoors surrounded by nature. The space was decorated with mushroom-shaped lamps from GUBI and Instagram-ready couches. Taking inspiration from Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 film Apocalypse nowThe SS23 collection took military references to express the impact of war. Created using surplus military gear, the faces include lace-up miniskirts and loose knit skirts, as well as distressed denim pieces in dresses, skirts, jackets and more. GUBI’s mushroom-shaped lamps are also used as accessories, carried in bags or attached to belts.

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Diet Refstrup brought positive and happy energy to the GANNI runway covered in chalk art and bike racks. The show, titled “JOYRIDE,” opened with BMX rider Malene Kjellstrup Sørensen speeding up the stage, followed by a collaborative set. A denim outfit designed in collaboration with Levi’s, it looks like it’s made with 66North and Barber-brand jackets. In addition to the collaborations, GANNI launched a new t-shirt made with Infina that uses fibers woven from textile waste.

Refstrup said of the set: “My best ideas come to me in the morning. I put my headphones in, turn the music up to high volume, bike and bike to work. Those 15 minutes are completely precious. It’s open and my ideas just flow. This set is really It’s about the mood.” She added that the SS23 show was about celebrating the energy of Copenhagen’s summer season.

Guests entered an indoor space decorated with large floating balloons made from dead parachutes, which served as the main inspiration for Holzweiler’s SS23 collection. Entitled “On the Move,” the range features tailored dresses accented with rings and slits that add contrast to dreamy floral prints. Transformed into accessories as diverse as belts, harnesses and bag straps, the line is joined by women’s and men’s pieces, mostly dressed in pastel tones including desert dust, travertine, cerulean, cilantro and malachite. The looks were complete with long knitted headwear such as aviator hats created in collaboration with milliner Noel Stewart.

ROTATE wrapped up the final day of CPHFW at the Bella Arena, with models walking in disco balls. Through their latest collection, the brand’s creative directors Thora Valdimarsdottir and Jeanette Madsen expressed the power of their unbreakable bond, delivering a powerful and upbeat performance with hip-hop tunes playing in the background. Channeling the label’s signature high-glam aesthetic, it looks like neon sequins and foil prints featured in addition to crystal embellishments. Highlights include the fiery Teresa Dress, simultaneously launched as an Augmented Reality (AR) experience and an NFT, marking ROTATE’s entry into Web3. Following a full set, all the models changed into glittering bright red to celebrate the show’s finale, dancing on stage under disco balls as CPHFW came to a close.

Barbara Potts and Kathryn Sachs have continued to take Sachs Potts in new directions since 2014, moving away from the label’s signature materials like hair. Denmark’s Mary – Especially when she came to Denmark from Australia in the early 2000s, living an ordinary life in Copenhagen, walking the streets with her beautiful beauty.

Marking the brand’s biggest show to date, the event took place at Kongens Netorve, where models and their close friends walked in accessories cut out in bold prints and colors like Pernille Tesbeck and Erin Wasson. In their SS23 presentation, the designer duo defined Nordic cool-girl style with oversized sequins, perforated skirts and more.

Entitled “Whisper Loud”, Stein Goya’s SS23 collection was soft and gentle yet strong and impactful with the use of bright colors and prints. Inspired by Riot Grrrl, an avant-garde movement led by female pioneers fighting against gender norms, the runway featured contrasting textures and images. “These women, these natural forces of the Riot Grail movement, inspire a lot of joy and energy in me,” the designer said about the collection. “Their fierce, unapologetic attitude is the leader of this collection. I want everyone who wears these pieces to be filled with energy, confidence and passion.

The venue featured a series of sand structures that collapsed one by one on the show – referencing the collapse of goals – the perfect backdrop for sweaters and mini dresses paired with bomber jackets as well as slip dresses worn with technical outerwear.

Wood Wood’s latest collection was, like the title, “Escape to Paradise.” The show took place at Lille Langebro, a curved pedestrian and bicycle bridge that runs through the center of Copenhagen. Just in time for the city’s sunset, the models walk down the bridge, lighting up the sky in pastel pinks and blues.

During this time Wood Wood was inspired to celebrate artistic communities, much like Peggy Guggenheim did at the Palazzo Venier di Leoni in Venice to support the great artists of the 20th century. It looks like workwear-style pieces like carpenter pants and painter shirts, with an emphasis on practicality in bias-cut floral patterns, two-track pants, and more.

This season marks the debut for Cecily Liv Mortensen, who joins Wood Wood as design director, creating the SS23 collection with brand founder Brian SS Jensen. Mortensen shared in a press release: “For this season, we created a sense of community – a sense that has underpinned Woodwood’s vision from the very beginning. As head of design, I wanted to foster a sense of collaboration that each designer could feed off of. Out of each other’s energy. That’s where we want to be headed in the next 20 years – with a focus on unity that translates into the pieces we create.