Text by Jenny Soderman and Photos by Soren Jespen of www.copenhagenstreetstyle.dk.
Newcomer Malene Marron debuted on the fourth day of Copenhagen Fashion Week with a show in the edgy setting of a parking lot at the IT-university. The collection, however, didn’t quite match up to its surroundings.
The clothes had obvious references to dance and yoga wear based around soft materials and clean cuts. In her designs Marron works with the meeting between everyday life routines, habits and sudden feelings of excitement or joy. The collection featured a vest resembling a pinafore-dress for the men’s line, a lavender oversized playsuit perfect for lounging around at home, and a range of something as contradictory as elegant sweatpants. A line of simple and very uninteresting silk dresses destroyed the overall tone of the collection and gave it a very incoherent appearance. If Marron sticks to what she does best, she could be the initiator of a whole new niche of sports and dancewear in Scandinavia.
There was no lack of innovation and creativity when the second fashion-school showed at the FORUM-tent. The upcoming designers from the fashion and lifestyle-school TEKO all showed very different interpretations but shared the same inspiration-source: a tribute to global trends, global ways of thinking and global co-operation, inspired by the many guest-teachers at the school.
The students’ creations were spectacular and dramatic and featured everything from bondage-inspired leather-dresses to a see-through chiffon blouse for men. There seemed to be an intense focus on shoulders and hips in the women swear-collection running through the lines of every designer and one of them made use of taffeta for statement-pleats on one of the jackets.
The most enchanting show of the week was Barbara í Gongini’s at Basalt.
The models were the spitting images of enchanting, saddened swans, with black and white makeup, slowly gliding in irregular squares in the room.
At one point a couple walked together in a single unit outfit, reminiscent of mating swans, Of course a complicated choreography requires extensive training and the models accidentally walked into each other a few times.
A black and white Marmar-film made in collaboration with the designer and musician Teitur showed in the background.
The film demonstrated atmospheres such as a Scandinavian forest that evoked an odd beauty in the context of the dramatic clothes. The clothes themselves were almost irrelevant when looking at the performance and the audience was treated to a few surprises.
In the middle of the show one of the male models broke into a playback singing performance and at a later point a girl wearing an avant-garde tulle-bridal dress suddenly turned from blissful dignity to rage, tearing off pieces of her hair and dress. The show and the collection had the intention of challenging expectations and what lies behind people’s motives.
The collection featured a lot of spectacular tulle-dresses; lame layered dresses, nylon-gowns and urban couture-pieces like a drawstring coat. One of the most intriguing and wearable pieces were suede boot-shaped leg warmers and a coat with deep pockets in the back. All in all, the collection looked very well stitched and purposeful as if every single piece had been carefully thought through in a very artistic manner.
The last day of Fashion Week was about good locations, and the urban street-wear brand Soulland showed in the evening at the Museum of Zoological History. The show had a beautiful backdrop with whalebones hanging from the ceiling. The designer, high-school drop-out, Silas Adler, only 23 years old, has certainly grown up and the clothes has become more refined since the last collection but the show didn’t do the location and the collection justice.
A lot of the guests disturbed the appearance by drunkenly wolf-whistling at the models who couldn’t keep from laughing and it gave the whole show a very unprofessional feeling. Then again, that might just be the charm of the unpretentious label.
Soullands’ signature prints had almost disappeared and Adler boldly dared to venture into feminine elements with a knee-length caftan-shirt, a shirt with polka dots and a crepe-material on one of the shirts. The only prints that could be found in the collection was a skull that had the words “Fuck Inspiration” written over it and was announced as the designer’s commentary on the dichotomy between inspiration and plagiarizing.
If anything Adler showed he’s not afraid to experiment and take the company a step further. He has managed to develop and still keep to the brand´s industrial, urban, skate-roots.
Den Grå Hal in the notorious city-part of Christiania, home to many hippies and an artistic community, was the location for the much awaited and very popular Henrik Vibskov-show. Of course delays were expected and accepted since the interest from the press was enormous and because the show was open to public.
If you’d forgotten to purchase a ticket before the show you could always just turn up with a trumpet and play a song.
Yes…the Vibskov-universe is and will always remain a little odd and crazy.
The show was a psychadelic feast for the eye and showcased 80’s inspired zebra-stripes, the staple baggy high-waisted pants, an oversized cocoon-shaped polka-dotted trench and a striped playsuit for men.
Most noteworthy was the Native-American tribal patterns.
Vibskov himself a multi-talented designer, artist and musician participated in the show by playing drums to the electronic music and as usual he walked in lead of his models for the grand-finale at the end of the show.
Just seconds after the show ended the whole venue turned into a giant party and the catwalk into a dance-floor.
