DDW’s Sorcha Ní Cheallaigh explores the most desired menswear from the latest Copenhagen Fashion Week SS23.
t’s a mixed bag for Copenhagen Fashion Week SS23. From Helmstedt’s cartoonish shroom-inspired collection to the eternal codes of #GANNIGirls, the Danish capital offers innovative sustainability and ultra-modernist aestheticism in equal measures. Copenhagen Fashion Week is arguably the youngest reputable fashion week in the world. With such youth comes an inclination for whimsy and brazen risk-taking. Since current CEO Cecilie Thorsmark took over in 2018, the event has also positioned itself as an industry leader in tackling fashion’s catastrophic contribution to climate change. As highlighted in our round-up of sustainable options for this Pre-Fall season, the 2020 ‘Fashion on Climate’ report stated the fashion industry was responsible for more greenhouse gasses in 2018 than Germany, the U.K. and France combined. “All industry players – including fashion weeks – have to be accountable for their actions and be willing to change the way business is done,” said Thorsmark on the launch of the organisation’s Sustainability Action plan, “put simply, there can be no status quo”.
For Copenhagen Fashion Week SS23, Thorsmark’s words have never felt more true. The fashion event spanned five days and presented utilitarian whites, atypical cutouts, and theatrical ensembles from leading and emerging Nordic talent engaged in eco-conscious practice.
Copenhagen’s own upcycling-focused (di)vision presented a collection that can go from the rave to a camping trip in the woods while P.L.N.’s made-to-order counter-culture couture was filled with 90s gothic and grunge silhouettes.
It was in the more casual and polished looks from Copenhagen Fashion Week SS23 that fans of sustainable menswear could find their footing. A blanched co-ord from Parisian MWorks and a neon-yellow-trimmed suit from Henrik Vibskov offered high fashion looks that could move seamlessly from a morning meeting to the final drink of the night.
Fans of double denim found their perfect match in the distressed co-ord from Sunflower, with proportions that keep the material elevated and neat. If you’re looking to splurge for this spring, the entire SS23 collection from Sunflower is a complete masterpiece. It includes key essentials – white wife beater, muted gold Parka, black hoodie – and fashion must-haves like leather shorts and painted denim.
The showstopper of the season came from the masculine-focused brand Latimmier. Spearheaded by the soaring talent of Finnish designer Ervin Latimer, the presentation focused on dramatic streetwear reconstructions of classic tailoring and a prevalence of lilac pastels.
The most dazzling looks from the collection played with the classic two-piece suit through holographic colouring and skin-brushing material. Following on from Latimer’s drag-inspired presentation at Florence’s Pitti Uomo, the co-ords are reminiscent of the extravagant fashions of Studio 54. The extravagance of the era was often limited to the feminine silhouette, a point Latimer seems eager to correct with a disco suit for the futurist man.
Keeping an industry forever in search of the “new” and “novel” sustainably satiated is a mammoth task. Yet the Danish capital may finally have the answer to problems in the industry. Copenhagen Fashion Week SS23 may have wrapped after only five days of showcases, activations, runways and sustainability awards, but its position as the prophet of the fashion industry will long continue.