Denim made its mark at Copenhagen Fashion Week with low-rise, colorful and subtle workwear.
Ganni’s Spring/Summer 2023 collection shared ground with the Danish brand’s latest “see now, buy now” collaboration with Levi’s. Inspired by Mother Nature and the growing interest in gardening, pieces in the Levi’s x Ganni collection are made with at least 55 percent certified organic cotton and water-saving natural dyes sourced from plants and minerals. The result is a series of “light silhouettes” in muted yellows, pinks, reds and lavenders that complement vintage indigo washes.
The colorful collaboration matches Ganni creative director Ditte Reffstrup’s energetic vision for S/S ’23. Reffstrup said the Joyride collection replicates the feeling of freedom and creativity she experiences every morning when she turns on music in her headphones and heads to work. “Those 15 minutes are completely [mine] of the treasury”, she said. “My mind is open and my thoughts flow. This collection is really about that feeling.”
Cold-shoulder dresses, off-the-shoulder dresses and cargo pants clash with leopard prints, fuzzy textures, wavy hems and cowboy boots. Other denim pieces include wide leg jeans with metallic red, white and ecru jeans, green dyed jeans and a black washed mini skirt.
It was also home to two recycling co-ops. Ganni teamed up with British designer Barbour on a range of recycled wax jackets and with 66° North in recycled nylon and polyester pieces.
“I’m a collaboration junkie,” Reffstrup said. “I love it when the chemistry works and the ideas flow. As an industry we need to start collaborating more, especially if we are going to make fashion more responsible. No brand, no matter how hard they try, can do it alone. We have to work together.”
Stockholm-based Hope balanced tailoring with utilitarian fashion. Known for tagging menswear and womenswear since 2017, the S/S ’23 collection offered genderless items such as a black wash trucker jacket, straight-leg jeans and suits. The brand tipped its hat to the trend with gray and lavender loose fit and black paint splattered denim.
White jeans presented by Schnayderman with bold indigo color effects. Bleached denim skirts and dresses added an ethereal look to Jade Cropper’s collection. Stay featured in brown washed jeans with monochromatic tops and neutral coats. Layered hems in contrasting shades of indigo added depth to Munthe’s jeans and denim shorts.
Dark indigo denim provides a foundation for Saks Potts’ holiday-inspired collection, which includes ’70s liquid gold dresses, maxi skirts and dresses sprinkled with Barbie pink sequins. Wide-leg jeans hung low on the hips, while denim jackets and skirts with front slits were paired with bikini tops. Both jeans and jackets had deep cuffs.
Y2K era Operasport style front tie cardigan with cropped jeans and denim miniskirts. Gestuz combined the hallmarks of joggers and cargo in a pair of skinny ankle jeans. A looser version was styled in a metallic top with a silver bikini, while a light colored denim dress, cropped jacket and jeans had crystal accents.
Patchwork denim was a common theme in (Di)vision’s collection. Long-sleeved zip-up jackets, ripped jeans and work shirts featured an array of yellow denim jackets – some splashed with paint. The brand also experimented with printed patchwork and destruction motifs. (Di)vision entered Y2K with low-rise skinny jeans and destroyed denim.
Latimmier cut off the side seams of the jeans to reveal full legs, while PLN stayed true to her punk-goth roots by taking an aggressive approach to black jeans with monochrome patches, cutouts and rips.
