SS25: Copenhagen Fashion Week between creativity, inclusion and commerce

Berlin Fashion Week may be keen to become the next London of fashion – a place that fosters and produces young creative talent – but Copenhagen also wants to have its say, and rightly so.

Copenhagen Fashion Week has long since emerged from the shadow of the established Fashion Weeks and is also forging ahead with a role model function, as sustainability and the support of young talent are paramount in the Danish capital. But how does the Zalando-sponsored Fashion Week combine progressive action and commercial success?

Sinéad O’Dwyer makes history

It is thanks to one of these young talents that the increasingly important topics of accessibility and inclusivity were also addressed in Copenhagen this season. Irish designer Sinéad O’Dwyer, who has been supported by the British Fashion Council's NewGen initiative for the past three years, moved from London to the Danish capital after being named the winner of the Zalando Visionary Award. The award brought her 50,000 euros and a spot on the Copenhagen Fashion Week programme.

O'Dwyer has long been known for her pursuit of inclusion not only visually, but also through working with a variety of models in different sizes instead of a sample size. With her SS25 collection, however, she not only brought her commitment to diversifying body shapes considered standard in fashion, but also an accessible catwalk to Copenhagen's Opera Park.

The young designer, who specialises in textures, made a strong statement for inclusion and proved that the time of size-zero castings and inaccessible venues can finally be over if we want it to be. She designed her spring/summer 2025 collection in collaboration with the Danish Association of the Blind and the non-profit organisation Hair and Care, which works for the visually impaired.

On the catwalk, strappy dresses, bodysuits and cut-out silhouettes were presented, complemented by O'Dwyer's first foray into the denim world. The designer offered audio descriptions and fabric samples for each look to blind and visually impaired viewers. But the inclusion was not limited to the audience: blind activist Lucy Edwards walked the runway with her guide dog Miss Molly. It was the first time a blind model had such a performance at Copenhagen Fashion Week, setting a new benchmark for inclusion.

O'Dwyer's commitment was particularly striking because there seemed to be less body diversity on the catwalk than in previous editions of Copenhagen Fashion Week. This may not necessarily be a conscious step backwards, but rather the harsh reality of the costs involved in prototyping and developing garments for different body types – especially in a time when some promising talents have already been sidelined for several seasons due to financial problems.

New beginnings and returnees

One of these brands that took a break in Copenhagen in January due to economic challenges has now returned: A Roege Hove. A few weeks ago, the brand, founded in 2018 by Amalie Røge Hove, announced its relaunch after the label, once one of the city's most talked-about newcomers, had to close its doors in autumn 2023. The label had struggled to make ends meet for most of last year, the designer told Vogue Business in February.

In an interview with the industry magazine, she told a story that many young brands will be familiar with: retailers made deposits for orders, but the remaining amounts were only due upon delivery. However, payments were often delayed by several months. A domino effect that ultimately led to the temporary end of the brand, which at the time was primarily associated with knitwear.

Knitwear is still part of the revised and relaunched version of A Roege Hove, but the brand has matured a little since its last appearance on the Danish catwalk the previous year. This was also underlined by a casting that featured models of different ages and sizes. On the runway, the models presented structured slip dresses with sheer layers, ribbed midi dresses and skirts, as well as the season's favourite trousers – capris and ultra-short shorts – in a muted colour palette ranging from silver greys, creams and beiges. The only colour that broke the colour scheme was a surprising, very "brat"-summer-appropriate neon green.

A Roege Hove, however, was not the only brand to disappear from the calendar only to reappear this season. (Di)Vision went viral with a tablecloth-dress stunt for autumn/winter 2023, but struggled to translate momentum into money, ultimately leading the brand to take a break from Fashion Week. Now, the brand, sponsored by beauty company The Ordinary, returned to Copenhagen Fashion Week with a "see-now-buy-now" collection and an exclusive focus on direct-to-consumer business.

The brand's focus, whose eclectic and wild style stands out from the sea of playful practicality, was still clearly on Gen Z, as evidenced in upcycled pieces and collaborative designs. For spring/summer 2025, designer Simon Wick drew inspiration from urban maximalism, video games, fairy grunge and Tokyo fashion, as he recounted in a press release about the show titled "The Dreamer of Steam City". The vision was expressed through layered looks full of vintage denim, lace, jersey and leather, as well as animal prints, checks and 2000s-style accessories. A vision that, unlike the label Rotate, led by the creative director duo Jeanette Madsen and Thora Validmars, does not necessarily resemble what one associates with the looks of the "Scandi-Girls" celebrated on social media, but brings all the more variety to Copenhagen.

What does it take to leave a mark on Copenhagen Fashion Week?

The fact that brands like Rotate and (Di)Vision not only coexist peacefully but also find suitable partners in Copenhagen is what makes the Fashion Week special. While (Di)Vision was sponsored by The Ordinary, Rotate teamed up with jewellery brand Pandora. The brand, which opened its first flagship store in the Danish capital at the beginning of Fashion Week, let the Pandora jewellery stand out instead of the garments, usually adorned with crystals.

Instead, the looks were ethereal, romantic and marked by a clear nod to the 1920s. This was particularly reflected in playful details and elaborate embellishments. Ruffles and fringes adorned trousers, shirts and chiffon dresses, while continuous button plackets and flowing drapes provided an elegant contrast. Delicate embroidery and pearl-studded details underlined the light-hearted spring/summer collection, which was held in a muted colour palette of yellow, pink and blue.

Although Rotate has only been around for five years, the brand, akin to Gestuz, the label founded in 2008 by Sanne Sehested, and The Garment, a brand that only launched in 2020, is one of the most sought-after in the Danish capital and proves that longevity and tradition, which are often the key to success at Fashion Weeks in Paris, Milan or New York, are not necessarily needed to make an impression on the Danish fashion scene.

This is perhaps most impressively demonstrated by Ganni, a brand that was not present in the last two seasons, but – at least in terms of street style on the streets of Copenhagen – still holds fashionable dominance despite its absence.