CPHFW Talent: P.L.N. explores the polarity of extremes for AW23

For P.L.N’s second Copenhagen Fashion Week showcase, creative designer Peter Lundvald Nielsen doubled down on the brand’s raw and uncompromising dark and moody aesthetic for autumn/winter 2023.

Inspired by the polarity of extremes, P.L.N invited guests into a pitch-black and smoky warehouse space at Copenhagen’s Bella Center to present its dark and punky AW23 collection filled with leather, denim and jersey tattered, ripped and frayed.

Highlights from the brand’s third collection included ultra-low-rise trousers, tattered leather skirts, utilitarian cargo pants, cropped deconstructed bomber jackets, and jersey pieces with fringe detailing.

As a member of Copenhagen Fashion Week’s talent incubator programme CPHFW Talent, Lundvald Nielsen also partnered with Circulose, a new material made by recycling cotton from worn-out clothes and production waste this season.

In conversation with Peter Lundvald Nielsen from P.L.N.

Ahead of the AW23 showcase, FashionUnited caught up with Lundvald Nielsen to discuss the inspiration behind his collection, his creative process and approach to sustainability, and his plans for the future.

How do you begin your creative process?

I mean the process is a lot of research from new/old magazines, books and the internet. I spend a lot of time on Tumblr. I'm from that generation and I really enjoy spending time on that platform because of its structure and the fantastic people who share the same aesthetics as me. I actually don't spend much time drawing as I really enjoy throwing myself into construction work right away in the process together with my team.

What's the inspiration behind your upcoming collection?

The inspiration for this collection is to keep working with existing pieces of clothing and looking at how to develop them in new ways. Having a mix between showpieces and commercial pieces is very important for us this season.

We have been working a lot with jersey items in ways we believe our customers themself can style them. We will, as we have done from day one, continue to dive into the recycling of clothes and people will also see this in our future collections.

P.L.N. is proud to have partnered with Circulose which makes change possible with their circular recycled materials to ensure continuous improvement within sustainability and circularity.

How would you describe your brand's aesthetic?

P.L.N. is a very personal project based on exploring a raw and uncompromising visual expression. Ideas and personal tastes form the foundation of the creative process. Here, European punk culture is mixed, with references to workwear, Goth and antique religious attire in addition to well-considered silhouettes, thorough construction, as well as experimental reinterpretations.

P.L.N. is based on a traditional understanding of the body but is not limited to a particular gender or sexuality.

How do you approach sustainability?

We will, as we have done from day one, continue to dive into the recycling of clothes and people will also see this in our future collections. We look at old clothing materials, and silhouettes and use and utilize them to our advantage.

What's next for your brand?

We are working on a lot of things but the most important factor for us is to continue making sustainable production together with our partners. From the start of this collection, we have worked with Circulose from Sweden.