Iso.Poetism wins the Wessel & Vett Fashion Prize 2022

Danish menswear label Iso.Poetism by Tobias Birk Nielsen has won another accolade, adding the Wessel & Vett Fashion Prize 2022 to the Zalando Sustainability Award it picked up during Copenhagen Fashion Week earlier this year.

The Wessel & Vett Fashion Prize is the Nordic region’s most prestigious and influential design award to support emerging talent, and this year saw Iso.Poetism by Tobias Birk Nielsen scoop the honour ahead of finalists Birrot, Nicklas Skovgaard and Sophia Khaled.

The award, formerly known as the Magasin du Nord Fashion Prize, has been renamed to mark the prize’s independence, explains organisers, while celebrating the entrepreneurship and innovation of the department store Magasin du Nord’s 19th-century founders, Theodor Wessel and Emil Vett.

2022 also marks the tenth anniversary of the award and included a new grand prize of 500,000 Danish Krone awarded to Iso.Poetism. In addition, each of the finalists has been rewarded 10,000 Danish Krone for “their mutual effort and participation” alongside mentoring from a network of industry experts, advising on sales, production, PR, and business development.

All the finalists presented their collections and business concepts to an international jury of industry experts and were praised for their design talent, sustainable vision, innovation, creativity and business entrepreneurship.

On winning the award, Iso.Poetism, said in a statement: “Being a Danish brand, winning the biggest and most prestigious fashion prize in the Scandinavian region really validates the purpose and vision of the brand, not to mention the hard work that the whole team puts into the brand every day.

“We are confident that we are heading in the right direction. We would like to thank our loyal partners, customers, and everybody who has supported us on our journey along the way. As a small brand and company, the award and earnings mean a lot to our continued growth and allows us to spread our brand, vision and aesthetics further.”

Magasin du Nord Fashion Prize renamed Wessel & Vett Fashion Prize

Iso.Poetism added: “Winning this award means we have the opportunity to get started on new and exciting projects sooner than anticipated and continue doing what we love most. This award has given us more momentum to keep growing the business and allow us to create artefacts people can connect to. We are optimistic for the future and can’t wait for what’s to come!”

The Wessel & Vett Fashion Prize also announced a significant expansion to its award, which is designed to be Scandinavian’s answer to the LVMH Prize, including the launch of a strategic partnership with Copenhagen Fashion Week via the recently established talent support scheme, CPHFW NewTalent.

The collaboration will support, promote and nurture Nordic design talent for domestic and international growth and impact, and will see the Wessel & Vett Fashion Prize winner enrolled into the CPHFW NewTalent scheme and added to the official show schedule for three consecutive seasons.

This means that as the winner, Iso.Poetism will be offered the opening show slot for the autumn/winter 2023 season and a spot in the CPHFW NewTalent spring/summer showroom, alongside mentoring, communications, and inclusion in all CPHFW official activities and opportunities.

Crown Princess Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark, which supports the prize, said: “Recognising the integral role of young designers in contributing to the necessary transformation of the fashion industry to a sustainable one is critical.

"The Wessel & Vett Fashion Prize is about just that; recognising upcoming Danish designers who are showing the way – taking their role seriously by designing responsibly and sustainably.”

Previous winners of the Magasin du Nord Fashion Prize have included Cecilie Bahnsen and A. Roege Hove.