As we enter the era of quiet luxury, there is no doubt that Scandinavian fashion is a must-watch style when you are striving to build a timeless, sustainable, and effortless wardrobe.
Scandinavian designers have proven that sustainable fashion is far from being unappealing or outdated. Their environmentally conscious solutions are intrinsic to their design philosophy.
Pop hues and neutrals come together, revealing the eclecticism inherent in the Scandinavian aesthetic
While the Scandinavian style gained global recognition for its distinctive and sharp minimalism, it has recently evolved into a comfort-driven, refined, and, above all, eclectic aesthetic. This shift enhances a unique vision of fashion consumption and styling, leading to growing interest and fascination surrounding Copenhagen Fashion Week and its designers.
Apart from the renowned avant-garde of Acne Studios and the everyday glamour of Rotate, there are new players in the market, like Ganni Wide Welt Buckle Ballerinas, which have recently sold out. These might be the successors to the Margiela Tabi, given the enthusiasm demonstrated by fashion insiders. Meanwhile, numerous Nordic creatives are conquering the web. Let’s meet them and explore the characteristic elements that have propelled their Scandinavian style to the forefront.
A. Roege Hove: Dive into the New World of Knitwear by Fashion Scientist Amalie Røge Hove
Based in Copenhagen, Amalie Røge Hove launched A. Roege Hove in 2019, drawing on her previous experience at Cecilie Bahnsen and Mark Tan. She recently gained recognition by winning Woolmark’s 2023 Karl Lagerfeld Prize for Innovation.
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A. Roege Hove defines itself as a conceptual knitwear brand that challenges traditions. This approach is evident in its staple silhouettes manipulated under a modern but timeless guise. Materials are studied and worked meticulously, giving life to an intricate lightness that is almost palpable even through a screen.
The brand plays with the contrast between neutral and pop hues, altering colour blocking, monochrome electric or all-black looks to blend playfulness and austerity.
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A. Roege Hove takes additional care in the representation of every kind of body, a pillar of the Scandinavian vision. The brand remains environmentally conscious by minimising waste, with pieces being knitted directly into shape, recycling and reworking materials, and designing them with longevity and value in mind.
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Latimmier: Challenging the Performance of Masculinities with Ervin Latimer
Launched in January 2022 at Pitti Uomo, Latimmier is a Helsinki-based ready-to-wear brand established by founder and creative director Ervin Latimer. His prior design positions include roles at renowned brands such as 1017 Alyx 9SM and Heliot Emil.
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Defined by the statement “For the Performance of Masculinities,” Latimmier’s DNA resides in the willingness to challenge the stereotypical idea of masculinity and investigate the concept of a gendered wardrobe.
Their design story is rooted “in the queer legacy of ballroom and in the dissection of historically masculine silhouettes and materials with a contemporary approach,” as the designer reveals on his About You page. “We challenge both who can perform masculinity and what kind of clothing can be used to do that.”
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Latimmier’s SS24 collection serves as a compelling showcase of the brand’s distinctive approach to fashion, inspired by Martin Scorsese’s iconic 2013 film, “The Wolf of Wall Street.” The collection reveals an office wardrobe that aims to elevate this conversation and not merely treat the theme as a fashion fad.
Sustainability is a pillar of Latimmier’s design process, as the brand claims: “We aspire to combine questions of identity with social and ecological sustainability to generate better practices of producing, consuming, and working with fashion.”
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Nicklas Skovgaard: Entering the Realm Where Baroque Portraiture Meets Madonna’s Videos
Nicklas Skovgaard founded his eponymous Copenhagen-based womenswear brand in 2020. The aim was to “explore the relationship textiles can hold in expressing narrative through the combination of unexpected materials and classical forms,” as the autodidact designer explains on his website.
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At a very young age, Skovgaard taught himself weaving after discovering a small loom at a thrift shop. “As his skill set grew, he started combining materials he had made with ready-made fabrics; finessing fit was his next step, and then he arrived at a style that is recognisably his own,” Vogue reported. “The bubble silhouette is what he’s best known for at this point, but draped jerseys are a close second.”
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Nicklas Skovgaard’s world revolves around the investigation and experimentation of seemingly contrasting fabrics and silhouettes, depicting not merely a new age of romanticism, where baroque motifs meet Madonna’s sexiness, but also the Nordic concept of “trusting your gut” in terms of colour and material combinations.
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The brand is characterised by its frivolous and daring nature, as it seeks to tell a story with each piece. This was evident at the brand’s debut fashion show in Copenhagen in August, where the designer skilfully merged the realms of performance, the dulcet tones of a harpsichord, and fashion with a still much-needed old-school runway. The unconventional presentation left the audience both pleasantly surprised and exquisitely captivated.
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Rolf Ekroth: Navigating the Crossroads of Utilitarianism, Nostalgia, and the Power of Sustainability
When streetwear meets Finnish folklore, you’ll discover Rolf Ekroth’s creations, championing utilitarianism, nostalgia, and the power of sustainable clothing.
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The designer incorporates elements of his homeland into the streetwear staple, combining sportswear, patchwork quilting, and knitting inspired by his childhood memories. “It’s a light-hearted jab at myself for missing my teenage years,” Rolf Ekroth shared while discussing his SS24 collection with FashionUnited. “Every season, I think this is the season where I start to think about something else, but then I return to that period.”
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Rolf Ekroth’s work is dedicated to reducing waste through the use of recycled materials and exploring new fabric solutions. One notable example is their Bio2™Textile, utilising straw typically discarded as agro-residue as its raw material.
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In a fashion landscape where staples break out of their comfort zones and avant-garde craftsmanship techniques shine, the Scandi style is all about making you and the environment feel good. It prioritises community over selling, comfort over trendiness, and personal style over standardisation. The vision is a future fashion community that values sustainable practices as much as aesthetic appeal.
Nicole Giulianini
Fashion Business alumna, Milan