More female than male designers, amazing eco standards, hosting Ukrainians, diversity and age inclusiveness. Here are a few more standout shows our co-editor in chief Nicole Urbschat attended in Copenhagen.

HELMSTEDT

Speaking in cliches, there are two Danish women when it comes to fashion: the stealth wealth neutrals or the candy color dreamy girls. Helmstedt is certainly aiming for the latter one, being behind the most recent influx of Danish romanticism that blends art and fashion. Every print is hand-painted by Emilie Helmstedt in Copenhagen with highly visible brushstrokes in vibrant water and oil colors.

The brand founded in 2018 has achieved significant recognition, being listed in Forbes 30 under 30 or being a LVMH prize semifinalist to name a few. There was quite an international crowd in the audience, which may explain the more subdued collection aiming for commercial appeal like the patchworked denims, knit-wear pieces or printed parkas. F/W 2024 actually also marked the very first time the designer has sent black down the runway.

Yet the best look was the one that showed the notion of a treasure hunt (the collection’s theme) quite literally: a denim jumpsuit finished top-to-toe with beaded alien brooches. Now that’s surely a keeper.

GESTUZ

„Blurring the lines between going out and office-core. Because why save the fun for rare occasions, when life is so short?“ Gestuz, the label of Creative Director Sanne Sehested, surely had a focus on “office life” as seen on the recent men’s wear catwalks in Paris and Milan – but added a sexy nod to the 70s and 80s. 

Massive disco balls along the runway combined with hair in an out-of-bed look, made clear that the Gestuz woman is someone up for a party. Sehested always had a thing for vintage-inspired pieces and traditionally female fashion elements like lace, often seen as vulgar or too girly, and transforming them into empowering looks and this season was no exception. Case in point, see-through lace dresses and bodysuits worn under faux fur jackets or heavy wool coats made a strong impression. 

This feminine take on Scandi style felt commercial, proving that Gestuz is aiming to win a big part of the Danish womenswear market by hitting a sweet spot, a.k.a. offering well-designed, quality pieces mostly under a price range than many other Danish brands.

TG Botanical 

Copenhagen was one of the first fashion weeks in Europe to join the “Support Ukrainian Fashion” Initiative, spotlighting Ukrainian talent. TG Botanical is one of them, launched for the first time on the international fashion scene during Copenhagen Fashion Week in 2022. The label by Tetyana Chumak (Copenhagen-based, Ukrainian-born) has since gained wide recognition for its environmentally friendly and sustainable approach to fashion with a Y2K appeal – a combination which not often hits the runway. 

Coming from a Ukrainian farmer’s background Chumak always had a passion for nature, using eco-materials and special herbal dyeing techniques with plant pigments obtained from acrons, onion husks or coffee beans. 

F/W 2024 led to an airy femininity meets rugged utility vibe in the collection. For the first time, Chumak also cooperated with artist Dasha Tsapenko creating a selection of knitted styles made of natural plant-based yarn and transforming them into mycelium surfaces using spores of polypore fungus. A bio-experiment, in which the spores took three weeks to grow. It actually looked really strong in a combination of a white bra and skirt.