In Copenhagen, young brands come under the wings of established names

In recent years, Copenhagen Fashion Week (CPHFW) has emerged as a front runner in platforming Scandinavian brands for an international audience. So much so that some of its regulars have gone on to more global stages. This year, however, the autumn/winter 2025 schedule, spanning January 27 to 31, has almost undergone an entirely new form. While for a handful of participants, growth has been unprecedented, others haven’t quite been able to escape the grasps of the wider industry’s woes.

As Danish labels Ganni and Cecilie Bahnsen make a name for themselves at Paris Fashion Week, where they both showed during the SS25 season, the air of uncertainty throughout fashion has brought some of CPHFW’s regulars to their knees. Back in November 2024, the founders of Saks Potts, Catherine Saks and Barbara Potts, announced they would be permanently closing the business after 10 years. While the duo said the shuttering of the label wasn’t financially driven, they admitted to Vogue Business that the industry was having a “hard time”, particularly in the way of wholesale. Weeks later, another Danish brand, (Di)vision announced its bankruptcy, once again driving home the struggles of independents.

If anything, such occurrences have seemingly spurred on motivation among the more established names to uplift and support their younger counterparts. Rotate, for example, was named a new patron of CPHFW’s NewTalent scheme for AW25, committing to the provision of financial backing and mentorship for emerging talent. This season, Bonnetje joined Alectra Rothschild / Masculina, Stamm and Berner Kühl to participate in the initiative.

Despite industry challenges, emerging brands entrench in present reality

From the outset, it is clear why Bonnetje was chosen as the newest member of this group. Its collection, entitled ‘Doublages’ (French for doubling), is rooted in present reality. The message, intended to address the lack of work-life balance, akin to the psychology behind TV show Severance, is reflective in its disgruntled and deconstructed take on traditional office wear. Suits are no longer a single uniform, but take two or many forms, resulting in pieces that aim to “manifest different images of the self” and thus encourage dialogue surrounding self-expression and the balance between ones workself and their personal identity.

Not only is Bonnetje’s overarching message relevant in current context, its wider values in relation to sustainability also fit snugly into those of CPHFW, itself. The Copenhagen-based brand reuses what it calls “defunct materials” to counter fashion in a throwaway society, reintroducing yesterday’s fashion into present day circulation.

CPHFW’s status, in this respect, cannot be denied. In fact, its influence extends beyond simply its presenting brands to that of its sustainability values, which are to soon be ingrained into London Fashion Week, an event that has inversely struggled to maintain its relevancy and, therefore, footing in the face of a challenging local market. This season, CPHFW’s Sustainability Requirements, to which all brands must succumb to in order to take part, got a facelift. Among other things, brands must share their sustainability strategies, DEIB policies and display evidence of circular design principles in their process. AW25 was established as a trial season for these changes.

DEIB policies manifest in differing expressions

Such strict measures may, at first, appear to be obstacles for independent brands on the line up, yet, from the perspective of Baum und Pferdgarten (BUP), for example, this is not the case. “It is not an obstacle but they make us open our eyes to things we haven’t thought about before,” the founders, Rikke Baumgarten and Helle Hestehave, told FashionUnited in an interview. While for BUP, this takes shape in the push for more responsible and circular operations within its business, for others, outwardly conforming to the regulations means differing things.

Han Kjøbenhavn’s artistic director, Jannik Wikkelsø Davidsen, featured models wearing hearing aids in the presentation to highlight its concept of “authentic self-expression”. Elsewhere, items like a selection of retro football merchandise sponsored by personal relations to the brand was presented as a means of promoting community, an idea that took precedence throughout the ‘Concrete Born’ collection. NewTalent brand Berner Kühl sees itself in a more educational role, offering a modular wardrobe that is designed to last and thus inform the next generation of consumers of “quality” products.

Among the 34 name line up, established brands weren’t missing in their entirety. Marimekko, Stine Goya and Filippa K, which took on a presentation format for the first time, beefed up the schedule, alongside long-existing regulars like Henrik Vibskov and Won Hundred. Copenhagen also looked to its Scandinavian neighbours to contribute, strengthening ties with Nordic organisations for the wider benefit of the industry. An expanded partnership with Fashion in Helsinki, which this year became a Knowledge Partner to the event and co-hosted the opening reception, was present, as was CPHFW’s continued relationship with talent support platform Alpha, which this season brought Danish brand Frederik Taus to the CPHFW NewTalent showroom.

On the wider schedule, newcomers like Icelandic brand 66°North and Swedish menswear brand Cmmn Swdn emphasised the fashion week’s dedication to onboarding more Nordic design. To Copenhagen, the inclusion of “reputable Nordic names set against international vanguards” throughout the programme “further underlines the international positioning CPHFW holds within the fashion calendar worldwide”. At the crux is the hope that parallel to the heightened global status of CPHFW, brands taking part may also achieve similar acclaim.