Two Generations of Copenhagen Fashion
In The Designers’ Words
written JUSTINA SNOW
Do you remember the time when you turned twenty? It seemed like from now on you would enter a different era, and everything would be different. You feel more professional when ‘-teen’ is no longer attached to your age, and you feel like now you will finally be taken seriously.
Copenhagen Fashion Week SS26 / Cecilie Bahnsen by James Cochrane
Copenhagen Fashion Week SS26 / Cecilie Bahnsen by James Cochrane
Copenhagen Fashion Week just turned 20. And even though Copenhagen has long been a major city on the fashion map, it still is a big milestone. Maturity really shows here - Copenhagen Fashion Week has developed its own values, which include sustainability - it’s the only fashion week that has mandatory standards requiring at least 50% of collections to be certified, recycled, or upcycled. It is also the only fashion week where 70% of the brands on the schedule are women-led.
As it’s so appropriate for a bright young thing, it is very progressive and fast-changing, and it also has so much power to influence other cities. I met two brands from different fashion generations — Cecilie Bahnsen and Fine Chaos — to discuss about how they view the fashion industry change in Copenhagen (and as a whole), to reflect on its past and future, and to see if any generational differences exist, even in fashion.
Designer Portrait / Cecilie Bahnsen
Cecilie Bahnsen, who began working as an assistant to Danish designer Anja Vang Krag in 2007, is now one of the most well-known and successful Danish fashion names. I met Cecilie Bahnsen in a bookstore, where she hosted a signing event for A Magazine Curated by, marking the first time the magazine was curated by a Danish designer, with her name standing alongside Martin Margiela, Riccardo Tisci, and other fashion legends. Cecilie revealed that she is also a collector of the magazine.
Copenhagen Fashion Week SS26 / Cecilie Bahnsen by James Cochrane
Copenhagen Fashion Week SS26 / Cecilie Bahnsen by James Cochrane
Justina Snow
You founded your brand more than 10 years ago. What changes in the fashion industry, and in Copenhagen specifically, have you noticed since you started the brand?
Cecilie Bahnsen
For me, being part of Copenhagen Fashion Week was a way of finding my Scandinavian voice - or my brand’s voice - and embracing it. When I started, it was amazing to see so many Danish designers beginning to establish their Scandinavian identity. Seeing how far Copenhagen Fashion Week has come over the past 10 years, and being part of that journey, has been very special.
Copenhagen Fashion Week is the only major fashion week with so many women-led brands on its schedule. Why do you think Copenhagen has this, while other fashion weeks remain more male-dominated?
I think life happens at a different pace here, and I see more balance, which gives room for collaboration and creativity. The inspiring environment and calmness of the city also make it easier to thrive and seem to encourage and motivate this focus on women-led brands.
You’re very active internationally. How does the experience of being in Paris compare to being in Copenhagen?
Copenhagen is an amazing base - it’s home, but it's also true that the brand is very international. First, moving to Paris was really incredible. For me, the couture and the romance are deeply inherited in the brand. I spent a few years in Paris before moving back to Copenhagen (Cecilie was interning for John Galliano in Paris early in her career), and now I feel like my heart belongs to both places. It’s incredible to come back to Copenhagen but also to show collections in Paris.
And I think it´s a perfect balance because your brand in the context of Paris feels and looks very different.
Yes. But also nowadays fashion weeks are collaborating more, which is really exciting.
A slightly wishful question: we’re now celebrating 20 years of Copenhagen Fashion Week. Looking ahead, where do you see Copenhagen fashion in another 20 years?
I hope it continues to celebrate creativity, personality, and uniqueness. I appreciate that you see the brand as established, but I remember when I was a student, the first show I saw in Copenhagen was Henrik Vibskov and it was a big thing for me. That energy of creativity was something important to hold on to. It’s about staying inspired, following your creative vision, and seeing how far you can take it.
Designer Portrait / Fine Chaos
The young, ambitious brand Fine Chaos also hit major milestones in their career this time. While only having their first show in 2023, they recently expanded their creative team, which helped them develop their jewelry and accessories line, creating an even more immersive, futuristic, yet still underground universe. Tone-Lise, who is now the head of design, started at the brand founded by Marc C. Møllerskov as an intern and emphasizes the importance of community in fashion.
Copenhagen Fashion Week FW26 / Fine Chaos by James Cochrane
Copenhagen Fashion Week FW26 / Fine Chaos by James Cochrane
Copenhagen Fashion Week FW26 / Fine Chaos by James Cochrane
Justina Snow
You started the brand in 2021, with the first show being in 2023, and a lot of growth has happened since then. In the grand scheme of things, five years is not a lot, but do you already see a difference in the fashion scene from when you started to now?
Fine Chaos
I think consumers are reaching a turning point where they need to have a story behind the garment. Also, before, the fashion industry was very closed off, and we’re trying to open it up to everybody, to be seen as humans and not as somebody who sits on their throne. It’s important not to be a private party, because at the end of the day we are all expressing ourselves through it.
If you had to pick only one thing about Fine Chaos, what are you most proud of?
That people are so open-minded within the brand, and that it feels like a family. When I started as an intern, I was actually homeless, and it always felt like home. Also, the ability to sense what is going on in the world and to communicate it through clothing. You can turn off your phone, turn off the TV, but we still try to confront people using fashion as a medium.
I liked the phrase on your homepage that ‘you as a brand are not yet sustainable.’ That’s very honest. Do you think the fashion world would benefit if more brands admitted that?
Definitely, because there’s no brand that’s truly sustainable. It’s not possible to produce something new without impacting the planet. It’s about taking accountability and thinking about how to make it better. That’s why, for us, it’s very important to be responsible, because we are also part of the burden on the world. It’s also important that consumers see value in what they’re buying - it has to be an investment.
Copenhagen is the only fashion week where the majority of brands are women-led. Why do you think this happens here and not in other fashion capitals?
I would say we see each other more as equals here. In our brand, too - Mark and I - we are equals. It’s funny, because a lot of internship applicants we get are mainly women. We haven’t had a man apply for a design internship, which actually would be great too. In other fashion cities, however, sexism in the fashion industry is a huge problem. I think some people are still drawn to how it was back in the day, and it has become seen as ‘how it should be.’ My brain is sobbing thinking about this. I hope one day they will look at Copenhagen as one of the leading fashion weeks and take it as an example.
We are celebrating 20 years of Copenhagen Fashion Week. If we look 20 years from now, what kind of fashion industry would you like to find yourself in?
To be honest, I would love to see fewer brands, with all of them understanding how their production affects the planet and people. I would also like to see fashion be more open to everybody, not like a private party, as we talked about before - because everybody is wearing clothes, regardless of whether you are into fashion or not. And more women.
Copenhagen Fashion Week FW26 / Fine Chaos by James Cochrane
Copenhagen Fashion Week FW26 / Fine Chaos by James Cochrane