Trendy Trend Report: Scandinavian Fashion Weeks AW21

This season, both Copenhagen Fashion Week and Stockholm Fashion Week went digital. Due to COVID-restrictions, both fashion weeks had to pivot their planned events and instead move online. Luckily, the designers and fashion brands from both cities still had collections worth seeing, and managed to make the digital format exciting.

Copenhagen Fashion Week, which ran from 2 – 4 February, held a number of digital shows and talks. Maybe brands opted instead for ready-made films, rather than live shows, and the result was more creative and poetic than what the typical runway format would allow. While the collection showings were lovely, the digital events were the highlight of the week, with in-depth discussions about sustainability, anti-racism practices, and more.

Stockholm Fashion Week, held for the first time in several seasons, ran 9 – 11 February. While there was significant overlap in brands, there were still additional shows that made the week a treat, and the designer “conversations” that followed many of the shows were a great way to explore a collection right after seeing it.

In addition to the two fashion weeks sharing brands – something we’ve seen before but never to this extent – there were plenty of shared trends, highlighting that no fashion week exists in a vaccuum.

These are the biggest Scandinavian fashion trends from Copenhagen Fashion Week and Stockholm Fashion Week this season:

1970s Glamour

Is everyone a little sick of their matching sweatsuits? From the looks of it, fashion brands are ready to resurrect Studio 54 in an effort to get us off the couch and back into partywear. It’s a sign of hope, and of good things to come.

A faux fur coat with a matching beret? Yeah, Stand Studio did that. Silky dresses with major twirl factor? Check out the offerings from Jennifer Blom, Rotate, Styelin, and Stine Goya.

Malaikraiss’s off-the-shoulder caftan is a pure Halston snack, and Soeren Le Schmidt‘s slinky cold-shoulder dress is club-ready. The striped, belted dress from Lovechild 1979 is just the right blend of nostalgia and glamour without feeling costumey.


– Stand Studio –	– Jennifer Blom –

– Rotate –	– Stylein –

– Stine Goya –	– Malaikaraiss –

– Soeren Le Schmidt –	– Lovechild 1979 –

– Rodebjer –	– By Malene Birger –

Suiting

Oversized suits, double-breasted silhouettes, and sharp tailoring made a major appearance this season, both in womenswear and menswear. With the oversized suits in particular, this seems like a confluence of the need for elevated satorial choices paired with the understanding that no one is dressing up quite yet.

Oversized suiting from Ganni, By Malene Birger, and House of Dagmar walks the line between sharp and comfortable.

More traditional suiting from Skall Studio, DAY, and A Day’s March reminds us that we’ll eventually be heading back to the office.

Rotate, Henrik Vibskov, Lovechild 1979, and Holzweiler showed playful suits, from fabrics like velvet or metallic jacquard, to tie-dye pattern.

And then there’s Mark Kenly Domino Tan’s take on suiting, a foundational element of his design work. It’s oversized yet perfectly tailored, layered yet minimalist; top-level Scandinavian suiting.


– Ganni –	– By Malene Birger –

– House of Dagmar –	– Skall Studio –

– DAY –	– A Days March –

– Rotate –	– Henrik Vibskov –

– Lovechild 1979 –	– Holzweiler –

– Mark Kenly Domino Tan –	– Rodebjer –

Shades of Yellow

Though plenty of black, white, and grey could be found threaded throughout the collections, yellow made numerous appearances in a number of shades, from mustard by the likes of CMMN SWDN and Rodebjer, to a bright canary hue from Ganni and Baum und Pferdgarten.

Self Cinema’s yellow puffer is loud and shiny, while Stand Studio’s leather suiting is mellow and smooth.


– CMMN SWDN –	– Rodebjer –

– Ganni –	– Baum und Pferdgarten –

– Self Cinema –	– Stand Studio –

Back to Basics

The flip side of the glamor coin is that, well, people are still stuck at home. This year has been an extended lesson in how comfortable, high-quality basics that you wear over and over (and over, and over, and over…) are a necessity for your foundational wardrobe.

This season saw a return to basics in a way we haven’t before. Brands like DAY et Birger Mikkelsen, Skall Studio, Schnayderman’s, and CMMN SWDN all focused on items that make people feel comfortable, cosy, and, what we’re calling “fashion neutral;” not dressed up, but not a slob.

We’re already imagining ourselves in oversized knits from A Day’s March, By Malene Birger, and Holzweiler. Leave it to Mark Kenly Domino Tan to make basics look like the most glamorous outfit imaginable; his sweatshirt and sweatpants combo with a longline vest is practically red carpet-ready.