Edited by Saynt
Refinery just posted a great review of Copenhagen Fashion Week Fall 2008 collections. You can read the full story here or check out our favorite bits below.
Just as New York Fashion Week was drawing to a close, the Danes were revving their engines, readying for what’s fast turning into one of Europe’s most anticipated style events—Copenhagen Fashion Week. In fact, the stuff we wear has become Denmark’s fourth largest export (pork and windmills still top the list), and it was evident that the pool of export-worthy designers is growing, as this was the city’s biggest Fashion Week to date with over 40 designers in the ranks.
As expected, there was the fair share of commercial, beige, peculiar, and bohemian. But there was also plenty that caught our eye, both from a few newcomers as well as the latest from old faves like Henrik Vibskov, Designers Remix, Stine Goya, Annhagen, Baum und Pferdgarten, and Wood Wood. Here’s more of the good stuff from Copenhagen Fashion Week.
Best Behavior
Best Behavior is yet another collection that’s set out to prove casual can always be cool, comfortable, and surprisingly sophisticated. Best Behavior’s collection was equipped with all the standards: baggy, drop-crotch pants in a light jersey, black-leather leggings (which have been present at essentially every CFW show), jersey jumpsuits, oversized shirt-dresses in a sheer white linen, and some chunky knits in various shades of gray and, of course, umber.
Peter Jensen
Peter Jensen belongs to that infamous group of Danish-born designers who headed to London in the ’90s to jumpstart their careers because Copenhagen was still relatively invisible on the fashion map. But now that Denmark is squarely in the sartorial trenches, Jensen and his comrades are embracing their roots and returning home to show their offerings. Jensen sent out 24 unforgettable looks that captured the designer’s love of irony and nerdy fashion. Models took to the runway in kooky footwear (courtesy of Camper) and showcased a wide array of fair isle sweaters, plaid suits, corduroy trousers, over-the-knee shorts, and wool pullovers emblazoned with bunnies and foxes.
Selected Femme/Homme
We all know that sometimes clothing aimed for a strictly commercial market can be, well, a little Dullsville. But Selected, a label under Denmark’s biggest fashion conglomerate, Bestseller, was a welcome addition to CFW because it affirmed that commercial doesn’t have to mean bland and lackluster. The label’s first-ever runway show (and first womenswear collection) served up tuxedo trousers with T-shirts, skinny jeans, and loose-fitting casual dresses for the ladies. The men’s collection was decidedly stronger, with cool denim looks and some perfectly tailored 3-piece suits that had a modern edge.
Jean Phillip
If Hedi Slimane and Rei Kawakubo of Commes des Garcons had a style child, Jean Phillip Dyremose would be it. The young Dane founded Jean Phillip just last year at the ripe fashion-ready age of 21—and at his first time at CFW, he showed his affinity for dirty-looking skinny boys in very, very tight pants, super-fitted, super-flash tux coats, crisp white shirts, skinny ties, and bondage-inspired vests. The appropriately titled Andro Collection played the unisex game quite well, although the four strictly women’s looks that were shown weren’t nearly as inspired. Let’s just say if this newbie sticks to menswear, he’s destined to make his mark sooner than later.
Won Hundred
This season, the young label showed that it’s ready to kick it up a notch—designer Pernille Schwartz showed a shapely collection of highly structured dresses and coats alongside some streamlined denim looks. The strictly black-and-gray collection (with a few bursts of It shades purple and umber) was edgy without being eccentric. But the kicker in this collection was the coats—from an awesome mini-leather zip-up to a men’s penguin-tux-inspired wool coat with an asymmetrical zipper—we wanted them all.
Brian Jensen and Karl-Oskar Olsen met after studying at The Royal Design School of Denmark. It was there that they discovered a common interest in streetwear culture. In 2002 they opened a store in Copenhagen which would represent their interests in sneakers, collectable toys and limited edition graphic t-shirts under their own in-house brand. The store quickly gained a cult following in Copenhagen, where it introduced new brands to the city. As the store grew however, brands such as Comme des Garcons and Maharishi changed Wood Wood’s outlook. The store engaged brands that combined both streetwear and high end fashion and the duo launched a line of outerwear for both men and women in 2006, under the 
The 11:o0 pm start time didn’t deter the hundreds of people who packed a tent at Copenhagen Fashion Week to see the Soulland SS2011 fashion show. Soulland’s been busy this season– theyve done a presentation in Paris in conjunction with (capsule), brought the collection to NY, are coming to Vegas next week and were able to squeeze in a huge fashion show. While we’ve previewed the collection several times here this season, here’s a look at some key runway looks, which merge Soulland’s distinct silhouettes and aesthetic with classic preppy influences.
