It’s freezing cold in Copenhagen and a crowd of 150 journalists, buyers and fashion experts is crowding into the store and headquarters of Danish fashion brand Saks Potts. Models, dressed in minidresses and fringed boots, stroll through what was once the city’s royal pharmacy, while editors and photographers jostle for a good shot.
“We like to do things in an unconventional way,” says Barbara Potts, who, with Cathrine Saks, co-founded the womenswear label straight out of high school in 2014. “We never think in a straight line.” Best known for her signature fur-trimmed Foxy coat (€1,330), Saks Potts Saks has become one of Denmark’s leading fashion exporters, with 50 stockists worldwide and fans including Leandra Medine Cohen, Alexa Chung and Bella Hadid. Clothes like the eyelet-embellished leather trousers (€695) and reversible shearling jackets (€1,800) combine playful design with thoughtful details: the jeans come with detachable leather coin purses, and the jackets have D-rings you can clip your AirPods case onto. “We’re very inspired by the Copenhagen lifestyle and biking everywhere,” says Saks. “Our design philosophy is all about practicality.”
With its focus on wardrobe staples with unexpected twists, as well as its social media savvy, Saks Potts accounts for much of the appeal of Copenhagen’s fashion scene, which, for a city with a population of around 1.4 million, has had an enormous influence globally. If you’ve noticed a surge of oversized collars or extravagant, floaty dresses on the street, it’s largely down to the influence of brands like Ganni, Cecilie Bahnsen and Goya stoneswho have pioneered a playful, maximalist approach to clothing. According to Danish fashion and textile association DM&T, industry revenues have grown by more than 30 percent since 2014, from €5.8 billion to €7.6 billion last year, with exports of clothing and footwear up almost 50 percent (compared with a 5 percent rise in domestic sales).
“I remember walking around the fashion fairs where we presented our collections in the early days – everything was grey or off-white,” says Stine Goya. She launched her eponymous label, “a challenge to the Danish fashion scene”, in 2006 after graduating from London’s Central Saint Martins. Inspired by the art world and the colour palette of Copenhagen’s harbour, Goya’s exuberant, hand-drawn designs are now available in 400 retailers; sales have grown by 30 per cent in the past five years, with the UK and US being her main markets. Her success is due, in part, to her democratic pricing (knitwear starts at £155, while dresses, her best-selling category, start at £190).
“Our customers say they like it because it is aspirational and still requires thought, but it is accessible,” says Goya. “I think most of us [designers] “We are in that category here in Copenhagen.”
“The Danes have been successful in taking a unique point of view and combining it with a really strong and affordable community-building strategy,” he says. Browns“Former buying director and founder of the creative agency Ida Petersson, who has attended Copenhagen Fashion Week for the past eight years, says: “It’s that holy trinity that has allowed them to stand out in a very busy landscape.”
The focus on sustainability also unites these brands, thanks in part to Copenhagen Fashion WeekFashion week’s sustainability standards, which force participants to meet strict criteria in areas such as production and show materials, are a turning point for Petersson, who says the appointment of Cecilie Thorsmark as fashion week’s executive director in 2018 was a turning point. She has pushed for “social and environmental responsibility,” Petersson says. “Even Paris, which has always been a leader in that aspect, has started to look to Copenhagen and adopt some of these practices.”
Ganni has phased out virgin animal leather and Stine Goya prefers plant-based alternatives, while fashion newcomer Nicklas SkovgaardSkovgaard, who creates romantic Renaissance-inspired dresses and puffy skirts, prioritizes waste minimization by using secondhand fabrics from shops and flea markets and knitting her own fabrics in the exact amount needed. “It’s a time-consuming process,” says Skovgaard, who worked as a stylist before creating her label in 2020. “It takes two to three days to make a jacket. But I think it has to be done the right way.”
Other brands are renewing the classic and minimalist Scandinavian aesthetic. Mixed brands such as Other aspect, Mfpen and Mark Kenly Domino Tan They are ushering in a new kind of Danish minimalism, which focuses on well-crafted, easy-to-wear basics and simplicity of form. “When you grow up in Denmark with architects and furniture designers like Arne Jacobsen and Poul Henningsen, there’s always this idea of good taste,” says Sigurd Bank, who founded Mfpen in 2016 after working as a fashion buyer. “I don’t want clothes that make too much noise. I think that’s very Danish: having simple but good things.”
Mfpen, whose revenue grew 30 percent in 2023 from the previous year, has a loyal following for its casual tailoring and shirting made from high-quality fabrics (trousers start at €240, blazers at €450). While still Scandinavian classicism, there is a countercultural casualness to the designs, such as raw edges on trousers and blazers with unstructured shoulders. “Most men don’t want to look like a jerk when they’re wearing a suit,” Bank says. “We offer a suit that’s 100 percent tropical wool and has a slightly looser fit, so I think we’ve hit the sweet spot where you get a really high-quality suit and it’s comfortable to wear.”
The balance between contemporary and classic has also been behind the success of jewelry and accessories brands such as Lié Studiowhose sleek sterling silver and gold-plated designs, such as the bestselling Elly necklace (from £295), take cues from the style of its founders, models and twin sisters Cecilie and Amalie Moosgaard. Launched in 2021, the brand has already become a multi-million pound business, with revenues of £2.5m last year, which is expected to double this year.
“In Scandinavia we are very practical, but that doesn’t mean you have to look boring,” says Amalie. “We might wear low heels instead of high heels because we don’t want the heel to get stuck in a grate.”
So there is Sophie Bille Brahewhose understated approach to classic pearl and diamond jewellery has helped it become one of the world’s most exciting fine jewellers (revenue grew 259 per cent between 2019 and 2022, with the US driving 35 per cent of sales). Its clean, sculptural creations – such as the Embrassée de Diamant earring (£11,500) and the best-selling Collier de Tennis necklace, a delicate chain of diamonds that graduates in size (£44,000) – take inspiration from the city’s starry night skies.
“In Denmark, everyone is close to the sea and the sky, in a way. It’s a very clean place,” says Bille Brahe, who trained as a goldsmith before founding his eponymous brand in 2011. “I think that’s what defines my aesthetic. Whenever I want to use a diamond, I think: how clean can I show this diamond? How can I show the beauty of a pearl itself? And growing up with Georg Jensen and all this very clean Danish design, I feel like it’s in our blood. It’s in the air we breathe.”