Copenhagen Fashion Week, Day One: Henrik Vibskov Considers Beauty and Survival

Gender fluidity, gender equality, transgender issues. Fashion is having a larger conversation about gender right now, and the first day of Copenhagen Fashion Week continued that discussion. At Asger Juel Larsen, a strong cast of boys wandered a tropical island in crop tops, baggy transparent plastic flares, and ’70s Hawaiian shirts with matching kerchiefs tied around the neck. Backstage, the designer spoke of staging a “relaxed rebellion” with his gender-bending silhouettes (and glossy black pedicures), and while full gold crocodile looks and neon foliage are hardly subdued, there was a sense that Juel Larsen is inching toward a softer, more languid space, and that suited him.

“It’s time we redefined a new kind of feminism,” Freya Dalsjö said after the Freya Dalsjø pastel-tinged boudoir show, where Josephine Skriver twirled in an iridescent gown as Reiko Ike moaned playfully on the soundtrack. Transparency ran throughout, in fine, nude knits and slinky slips that hung off the back by delicate chains. Lucite stripper heels and zips were brought in to temper the sweetness, and while the ’80s streetwalker notes came on a little strong in a sculpted, zipped-up black leather jacket and silk skirt, the idea was there. Dalsjö’s fur game continues to be strong: The sex factor was well balanced in a graphic, sheared intarsia mink bathrobe coat.

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Barbara í Gongini has always liked to swim in genderless waters, with shredded dystopian layers and draped hybrid garments that embrace the multifunctional and nonseasonal—the latter underscored by her sustainable methods and use of upcycling. “Abstract pieces,” she called them, and she openly credits the Japanese avant-garde and the school of deconstruction for setting her work in motion. For her 10-year anniversary, she stripped things back with an Arca-soundtracked show, sending out dark silhouettes that will slot directly into any existing Gongini wardrobe.

Henrik Vibskov has long shown men’s and women’s together, partly for practical reasons, partly because he tries to create a shared identity. This idea of unity also comes across in the subtle way Vibskov works with cultural references, in his diverse casting, and in his knack for commenting on current topics. Case in point: Spring’s exploration of human survival, which played out around a desert tent landscape inhabited by mummified, writhing figures. Today, there’s the physical fight for power and survival, and the fight to retain some sort of beauty and quiet intellect in a harsh world, Vibskov mused after the show, pointing to the contrast of his delicately embroidered shirts depicting strongman figures. It was an interesting thought to end the day on—what’s the point of mankind’s survival if there’s nothing of beauty left to live for?

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