Touchingly, the Cecilie Bahnsen shoppers who order pieces through the Copenhagen-based brand’s newly-launched made-to-order service, will receive process pictures of their dreamy, cloud-adjacent designs. “It’s a way for our customers to see how many hands it takes to see a single piece,” Bahnsen says of her intricate creations, which have got well more than the Scandi set hot under the collar since she launched her label in 2015, and began showing on the Paris runways in March 2022.
Bahnsen’s made-to-order service comprises three categories, bridal, runway, and archive, allowing shoppers not only to purchase according to the brand’s seasonal collection, but to look back to the most beloved pieces in its oeuvre. Bahnsen name-checks the Lia dress, a signature smocked silhouette with alluring bustier details as a favorite made-to-order reissue, plus the spaghetti-strap Beth dress, recognizable for its voluminous proportions. “Our customers come back and again to certain pieces,” she adds of the designs which will take between eight to 12 weeks to create. “They instigate a memory, a connection.”
Brides like Rowse Beauty founder Nuria Val, who wore a white Cecilie Bahnsen confection to marry photographer Coke Bartrina in Barcelona 2023 (alongside her toddler daughter!) will particularly rejoice at the service, which Bahnsen explains has been operating “under the radar” for some time. While Bahnsen opened her fall 2024 show with a suite of black and midnight-blue looks, the white and pearlescent pieces in her collections have long attracted those due to walk down the aisle. “Some of our prospective brides arrive to fittings with Pinterest boards full of ideas,” she says. “They might fly out to a fitting in Copenhagen with their whole family or their best friend.” The service will also allow brides to purchase additional accessories, including veils and hair bows.
Made-to-order fashion is also a smart way to reduce garment waste and overproduction. Bahnsen smiles at how the service will allow her, in part, to operate away from the traditional seasonal sales calendar. “This is a way for us to really enjoy how we create.”