At Division (and at Stamm and Alectra Rothschild/Masculina), community isn’t a buzzword—it’s everything. In Copenhagen these are among the shows outside of which crowds of “kids” throng hoping to get in. I think this ardor counts for a lot because it’s a demonstration that the message is being received by the audience it is meant for, at a time when people seem to be searching for a sense of belonging and connection. Simon Wick is not the lone designer distressing denim or working with a patchwork of upcycled materials, but as he puts it, “I’m a universe builder,” and it’s the context that makes his pieces distinct.
This was an especially anticipated show because Division had stepped away from the catwalk after a viral show for fall 2023. “You kind of just get lost in the sauce sometimes,” Wick said. “It’s been tough for everyone, but we are in a good place now. We really got to the root of the brand again.” To get the brand back on track, Wick decided to concentrate on DTC and this collection consists of one-offs that will be available to buy now, not in six months. The immediacy feels like a natural extension of the way the label works. The models are friends and they’re showing clothes that they’d actually wear.
When Wick and his sister Nanna founded the brand in 2018, they had a hit with customized workwear jackets that were spliced together, connected with front and back zippers. The zipper remains a signature touch, but over time the vibe here has become grungier. “Fairy grunge” was Wick’s soundbite of the season, but ethereality didn’t really enter the equation. When the designer said he was interested not in Scandinavian minimalism but “urban maximalism,” that rang true.
Newly married, Wick explained that he’s been traveling less. “I spend a lot of the time on the internet and just diving into holes there.” He’s also been watching a lot of anime and there’s an element of kawaii in neon-printed pants and a plush toy coat (a reference to the decor in his new office and not to Franco Moschino or Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, one imagines); while a belt with candy-colored toy charms conjured the Grateful Dead’s dancing bears.
Colors seemed pulled from video games and collaged denim and tweed overalls had a glitchy feeling. The intersection of white lace against military green was effective, as were the distressed and patchworked jeans and cargo pants. Wick reports that about 80% of the lineup is made of existing materials. “I know I’m not going to make a difference at all in terms of the impact of the CO2,” he said. “The impact is in the message we send out and how easily understandable it is for the consumer and the people watching. So with a lot of the pieces that we are creating you can see that they’re made from something else, so it makes this click and connection right away.”
The message was received on that front. A Paco Rabanne–style link dress made from the cardboard boxes of the show’s sponsor, in contrast, felt heavy-handed. It’s no secret that young brands need support for shows, but this felt like a promotion, whereas everything else about Division connected to what Simon says. And people are listening.
