Barbara Potts and Cathrine Saks know how to put on a show—and a party. This season all of their energies were devoted to the latter, in celebration of their brand’s first decade. Their blowout bash was held at the Swiss Embassy in Hellerup, a suburb of Copenhagen. The location was meaningful in that the friends had spent a lot of time there as young adults; they had earlier presented a Swiss-themed collection, not to mention the venue has an ocean view. The designers imagined this as their wedding party. “Both of us are not married, and we just felt like we needed to have some kind of a wedding in our life, and now it’s Cathrine and I,” Potts said, smiling, on a Zoom. And so there were speeches and a bridal cake. The food was by Frederik Bille Brahe; the entertainment included acrobats, face painting, and fireworks. The guest list, which Potts described as “quite authentic,” consisted of friends near and far and those connected to the brand; it was a who’s who of Copenhagen society that included the former prime minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt and rising art star Esben Weile Kjær. Many guests wore Saks Potts pieces, old and new; these ranged from luxe, if unseasonable, shearling to light polka-dot chiffon. Omnipresent at the shows was the brand’s orange polo shirt from last spring.
Potts and Saks were teenagers when they started their brand. Well-connected and affable, they had great success with their candy-colored, fur-trimmed Foxy coats. As fur became unfashionable and the designers’ lives changed, they pivoted to doing wardrobe-based collections. Today, they offer a core collection of classics that’s always available alongside seasonal offerings. Their recent work often has a utilitarian feel to it; think cargo-pocket pants (with a loop for hooping earbuds) but in suede or pressed-leather croc and shearlings that keep out the Danish winter chill.
The combined pre-spring and spring 2025 look book was photographed where the party was held to create a link between the anniversary celebration and the season. It was a nice, neat thought, though showing a Spanish-themed lineup in the Swiss Embassy felt a bit dissonant. The pair had been looking at pictures of Penélope Cruz’s ’90s style and of Rosalía, who has performed in the brand’s Foxy coat. Unfortunately, the designers’ take on Spanishness felt a little reductive, boiling down to ruffles and red lace mantillas.
Elsewhere, Saks Potts, as many other Danish brands, seems to be pushing festive dressing more intensively than before. Orange chiffon with hand beading done in India is, as Potts suggested, “a more sophisticated and grown-up interpretation of [past] shimmer looks,” which were made using all-over machine embroidery. Going in quite another direction, one that was tougher and rougher than one is used to seeing at Saks Potts, was a washed black leather jacket and pants with knee patches and pocket flats at an angle that had a moto feeling.
Outerwear remains the core of the brand, and a shearling hoodie, paired with medal-worthy silver foil pants in a generous tracksuit fit, should prove to be a hit. “These very sporty pants that are super easy and comfortable to wear but combined with this very eye-catching and strange fabric is a good way of showcasing how we always love to use contrast,” noted Saks. In other words, opposites attract. One wonders, if in 10 years of working together, the best friends and business partners have become mirrors of each other. Saks Potts is meant to reflect its founders, so it makes sense that they want to hold things close, but maybe including the outside perspective of a stylist would open the brand up to telling Saks and Potts’s stories in new ways. Certainly they are fascinating tales; 230K+ followers on Instagram are looking from the outside into Saks Potts’s wonderful world.
