At today’s Cecilie Bahnsen show, a large-scale green apple created by Danish artist Casper Sejersen was smack in the middle of the catwalk. It hinted at finding beauty in simple, honest things; yet the shape of an apple, so perfectly round and smooth, is somehow extraordinary. Making the ordinary extraordinary and elevating the mundane into a transporting dimension has been an underlining theme in many collections this season—we cannot escape the harshness of today’s reality, so we try to forge our own soothing realm of comfort somewhere over the rainbow.
Bahnsen’s creations inhabit a world of romance and whimsy, where women are fairies who have been given access to the fountain of eternal youth. “But we have to grow up,” she conceded. Indeed. Her poufy creations with tutu skirts this season were darker and moodier, in somber tones of black and deep navy, made in glossy black leather or sturdy blue nylon, and more radically short that ever. Silver vinyl pierced into a myriad of floral cutouts introduced a jarring metallic note—as if growing up were a reluctant, turbulent process of friction. Virginal dresses in floaty white ruched organza with trailing tendrils peeked out from quotidian Mackintoshes—the ordinary protecting the extraordinary, like a shell hiding its vulnerable inner core.
“I wanted the collection to have a bit of an edge, taking a step away from innocence and sweetness,” Bahnsen said. The cast had a broad variety of characters and personalities—dancers, artists and singers who are part of Bahnsen’s artistic community came to support the designer. “The world is a tough place for an independent brand, yet I feel it’s my duty to fight for my creativity and to protect my craft,” she said. “My collection is intended as a celebration of different women: in a moment like this, we have to put our voices out and make ourselves heard.”
