Founded in 2020 after the designer graduated from Beckman’s College of Design in Stockholm, Sweden, Jade Cropper places an emphasis on inclusivity and recycled materials. “I want to enhance and explore what fashion can make you feel in terms of identity,” she explains. “This is in combination with a very solution-orientated approach. I am often given all the material for free; fabric that’s supposed to be thrown away. Its actual shapes and forms are what guide me in my design process.”

Cropper is often inspired by her grandmother, who she says lived as a free soul and independent thinker. Her pieces represent a modern take on the bodycon trend, with sheer fabrics that embrace the wearer’s curves, or feminine slinky dresses. “Everything is done by hand in my Stockholm studio, using only what already exists and a lot of recycled material,” she adds. “I am happy to be a part of a new generation whose approach to representation and diversity, in all its forms, is non-negotiable.”

Tobias Birk Nielsen founded his menswear brand Iso.Poetism in 2017, one week after he graduated from The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts & Design. The label touches on tech-leaning streetwear with utilitarian vests with pouches, streamlined sweaters with zippered details, and structured cargo pants.

Nielsen is most inspired by “lived emotions, which we, as the people behind the brand, encounter as a natural part of being a modern human being — with all its vast ups and downs,” he explains. Iso.Poetism previously had shows in Berghain in Berlin and the Contemporary Art Centre in Vilnius, as well as Milan and Paris, but for Fall 2022, he wanted to host a show that felt like coming home. (The brand was also given the 2022 Zalando Sustainability Award.) “Copenhagen is our home and backyard,” says Birk Nielsen.

Precision tailoring, oversized staples, and bold colors are at the core of Fassbender. The Hamburg-based label was founded in 2017 by industry veteran Christina Fassbender and her brother Sebastian Steinhoff, and is now led by Matthias Louwen, who acts as the New York-based creative director.

Also core to the brand? Sustainability and looking at materials from a new perspective. “Many high-quality fabrics, especially products of animal origin, are still produced under questionable circumstances; few are cruelty-free or animal-friendly,” explains Louwen. “We explore every season with the newest sustainable material innovation, all sourced from certified workshops with the highest ethical standards for everyone involved in the creation process. We believe that sustainability and changing the industry is something that we cannot do alone.”

With Copenhagen making strides towards a more sustainable fashion industry, it’s no wonder Fassbander chose the city for fashion week.

With a focus on perfecting the casual shirt, Schnayderman’s was founded in 2012 by Joel Urwitz and Victor Press, along with ​​Hampus Bernhoff leading as creative director since 2016. Since then, the brand has expanded to full collections of menswear, featuring oversized checked jackets, eclectically printed shirts, classic sweaters, and the label’s signature button-downs.

According to Bernhoff, the brand has taken inspiration from everything, including the concepts of freedom, art, adolescence, photography, music, and philosophy. “We celebrate the weird and the wonderful, founded on the principles of truth, inclusion and kindness,” says Bernhoff. “We aim to make clothes that have the quality to be timeless, improved by age but with a contemporary edge to still feel modern.”

Even though Munthe was founded in 1994 by Naja Munthe, it still flies under the radar compared to Copenhagen’s mega brands like Ganni. Each season, Munthe shows a mix of minimalist, oversized staples, as well as more maximalist pieces, such as floral dresses with polka-dot sleeves, coats with fun fringe, or billowy printed babydoll dresses.

Munthe looks to art as her first inspiration for her namesake brand’s new collections. “Whether it is painting, architecture, craft, sculptures, I use the colors and forms as inspiration,” she says. “Before I started to study to be a fashion designer, I went to an art school and that has forever shaped my approach to designing.”

Playful, bodycon curves meet pops of color and fun details in Kerne.milk’s collections. Established in 2019 by Marie Mark, the designer attempts to blur the lines between fashion and takes influence from her experience as a dancer.

“The natural lines and shapes, together with movement, are reflected in our ‘Split’ blouse, which has lines down the ribbed material forming the body while also being formed by the body,” says Mark. “We believe that this meeting between creating lines and shapes and the natural shapes the different bodies add to a style is our biggest inspiration.”

Currently, Kerne.milk is still very much an emerging brand, with just three people working on the team. They recently moved to a studio, but before that, Mark was sewing each piece by hand in her living room. The long, lean lines and cool, casual shapes have already attracted celebrity fans, too: Kendall Jenner wore one of the brand’s black dresses last year.