If you're not in Copenhagen for fashion week, here's your (virtual) ticket.
Last time, we talked to Ane Lynge-Jorlén from Alpha about studying fashion in the Nordics and how to make it as an artistic designer. Over the next three episodes, we’ve got interviews with some of the most exciting new names to watch from the region.
First up, Alectra Rothschild, whose show for her Masculina label was one of the most anticipated, thanks to last season's electric on-schedule debut.
Vogue noted it was "probably history-making' - because Alectra was the first openly trans woman to show at Copenhagen, and because of the her iconic community casting. And you'll hear her say here what a positive force that representation has been - she gets so many messages from fans around the world saying they feel seen. And want to place orders.
A big theme in this interview is sustainable business models, and what works when you're a small designer. How do you scale? Do you want to? Do you even try? Maybe you plan to go and work for an established house instead? Or, is there a way to stay independent, cater to your community and keep things bespoke?
For Alectra (who trained as a tailor did her MA at Central St Martins in London and before that worked for at Mugler) it's about seeing herself as a "designer, but also maker, artist and costume designer" and focusing - for now at least - on commissioned pieces.
Ask her to sum up her clothes and she says, “flamboyant, high femme, and quite shameless”. She’s done with being put in a box and categorised - we contain multitudes. Above all, she wants to enjoy herself now. She makes clothes perfect for nightclubbing. Her runways are a party, calling to mind the 1980s when the most exciting fashion scene was DIY, driven by club culture and community.
“Multiplicity is a very interesting term - I try to convey on my work that you can exist in all your contractions. I honour chaos.”
THE REBIRTH CARRY AW24 “Making their debut at Copenhagen Fashion Week, Alectra Rothschild and her eponymous brand – Alectra Rothschild / Masculina – staged what was only the second show of the week but its energy is proving hard to beat. Bringing her friends and personal heroes together to model her collection, entitled ‘The Rebirth Carry’, Rothschild turned the catwalk into a club with the help of DJ G2G, who created the exclusive soundtrack to the show, featuring voiceovers from trans icons that played from the decks in the centre of the room. As soon as the first beat dropped, the runway came alive, as each model took a turn around the room and remained on the floor thereafter. A trained tailor, the CSM graduate’s own identity and influences shone here, from the captivating corsets that feature her ’zero-waste technique’ to fit a multitude of bodies to the undeniable impact of her former mentor Casey Cadwallader at Mugler. ‘I think what I just showcased here today is my culture, what I come from and the people I have around me are other people than what’s usually portrayed as Scandinavia. I think it’s time we showed other narratives,’ she said backstage.” Via Wallpaper
Read the Dazed article here.
““I just think overthrow everything; make your own rules.””
Fashion journalist LAIRD BORELLI notes Alectra’s swashbuckling tastes, thanks to the PIRATES obsession. Alectra’s obviously not the only designer to love a pirate moment. See, for example, John Galliano’s iconic Pirate Jacket from 2001, the pirate vibes of his graduate collection in 1983: Les Incroyables (and his own style, most of the time). See also Vivienne Westwood’s 1981 Pirate Collection, and repeated piratical refs over the years.
““My existence is already so politicised - I want my work to be fun.” ”
MATERIALS Beloved of golden age Hollywood stars, LAMÉ is a type of fabric woven or knit with metal threads wrapped around natural (or synthetic fibres) like silk, often used in evening and dress wear and in theatrical and dance costumes.
Sorry but PVC is a terrible material. Greenpeace calls it “the poison plastic” because it contains so much crap that can pollute the environment - and the wearer. Plasticisers used in its production can disrupt the messaging system of the body, harm reproductive health, and contribute to asthma and developmental problems. Toxic metals such as lead, cadmium, and organotins are used as stabilisers. Toxic flame retardants are added to suppress fires.
BRITNEY’S DENIM ERA denim corsets, denim on denim, love it or hate it, it was a thing. More on Vogue. Alexctra references her shredded upcycled FISHNET DENIM - created by top stitching, cut outs and washing , was Britney-worthy.
REPRESENTATION For AW24, models on the Masculina runway included a who’s who of trans fashion icons
Alectra says she received so many messages from trans people around the world.
FURTHER LISTENING Want more on this topic? Try Episode 209 with Lou Croff Blake, and 114 with Alok Vaid Menon.
WRAP DRESSES. Clare says “beyond DVF” - why? Diane Von Furstenberg is credited with ‘inventing’ the wrap dress as we know it. When von Furstenberg first debuted the wrap dress in a full-page advertisement featuring herself wearing the garment for Women's Wear Daily in 1974, she included the tag line: “Feel like a woman, wear a dress!”
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Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress.