Alexa, play The Little Mermaid’s “Under The Sea”. Showing at Copenhagen Fashion Week, Holzweiler turned to the large bodies of water for inspiration for its FW23 collection. Speaking of the show, the Norwegian brand stated “It’s a tribute to nature and the lifeforms that thrive beneath the surface, even in the most harsh environments”.
The runway quite literally set the scene of the collection to come – large coral structures were placed on piles of sand and a special sea-salt scent was commissioned to infuse the room. In line with the rapidly rising “Mermaidcore” trend on TikTok, the “DEEP SEA” collection saw clothing that took direct inspiration from the live vegetation and lifeforms found underwater. Pouches with trailing jellyfish tentacles’ inspired silk and a fitted dress which reassembled the sea slug, as well as a crew neck sweater with the wording “Oceanic Exploration” were presented, in case the theme hadn’t yet been made clear.
Elsewhere, ripped knits mimicked fishing nets and popcorn handbags imitated blowfish. The model’s hair and makeup followed suit, with slick-back hair and dewey skin were shown, made to look as if they had just walked out of the sea. We also saw a white crew neck sweater decorated with abstract black and blueprints which could allude to an array of underwater organisms such as sea cucumbers or aquatic moss.
The collection also saw an expansion of Holweiler’s signature looks and pieces. The brand’s pale yellow was found on an array of puffers, dresses and tops and bottoms. We also saw a lot of what Holzweiler is best known for: knitwear, scarves and puffers, two of latter being merged into one in the giant puffer scarves trailed by the models.
Holzweiler has always had a sense of androgyny in its clothing, but this collection felt very delicate and feminine compared to past ones, without losing its essence. The Norwegian brand is following its natural progression under the helm of Maria Skappel – honouring its brand essence without forgetting to push it forward both conceptually and design-wise.
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