In the fashion industry, where styles are cyclic and the same trends are repeatedly presented on Tiktok and Instagram feeds, creating a unique and identifiable look is no easy task. However, this is what the Danish designer Cecilie Bahnsen He managed, with puffed sleeves, dialing details, frills of Organza and Jacquard textured between the visual signatures of the eponymous brand that founded in 2015.
For Bahnsen, developing this aesthetics has been an organic process – which is based on her Scandinavian heritage (she was born and created in Denmark, on the outskirts of Copenhagen). Although later he worked with designers such as Erdemde Moralioğlu in London and John Galliano in Paris, growing away from traditional fashion capitals allowed Bahnsen to “actually find her voice and creativity,” said the 41 -year -old designer during a Copenhague studio video.
Danish design traditionally emphasizes functionality and comfort rather than fair to the body or overloaded. These characteristics can be seen in the work of Bahnsen, which is fantasy but wearable, marking a distance from the old femininity ideas where clothes needed to be tight and short (and consequently uncomfortable).
“The starting point was to create something you could move around, but also something easy, that you could just wear-on a Monday,” Bahnsen explained. This approach, and the liberal use of white, also made the brand a favorite between brides looking for something fashionable but unconventional to use at weddings.
In fact, Bahnsen has long expressed the desire for his designs to be used on a daily basis rather than being kept only for special occasions. For some, it may seem like a big request, considering that the clothes come at a high price – a long dress with bulky sleeves and open back costs £ 3,378 (about $ 24,600).
Ali Fitzgerald, shopping manager of the luxury site Net-a-Porter, said the brand continues to attract customers “who identify with an avant-garded but female style that value handicrafts and unique designs.”
The retailer has been working with the Cecilie Bahnsen brand since 2018, “when Copenhagen -based brands were gaining popularity in the luxury market,” Fitzgerald recalled. Today, amid the renewed interest in maximalist fashion, Cecilie Bahnsen remains “a highlight in this movement and an absolute favorite between the fashion group,” he noted.
Famous fans include model and actress Emily Ratajkowski of “Too Much” and Blackpink singer Jennie.
What brides want
Between one of Bahnsen’s most recognizable pieces is his version of Babydoll dress – when you see a piece like that in the macaws of a high standard store like Dover Street Market in Tokyo or Nordstrom in New York, it is often one of Bahnsen’s creations.
However, the play has profoundly political roots: Babydoll is synonymous with female liberation, as it marked a change in relation to restrictive scores and lengths in the early 20th century – a time that marked greater personal freedom for women, particularly in terms of physical movement and social expression.
This story, it seems, aligns with Bahnsen’s beliefs. She described her clothes as “hyperpheminins”, but noted that they also make those who wear them feel “strong” at the same time.
The first collection dedicated to Bahnsen brides – a healed selection of new and old styles, which included several Babydoll dresses – was released in early 2024. She identified an opportunity at weddings after seeing women “looking for us with catalogs saved from old photos of our white dresses,” she recalled. “I always have a lot of white in my collections, so it was very natural.”
Today, the brand has become a popular choice for, alongside established brands such as Vivienne Westwood and Vera Wang, and new competitors such as Simone Rocha and Molly Goddard.
The biggest change in bridal clothing, Bahnsen noted, is the growing demand of its customers for “separate pieces” that can also be used outside the big day. “It started about five years ago, when people started buying looks they could also wear after marriage and have a second purpose.” , Bahnsen’s bride collections include fluid skirts and bralettes.
An independent voice
To mark a decade in the business, Bahnsen plans to open his first boutique in Copenhagen and make a parade as part of the city’s fashion week in August
In recent years, she has become a constant presence in Paris Fashion Week and still plans to parade there in the fall.
The new boutique, located at Store Strandstræde 19, in the city center, is “the first space to have our full universe and display the entire collection of clothes,” said Bahnsen. The store, she noted, will have “a gallery environment”, indicating her expectation that it will not only be a place for transactions that presents new products for sale, but will also present to fans – and potential customers – their other interests, such as the discovery of art and handicrafts of local artisans, who will be on display.
For Mie Marie Ejdrup, CEO of Cecilie Bahnsen, the new store is part of a “broader growth strategy,” he explained in a statement. While Copenhagen was selected as “a tribute to our local market and inheritance, the long -term vision is to expand within our main international markets,” she said.
Meanwhile, Bahnsen’s parade in Copenhagen will work as a unique celebration that looks at the last ten years of the brand.
“We decided to create a totally white collection that becomes silver. It will present many of the silhouettes or fabrics shown earlier, some combined in new ways,” she provoked, describing the result as “a collage of everything we have already created.” Guests who attend the parade are also invited to use their favorite pieces from Cecilie Bahnsen, he added.
The fact that the brand remains with independent property is significant. The current economic climate, the growth of fast fashion and the retail scenario has created a difficult environment for the survival and growth of many fashion brands.
However, Bahnsen’s cunning approach to collaborations has helped to boost its financial line. Although industry collaborations have long been used to expand audiences and create buzz, their talent for choosing the right partners has consistently led to commercial and creative success. The designer revealed to CNN That will partner with Alpha Industries, an American expert on Bomber jackets and military -style clothes.
“When we add a collaboration to our universe, it’s usually because I saw a friend or someone in the studio using something interesting,” Bahnsen explained. The idea of working with Alpha Industries came up after she saw “many girls, especially in Japan, stylizing Bomber jackets on dresses.” Bahnsen felt that he could give a softer touch to a brand that usually gives a harder impression. For example, the characteristic MA-1 silhouette is cropped and reworked with laser-cut layers that seem to flourish out, while N-23 styles, which usually have military colors like dark green, will come with light pink details.
Scheduled for release in January 2026, this follows the popularity of Bahnsen’s collaborations with the Japanese Asics sports company and the American clothing company Outdoor The North Face. When his collaboration with Asics was first launched in 2023, “everything was sold out in less than two minutes,” she said. “It’s new to have female voices in the Sportswear field, so enter Asics and The North Face and add a female lens, I think that’s what made it so strong.”
This thought is possibly emblematic of Bahnsen’s success to this day.
“As a creative and independent founder, you have to grow with business and learn to be part of a fashion industry larger than yourself. So you need to surround yourself with people who can complement your skills and make you grow,” Bahnsen reflected. “But what I also learned is that you need to follow your instincts and maintain your beliefs, because that’s what will make you stand out.”
