Danish designer Nicklas Skovgaard founded his eponymous luxury womenswear brand in 2020. Exploring the relationship textiles can hold in expressing a narrative through unexpected material and classical form, each design weaves together a spectrum of inspirations. The considered, handcrafted nature of his collections comes through in hand-woven textiles paired with technical fabrics and exaggerated silhouettes. In June 2022, GANNI collaborated with Nicklas on a one of a kind collaboration using Savian by BioFluff as part of GANNI’s Global Fashion Summit activation.

GANNI FUTURE, TALENT, FABRICS Exhibition: Nicklas has created a full look featuring ‘The Lecia Coat’ with accompanying leggings and hat using Fabrics of The Future Savian by BioFluff, Oleatex bio-based alternative and CIRCULOSE®.

WHAT’S YOUR BEST PIECE OF ADVICE FOR ANYONE LOOKING TO GET STARTED AS A DESIGNER?

Be patient and never give up, and then in the meantime, spend some time becoming bff with your intuition. 

WHAT ELEMENTS DEFINE YOUR DESIGN AESTHETIC?

Volume. Draping. Ruching. Contradictory fabrications. A type of awkward sophistication. 

WHAT IS YOUR HOPE FOR THE FUTURE OF FASHION? 

Even though this is an industry always in flux, I hope that we can keep up the big focus and support for all new talents, within design, sustainability and fabric innovations. I hope we become even better at sharing our experiences in order to create a more responsible way of designing, working and producing within the fashion industry, both new talent as well as bigger companies. We share the responsibility all together!

Copenhagen knitwear brand, A. ROEGE HOVE, is built on a modern and artistic approach to design and craftsmanship. Founded by Amalie Røge Hove, the brand’s conceptual designs push the boundaries of material behaviour, challenging long-held traditions and perceptions.

The brand first began with a line of knitted bags in 2019 which immediately became a hit with Copenhagen’s fashion elite. Amalie has since expanded into clothing ranging from fluid to sculptural pieces, each celebrating the female form.

GANNI FUTURE, TALENT, FABRICS Exhibition: Amalie has created her piece titled ‘‘ARH look 01’’ using Fabrics of The Future InResST™ Recycled Nylon, CIRCULOUSE® and post-consumer recycled wool yarn from Omega yarn mill, a mill GANNI uses to create all their beanies, combined with her own leftover yarns.

WHAT IS YOUR HOPE FOR THE FUTURE OF FASHION? 

I hope that the future allows small independent designers to have a voice in the changes and the challenges that the industry is facing - I think there is so much value in this generation of designers wanting to do and work in a different way, but in the end we have to change together.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES YOU FACE BEING A YOUNG DESIGNER?

I think over the past years there have been so many world changing and really hardcore things happening - and trying to manage logistics, finance and people in all this, at the same time as trying to create a space around yourself to practise your craft have been really challenging.

HOW DO YOU CONSIDER RESPONSIBLE CRAFTSMANSHIP WITHIN YOUR DESIGNS?

I believe very much in taking advantage of the possibilities within the craft of knitting - this also means taking waste, material, durability and life cycle into consideration upon creating. I have always been drawn to knitting because I think it allows, and almost demands you to be considerate and think ahead - if used and exploited at the level it can be. And I think we need to really question every step in the process of creating and producing. For me looking into innovations within material and machinery is also key to take a craft into the future.

Jens Ole Árnason is a Copenhagen-based designer and textile artist with a BA and MA in Fashion Design from Design School Kolding. By building on his knowledge from his fashion background, Jens Ole challenges traditional textile craftsmanship, presenting new ways of textile creation and manipulation through not only fashion, but also sculpture, wall art and installations.

By pushing for new ways of using textile, and with a main focus on textile art, Jens Ole wishes to challenge not only the material itself, but also how people look at textile as an artistic material.

Jens Ole worked for Stem on their Fabrics Of The Future collaboration with GANNI for the GFA pop-up in 2022. Since then he has worked under his own name creating - among other things - sculptures from deadstock materials, similar to what he has created for our exhibition.

GANNI FUTURE, TALENT, FABRICS Exhibition: Jens Ole has created a sculptural art piece called ‘GreenFutureXSculpture’ using GANNI leftover fabrics that have been embroidered and glazed with oil.

WHAT IS YOUR HOPE FOR THE FUTURE OF FASHION? 

We need to start seeing fashion, craftsmanship and art as things that are connected – they inspire and influence each other. Merging design and art are very much what my work is about, and I see more acceptance and curiosity for this. I hope the future brings even more of that!

WHAT’S YOUR BEST PIECE OF ADVICE FOR ANYONE LOOKING TO GET STARTED IN FASHION?

Find out who you want to be in the fashion and design industry, not who you think the industry wants you to be. And remember to have fun!

WHAT’S YOUR DESIGN PROCESS?

I’m very motivated by challenging textiles and traditional textile craftsmanship. My design process is very experimental and hands-on, I always do a lot of tests with draping, textile manipulation and hand sketching when starting a new project. The biggest inspiration in my creative process is the textile itself, but I also look at classic art. I spent 2 months studying classical drapings in statues and fresco paintings in both Rome and Athens, taking inspiration from Western art history to develop contemporary pieces. 

WHAT ARE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT + INSPIRED BY FOR 2024?

I’m very excited how design, art and craftsmanship are starting to blend more and more. I think this allows for so much creativity, which can be seen in how more and more young designers and artists are experimenting with old crafts and materials in contemporary ways. 

Sisse Bjerre is redefining and challenging traditional hand-craftsmanship and industrial creative processes. The Swedish School of Textiles graduate explores alternative processes of making garments, using paper as a primary medium and experimenting with natural materials including moss and branches to convey a visual narrative between fantasy and reality. Sisse advocates for positive change in the industry, through a more thoughtful and environmentally conscious approach to fashion design, creating pieces that evoke conversation around environmental concerns and our connection to nature.

GANNI FUTURE, TALENT, FABRICS Exhibition: Sisse has created a piece titled ‘Paper Land’ using CIRCULOSE® combined with paper-mâché and paper collage techniques.

TELL US MORE ABOUT WHAT YOU’VE CREATED FOR THE EXHIBITION?  

The piece is based on combining textiles from GANNI’s Fabric of the Future initiative with the paper-mâché and paper collage techniques that I use in my practice. It’s inspired by organic shapes of nature, specifically landscapes, merged with traditional craft and garment details. It advocates for thinking outside the box, moulding and sculpting garments as an alternative to methods of cut-and-sew.  

HOW DO YOU CONSIDER RESPONSIBLE CRAFTSMANSHIP WITHIN YOUR DESIGNS? 

Since I don’t work as a commercial designer, and have no production or retail in my practice, it’s important for me to find other aspects of working sustainably with my pieces. This means working with concepts of slow fashion, along with critical design. With nature as an essential collaborator in my work, I focus on developing pieces and exploring materials that evoke discussions on environmental concerns and our connection to nature. Hopefully the pieces can advocate for positive change in the industry, through a more thoughtful and environmentally conscious approach to fashion design

WHAT’S YOUR BEST PIECE OF ADVICE FOR ANYONE LOOKING TO GET STARTED IN FASHION?  

During my time as a fashion student, I learned the importance of not comparing your work with everybody else. Everyone works and thinks differently. It’s key to explore your own potential ways of making, in order to grow as a designer.