(di)vision gave us the party we missed

(di)vision, Tuesday 31. January 2023 at 19.00

Walking into the usually pristine environs of Josti, the historic restaurant space nestled in the beautiful Frederiksberg Gardens, you could be forgiven for thinking that you were 24 hours late for the (di)vision show. Seemingly the guys had had one hell of a staff party there the night before: the sofas were wrecked, the glasses broken and the tablecloths ruined with red wine. Mercifully for the host venue though, this was all stage-setting for the show Dressed for Disaster, with the cinematically-inclined eye of (di)vision’s Simon and Nanna Wick wanting to recreate an almost post-apocalyptic atmosphere that brought together influences as diverse as the 1999 Woodstock festival debacle, the Met Ball, and post-Ice-Age clubbing in Ibiza. Enough to give anyone a hangover.

However, as the music started (Linkin Park covers played by a jazz band no less), it was clear the show was no walk of shame. Maybe running their store in Copenhagen city center has put them in touch with their customers a bit more but (di)vision are making big steps forward in more wearable, better quality, and more considered design.  The AW23 collection has a wider offering than before and now includes leatherwear, knits, and some very desirable accessories alongside signature blousons and sweatshirts. Upcycled denim was patched together to make skirts, jeans, and shorts with a similar strategy applied to plaid flannel in loose pyjama pants and a particularly covetable shirt.

Of course, there was the usual smattering of zipped-together half-and-half bombers but alongside these were beautifully crafted leather jackets that had more than a hint of motocross.  A sense of trompe l’oeil ran through many pieces and all was not always what it first seemed: grey sweatpants were in fact printed denim and a tracksuit’s sporty stripes were photocopied not woven.  As for the red wine-stained tablecloths from yesterday’s merriment, they had also been transformed into shirts, shorts, and jackets that had an almost tie-dyed effect.

As a finale flourish, perhaps to show that the party wasn’t quite over yet, one of the ‘guests’ at a table – actually Simon Wick’s longtime girlfriend, model Sarah Dahl – clinked her glass, stood up and started to walk, revealing that the tablecloth was the train to her skirt and causing plates and glasses to come crashing down in her wake. Luckily (and very wittily) (di)vision had the show partly sponsored by an insurance company so they could sleep easily knowing that they’d shown a great collection and also that someone was covering their restaurant bill…

See the entire collection here