Elegance and Exclusivity, the Modern Way
Caroline Engelgaar has truly found her footing with her third collection, celebrating her exploration of how to carry Mark Tan’s design legacy forward by giving the brand a new name that reflects the collective effort.This review is brought to you in collaboration with Bolou Fine Jewellery
READ THE ORIGINAL VERSION IN DANISH HERE.
Mark Kenly Domino Tan, Wednesday, August 7, 2024 at 3 PM, Kunsthal Charlottenborg
Like a fashion version of Jules Verne, creative director Caroline Engelgaar has crossed imaginary oceans and explored distant skies, ultimately landing on Earth as her source of inspiration for the trilogy of collections that mark her personal journey to transform Mark Kenly Domino Tan’s universe into her own creation.
After two seasons, today she demonstrated that she has truly found her footing, presenting a clear philosophy of creating meaningful and valuable fashion in her own unique way. She celebrated this milestone by rebranding the label to MKDT Studio, emphasising, in her words, that crafting a collection is a team effort. With ‘The Earth’, she highlighted the importance of drawing on the expertise of the best in their fields to achieve the finest results.
With Mark Tan himself steering the ship, there was no doubt about his vision and ambitions to elevate Danish fashion to often reach haute couture dimensions. Caroline Engelgaar has shown great respect for this in her exploration of his archives, which she has used extensively as a foundation in her gradual transformation of the brand. However, it is no secret that MKDT Studio must become more commercially viable, and so she now incorporates the exclusive Atelier styles into the collection, with materials that are already top-notch.
Thus, it was a deliberate choice to begin the show, ‘The Earth’, in the courtyard of The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts with twelve ivory-coloured Atelier sets crafted from wool and silk. These featured sculptural yet well-fitting trousers, sleek midi-dresses and skirts with covered buttons, heavy seams, and oversized floral appliqués by Denmark’s sole brodeuse, Thit Moses. Removable satin shawls with wave edges complemented almost Armani-esque timeless blazers and city shorts in appetising neutral summer tweed, also seen in long vests.
Following this, the main collection maintained the same high level of craftsmanship. Caroline Engelgaar’s revisits to Mark Tan’s archives were evident but adapted to her vision of how modern women dress daily.
She streamlined the silhouette further, inspired by the elegant, form-fitting look of the 1950s, but in a way that never felt restrictive. There were still oversized elements like immaculate trench coats and sporty short jackets, as well as tweed suits for both men and women. Additionally, there were mini-skirts paired with sheer tops featuring built-in bandeau effects at the bust and sleeveless peplum blouses over wide trousers, transitioning into earthy tones like clay, quartz, granite, and straw, combined with khaki, golden olive, and matcha green.
Fortunately, some of the exclusive styles were also in black, such as this writer’s favourite, the long kimono-like coat with evening embroidery.
Caroline Engelgaar also deserves praise for the show’s pace, which was set to soothing live music, allowing the models to take two rounds so we could fully appreciate all the details. Brava!
This review has been translated using ChatGPT.
See a selection of the show looks below and see the entire collection here.
