Sinéad O’Dwyer for president
This review is brought to you in collaboration with Bolou Fine Jewellery
Sinéad O´Dwyer, Wednesday, August 7, 2024 at 5 PM, Operaparken
You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Apparently, it takes just 7 seconds. As this season’s Zalando Visionary Award winner, Sinéad O’Dwyer’s Copenhagen Fashion Week debut was eagerly anticipated. Although fairly young in comparison to the more established counterparts on the show schedule, the eponymous label, after a mere 6 years in business, has already garnered a cultish following for its unapologetic approach to reframe the common misconceptions around garments and the bodies they’re intended for. Today they presented not only a collection but a commentary on the troubling standards within the industry and an uplifting manifesto for the future.
Nestled by the city’s edge, surrounded by water and earth, a curious flurry of showgoers stepped into the gardens of the newly designed Opera Park. Albeit vast, the setting was intimate and cleverly constructed, with guests facing forward towards an island of plants. The show began when a loud fractured voice beamed through the speakers reciting poetry, jolting through every fibre of our body.
While many Scandinavian fashion labels are rooted in form and function for protection and comfort, today Sinéad O’Dwyer presented an alternative fashion theory where clothes are a second skin and a form of self-expression, for all generations. Impressive buckle details permeate the collection, supported by knots, pleats, frays and ruching, designed by innovative pattern-making technologies that accommodate femme-identitfying bodies that have historically been precluded. The collection was vast and expressive, from ready-to-wear denim sets and mini dresses, to an array of almost invisible bodysuits exposing the human form in often unseen ways. Patterns and designs were eclectic, and due to the fast-paced walking, they were occasionally indistinguishable.
The primary purpose of a fashion show is for designers to showcase their new collections, but on this occasion, the show was dedicated to the people. It transcended norms and ventured into a rarely explored emotional realm, making fashion accessible to everyone. I, for one, felt seen and heard, and behind my sunglasses, I shed tears of pride for the promising future it envisioned.
See a selection of the show looks below and see the entire collection here.
