Marrying modern romance and threads of Neo-classical artistry, designer Charlotte Eskildsen elevated daywear essentials through a fine take on draping, lightness and volume play.
There’s been a lot of talk of late about stealth wealth—about how it’s the minimalist trend that refuses to die. Crisp lines, distressed cuts, gently volumised toppers long and cropped—women duly add them to their daywear wardrobe, and keep on wearing their customary essentials in the meantime. Why?
Charlotte Eskildsen, creative director at The Garment who presented her Spring outing at Thorvaldsens Museum, has responded to her clientele’s demand for silhouette variation, not with befuddlement but with smart, feel-good optimism.
“As the first contemporary arts museum in Denmark, my will to showcase in this setting sparked because I was fascinated by the founder, Bertel Thorvaldsen, who went to Rome for his Art studies at a young age and then returned to Copenhagen to found this iconic institution; since delving into this history I became really connected with the space,” Eskildsen offered backstage post-show.
“This season, I wanted the vibe of an Italian courtyard and bring air, make the materials flow and play with super heavy and light opposites—and I also added a bit of colour, which was difficult because I’m more of a minimalist, but I really like them if you combine it with sheers and playing with hues of various kinds,” she adds.
With that in mind, The Garment’s classically-inflected collection traversed a wide range of timeless silhouettes, from über-wide-leg flares to buoyant toppers updated courtesy of draping and subtle hems.
“The brand’s growing bigger, but I want to keep finding the perfect person who wears it and cater for an international crowd of women who just want to dress up, down, go to work, wear flat shoes, a heel; I guess comfort is a paramount element in The Garment, and as there’s more and more seasons we’re also more confident in what we present,” she opined.
This confidence and sense of maturity was elaborated through meticulously detailed lace and lingerie fabrics sourced from flea markets in and around France (where Eskildsen has a second home in a mediaeval city close to the sea) adding a vein of timelessness and romance to each offering. “I found incredible embroideries in France, where I was extremely lucky to develop them with local craftspeople,” she opined.
Form and function might speak to the same thing, but Eskildsen’s emphasis this season was reflected on staple pieces—not just on literal garments, but all kinds of details that can be used adaptively through a wardrobe. Nothing here was terribly challenging, but Eskildsen’s interpretation of familiar volumes was refreshingly luxe.
To wit, look no further than delicate, ethereal chiffons flow effortlessly, capturing the essence of understated elegance. That creative strategy just kept working. Because as the Scandi have proven, it’s the very simple gestures that make for compelling craft.
by Chidozie Obasi
All runway images by James Cochrane