FASHION season after fashion season Cecilie Bahnsen continues to design collections that instil joy into the fashion calendar – SS22 is no exception. The Danish designer debuted her new collection during Paris fashion week in the form of a film presentation.
The film was stripped back and opened with an acoustic performance by Okay Kaya, a Norwegian-American music artist. Okay Kaya’s soft voice carried on throughout the film and soundtracked the landscape and detail shots of the models sporting the collection against an au naturel backdrop. The only frills to be found were the ones sewn by Bahnsen’s team.
A crowd of seemingly bare-faced models make their way down a deserted paved road wearing the new collection. The cloudy, blue-skied landscape perfectly matched the first handful of black and pale blue looks.
A sheer, pale blue sleeveless ruched dress with a matching coat cinched on the side by a bow juxtaposes the black, three-quarter-length balloon sleeve dress cut out of a fabric made up of hundreds of delicate flowers.
Bahnsen’s design sensibility hinges on unapologetic femininity, and while that remains true for this collection – a new sleekness permeates the 24 looks. The collection’s colour palette primarily consists of black, pale blue, white and pops of coral and signature design details make a reappearance.
But nestled amid the familiar baby doll silhouettes and Bahnsen’s beloved frills are textured button-up and trouser sets layered with cropped, corset-tight blouses and plastic-like textured fabrics that offer an edge.
As the fashion industry slowly inches its way out of Covid purgatory and returns to hectic, old patterns, Bahnsen’s SS22 presentation and collection is a last-ditch effort to reflect on the simpler things and their correlation to joy.
by Jamison Kent
All images courtesy of Cecilie Bahnsen.