Frederick Berner Kühl, the Polimoda-trained and fabric-focused designer, founded his label in 2019 with the intention of making minimal “keepers.” He made a giant splash at his Copenhagen Fashion Week debut with a spring 2022 collection that featured technical materials, tailoring, and clean-lined silhouettes. It was no surprise to read Kühl is a fan of ’90s-era Helmut Lang.

Two seasons on, the designer stays focused on his mission. “This collection is about preservation; doing something that’s super-long-lasting,” he said on the close of his spring 2023 show where models wove out and in of scrims on an all-white set. “All the small print we put into the clothes are to make them much more durable. They’re also not revealing abruptly.” The starkness of the space helped to attract out the textural details of a boiled wool sweater and a lino-weave shirt, it also emphasized the standard of the double-bonded nylon used for some very smart coats with drawstring hems.

Basic isn’t at all times a word of praise in fashion, however the give attention to imbuing modern wardrobe stables (which include workwear and technical elements) with brand-specific details is something we’re seeing more generally (take a look at Junya Watanabe and N. Hollywood’s latest collections), and is smart when it comes to sustainability. Fashion has to balance fantasy and reality. The models could have walked off set and seamlessly joined the group on the road. Perhaps the one thing that may mark them out was the stiff newness of their shoes.

The gathering skewed towards separates, however the designer didn’t neglect tailoring. His move from two- to one-button jackets is consistent with the increasing casualization of the workplace. “A blazer is something you possibly can wear on a regular basis, and that is something to make it a little bit bit easier,” Kühl said. The youth of the models, and at times their posture, added a way of vulnerability to Kühl’s “manly” inverted triangle silhouette, though it didn’t distract from the on a regular basis Adonis vibe of the gathering. (There have been female models as well, and the designer noted that his square shapes work for everybody.)

Finding beauty and utility in quotidian things can be a part of the Scandinavian ethos. Fantasy isn’t flamboyant by definition, it exists where you discover it. For Kühl, this season, it appears to be largely in body-revealing cuts and fabrics.

BY LAIRD BORRELLI-PERSSON
VOGUE
August 9, 2022