Graduate Fashion Week 2025: Debenhams Group named as headline partner

The Graduate Fashion Foundation has named Debenhams Group as the headline partner for Graduate Fashion Week 2025, the premier showcase of BA graduate fashion talent.  It will take place from Friday, 13 June to Monday, 16 June at The Truman Brewery in Shoreditch, London.

Now in its 34th year, the event will feature a packed schedule including 15 runway shows hosted in the Debenhams 500-seat catwalk hall, along with more than 20 live industry talks in the 150-seat GFW Live! Talk space.

As headline partner, Debenhams will take centre stage on opening night with a dedicated commercial runway show. This show will spotlight 20 graduate collections handpicked by the Debenhams Group team for their standout appeal and commercial potential.

One designer will be selected from this showcase to receive the prestigious “Catwalk to Collection” Award, which includes a 12-month contract with Debenhams Group and the opportunity to design a full collection for sale on Debenhams.com.

Throughout the event, Debenhams will also be present with an industry stand, offering CV and portfolio workshops, while actively scouting new talent to join the wider group and its in-house labels.

Debenhams is a digital fashion and lifestyle retailer now owned by the Boohoo Group.

The annual Graduate Fashion Week is deemed the world’s largest and most influential platform for emerging BA fashion talent, gathering work from over 95 leading UK and international universities and colleges, spanning 26 fashion disciplines and showcasing the future of the industry in motion.

With more than 30,000 attendees, the event features 26 catwalk shows, curated exhibition spaces, and a lineup of talks, workshops, and masterclasses led by some of fashion’s most established names. It’s showcase as well as a launchpad for over 5,000 graduates each year, offering a first glimpse at the ideas, aesthetics, and voices that will define the next era of design. It’s a magnet for recruiters, editors, and global industry insiders who come in search of fresh perspectives and undiscovered brilliance. For many graduates, it marks the beginning of a career—not just in fashion, but at the cutting edge of creativity.

Copenhagen Fashion Week: Marimekko's Spring Summer 2025 collection celebrates a Parade of Flowers

Finnish design house Marimekko's Spring Summer 2025 ready-to-wear show at Copenhagen Fashion Week explores The Anatomy of a Flower – a conceptual theme that is celebrated in Marimekko collections throughout 2025. 

To showcase its vibrant Spring Summer 2025 collection, Marimekko turned the Opera Park of Copenhagen into a parade ground of twisting paths, where guests sat in a field of wildflowers and enjoyed the dynamic collection as energetic techno beats by DJ Nene H played at the Copenhagen harbour.

It's a collection that presents an entire bouquet of abstract floral patterns from renowned Marimekko designers, such as Fujiwo Ishimoto, Maija Isola and Lotta Maija, featuring draped layers, petal-like details, and functional summer pieces from coordinated sets to breezy dresses. 

To celebrate a key characteristic of Marimekko, happy contradictions, feminine floral references meet with contradicting bold graphic prints in watered-down aqua blues, rosy reds and cool spearmints, accompanied by tiger lily oranges and delicate lilacs.

“Our fast-paced Spring/Summer 2025 runway show highlights the essence of the Marimekko dress as a non-restrictive garment to live in, even to run in. The collection showcases petal-like references in draping, layering as well as in material characteristics. We experiment with bold circle cuts, round shapes that will fold and unfold around the body as blooming flowers. As part of our dynamic runway show, we present the latest addition to the Marimekko Artist Series with our collaboration with London-based artist Petra Börner, whose artworks echo Marimekko’s design philosophy, bold aesthetic and optimism perfectly”, said Rebekka Bay, Creative Director at Marimekko.

The capsule collection showcasing four exclusive artworks by Börner (whose works have been translated into pieces of wearable art at Marimekko’s own textile printing factory in Helsinki)  features carefully curated dress canvases for Börner's beautiful floral universe, in which her unique way of using colours as a backdrop for her line drawings creates a vivid reflection of the lively nature of flowers and other subjects. 

Marimekko Artist Series, which invites emerging and celebrated artists to collaborate on exclusive Marimekko capsule collections, was introduced to push Marimekko’s art of printmaking into uncharted waters and give creatives a new canvas on which to present their work. The collection featuring Börner’s artworks extends across Marimekko’s entire lifestyle portfolio from ready-to-wear to home décor.

The Spring/Summer 2025 collection also saw the expansion of Marimekko’s highly anticipated denim line, Marimekko Maridenim. The collection features new patterned denim styles, including a denim jacket and shorts. The first Marimekko Maridenim collection launches in stores globally this August.

All images by James Cochrane, courtesy of Copenhagen Fashion Week.

Copenhagen Fashion Week: Baum und Pferdgarten's Office Olympics collection a Gold Medal performance

Danish fashion house Baum und Pferdgarten debuted its Spring Summer 2025 collection, titled "Office Olympics," during Copenhagen Fashion Week for the first time.

Copenhagen-based designers Rikke Baumgarten and Helle Hestehave drew inspiration from the summer of 2024, a season dominated by sports that infused every aspect of daily life. 

Timed perfectly to show during the final week of the Paris Summer Olympic Games, the collection promised—and delivered—a seamless blend of office sophistication and sporty energy, capturing the essence of the modern professional wardrobe.

According to the designers, as people left their offices to follow the games, this vibrant energy became the heart of their collection. 

"Office Olympics is about fusing the sophistication of office wear with the energy of athletic aesthetics, creating a collection that is both functional and fashionable. We wanted to bring the excitement of the sports world into the office environment," said the two creative directors.

The collection introduces a versatile range of pieces that combine sporty elements with feminine details. Football-inspired shirts, sporty logos, and stripes are paired with light dresses, skirts, frills, and sequined pieces, alongside traditional office attire like paneled polo shirts, blazers, and cardigans, resulting in a harmonious blend of styles.

The colour palette features refreshing pastels—light purple, blue, and green tones—complemented by brown and bold red accents, along with vibrant floral prints that evoke a sense of optimism.

Tailored blazers, trousers, and skirts offer both flexibility and comfort, ideal for navigating a busy workday. Playful sporty elements add a modern edge to traditional office wear, creating a versatile mix-and-match collection where pencil skirts pair with sporty oversized T-shirts, encouraging personal creativity.

 

The "Office Olympics" show was held at Østerbro Stadium in collaboration with the iconic Copenhagen football club B.93 and their women’s team. Noteworthy accessories included handbags shaped like footballs, particularly a glittering version designed for evening wear to complement sequined separates.

Baum und Pferdgarten’s new collection reflects their commitment to merging corporate elegance with athletic dynamism, all while preserving the brand's signature blend of comfort and chic appeal.

The runway cast featured a mix of models and friends of the brand, including familiar faces who have previously walked for Baum und Pferdgarten, as well as new talent. M.A.C. Cosmetics Nordics provided makeup, while Oribe styled the hair, ensuring the models embodied the perfect blend of sophistication and sportiness. 

A special T-shirt, inspired by classic football shirts and the collaboration with B.93, was also showcased on the runway. This exclusive piece will be available for immediate purchase on Baum und Pferdgarten’s webshop and at their Copenhagen Flagship Store shortly after the show.

All images by James Cochrane, courtesy of Copenhagen Fashion Week.

Copenhagen Fashion Week: OpéraSPORT bridges classic Parisian looks with a Danish sporty twist

While Paris welcomes the world's sports elites this month to the Olympic Games, many from the fashion world have flocked to Copenhagen for its Fashion Week. Earlier in the week, OpéraSPORT, a brand celebrated for blending Parisian classic and contemporary styles with Copenhagen's sporty flair, unveiled its Spring Summer 2025 Collection in an open-air presentation at the Exillion Garden, a hidden gem north of Copenhagen, on the event's opening day.

This private garden epitomizes the harmonious blend of natural beauty and architectural elegance, serving as the muse for the latest designs from the fashion brand founded in 2019 by Stephanie Gundelach, a creative consultant and stylist, and Awa Malina Stelter, whose expertise in design and production brings significant advantages. 

The designers aim to ensure the new collection is both relevant and timeless, combining luxury with affordability, sustainability with sexiness, and elegance with sportiness. The collection features 80 styles and a variety of accessories.

Drawing inspiration from the formal, precise lines of the Italian Renaissance and French Baroque areas in the garden, the brand's SS25 Collection incorporates elements of this heritage. Their designs mirror a timeless aesthetic, where classic architecture meets lush greenery, resulting in pieces that are both sophisticated and functional.

OpéraSPORT remains true to their DNA by exclusively using recycled or organic fabrics.

Highlights include '90s-inspired stripe prints in poplin and accessories, black quilted vegan leather for jackets and separates, an expanded pocket on the signature everyday Jerome bag, and new colourways of the brand’s popular Shirley Bag.

The collection offers versatile ensembles suitable for day-to-evening transitions, along with an array of dresses and swimwear. It features a new quilt print, embroidery designs, and a palette that includes floral colours, as well as red, dewberry, blue, white, black, and parsnip.

The designers have also expanded their seamless capsule collection of bestsellers from previous seasons and unisex offerings, catering to a diverse audience.

All images by James Cochrane, courtesy of Copenhagen Fashion Week.