Drama and Details:
Spotlight on Designer Cecilie Bahnsen
I love watching my favorite designers evolve through their collections season after season, and Cecilie Bahnsen is one of the best.
Born in the ever-relevant fashion hub of Copenhagen, the brand’s aesthetic is characterized by visual drama and unique detailing. Through the widespread use of tulle and organza paired with ultra-thin straps and ties, each piece balances volume with proportional integrity. The looks evoke an airy, childlike bounce when gracing the runways.
And the same goes for CB’s ready-to-wear looks! While the everyday pieces are more suitable for life outside the runway, the element of drama and airyness are far from lacking. Pieces like the Kelly dress, the Uphi top and the Sonja dress are sure to turn heads at your next formal event, while pieces like the Selena top, Susa dress and Uzuki knit level up an everyday outfit.
Looking back at the past 6 seasons of looks, this designer wholly embodies the concept of evolving within your craft. Cecilie Bahnsen’s stylistic eye is clear throughout years of lookbooks, with technique and details growing with each line.
Take SS20, for example (8 seasons back from the current line) compared to SS23 (this past spring). Given that these two lines are 7 seasons apart, we naturally anticipate differing approaches. This is true of the two seasons, but Cecilie Bahnsen makes sure that the bones of the collection are clear and authentic to the brand. It is almost as if they are trying to say: ‘look how much we can create without straying from our iconic structures’. The parallels are clear and fascinating:
Mixed Puff Minis
Starting with my favorite concept across both seasons: the puff sleeve mini dresses. In SS20, CB presented this yellow organza piece boasting voluminous airy sleeves and inventive ruffle detailing. In the SS23 collection we find multiple variations of this concept, each bringing new features to the runway. Through a number of colorways, CB produces unique structural choices that come together in surprisingly cohesive ways. Each piece counterbalances itself: for example, in the purple dress we see a visually heavy puffy sleeve counterbalanced by a cuttoff sleeve and dropped hemline. Oppositely, the deep green piece balances itself from top to bottom, through a heavy puff hemline and sweetheart open neckline. I could not be more in love with each of these pieces and the progression of this dress over time.
Layered & Tailored Looks
In SS20, CB brought innovation to the traditional work-suit through the incorporation of a tulle train layered over the trousers. In SS23, the designer took it up a notch through multi-fabric layering and complex structuring through a number of looks.
Round Neck Midis
The round neckline of these three looks holds true throughout both seasons. SS20 presented a dream summertime house dress, while SS23 reimagined the concept by incorporating the timely sheer element.
Structured Volume
While these two dresses share the same neckline and lofty skirt construction, SS23’s royal blue piece reveals various fresh details. The enhanced puff sleeves, cutouts, and colorway draw attention to the piece, allowing it to stand out within the collection. In SS23 the designer incorporated various bustier details, which can be seen through the piping on Look 2 and sweetheart mixed neckline on Look 3.
As seen through each lookbook, various seasons of Cecilie Bahnsen collections exemplify a development of design and technique, with integrity to the brand’s original eye. I could talk about these pieces all day!