Cecilie Bahnsen laughs when asked if she considers herself a romantic, as if to say, ‘Of course.’ Instead, the softly spoken, always polite Danish designer replies: ‘I think I’m a very romantic person, both in taste and in life.’
You only need to look at Bahnsen’s soft, rounded, inarguably sweet gowns to realise that they are designed for dreamers. However, if you’ve ever had the chance to put on one of the 38-year-old’s creations, you’ll also know that wearability is as much a hallmark of her work as reverie.
Though her collections – largely consisting of dresses made from feather-light fabrics such as taffeta or organza – play on ballgown silhouettes, with full skirts and puffed sleeves, minimalism (so beloved by Danes) is at their core. Bahnsen exhibits as much restraint as opulence in her work; she never wants to overshadow or burden the wearer.
‘Everything is about the contrast. If you add bows to the back, then it needs to be clean and sculptural in the front. The juxtaposition of the components creates a relaxed femininity that is modern, where you can be romantic and find strength in a big fluffy dress,’ she says.
Bahnsen is one of a handful of contemporary women designers, also including Molly Goddard and Simone Rocha, who are reimagining femininity with their work. All three have taken traditional silhouettes and turned them on their heads, with Goddard looking to the eclectic Notting Hill of her youth and Rocha her dual Irish and Chinese heritage.
The inherent contradiction of fantasy and function in Bahnsen’s pieces comes from the designer’s creative background. After learning to sew and embroider with her grandmother, she studied at the Danish Design School in Copenhagen and London’s Royal College of Art. She then went on to work at the Royal Danish Theatre, before taking on work with John Galliano at Dior and Erdem Moralıoğlu at his eponymous brand. After returning to Copenhagen to launch her own line in 2015, Bahnsen says she wanted to hold onto a part of each place she has worked (specifically, ‘the romance of Paris’ and her ‘special time’ at the RCA). But nothing has proved as inspirational to her as the women in her own studio.
‘When the girls come in, I look at how they put their outfits together,’ she says. ‘How they roll a sleeve up and tie a bow around it when they have to sew a dress, or when they cycle into the studio and put their hair ribbon in the dress so that it won’t get into the wheel.’
Bahnsen calls these observations ‘everyday accidents’, and incorporates them into the architecture of her designs. As a result, she elevates the everyday and remains in constant conversation with her customers: ‘I create my universe, but it’s for everybody to tap into and make it their own.’
This includes men. While Bahnsen says there’s a ‘true femininity to what we do’, the fact that men have taken to wearing her clothes made for a delightful surprise. Another joyous revelation has been that brides around the world have turned to the brand for their weddings. ‘It’s one of the biggest compliments,’ says Bahnsen. When asked why she thinks her designs are worn by so many well-dressed women when they get married, she says: ‘We often see that people have been dreaming about our universe, and this is the moment when they can tap into it and make it part of their [wedding]. I also think it’s a lot about how [the dress] can be worn in different ways afterwards.’
That includes mothers-to-be, who find that the dresses are perfect for their growing bumps. ‘It started as an accident,’ Bahnsen says, ‘but after I became a mum myself, it’s added to the element of how I design [and helped broaden] my understanding of different body shapes, too’.
Bumps or no bumps, Bahnsen’s work has become fashion-editor catnip, and it’s not just about the gowns. An unexpected success has been her foray into footwear, including collaborations with Asics, Suicoke and Hereu. Achieving cult status, these (incredibly comfortable) shoes appear overgrown with enchanted flora, and perhaps best exemplify the brand’s fine balance of functionality and whimsy.
The idea of one dress to be worn through many stages of life and then given to another person is a core part of Bahnsen’s design ethos. She has launched an Encore collection (archive designs made to order from deadstock materials) and a repair service, and will soon introduce a resale platform. She attributes this drive to her cultural heritage: ‘In Denmark, you inherit everything. I really like that idea. When I started the brand, I wished to create the dresses that you’d want to pass on to your daughter or maybe share with a friend.’ Because, like romance, some things never go out of style.
