Merging with nature: The sartorial details you should know

In our quest to celebrate the extraordinary environment of the Nordics, Vogue Scandinavia commissioned the artist duo Alexandrov Klum to capture fashion that brings us closer to our nature. Below, we have gathered the sartorial details you should know – From sustainability efforts to materials and craftsmanship:

Above, this dress from Proenza Schouler’s Autumn/Winter 2021 collection was inspired by motifs found in novelty prints from the 1970s. The original print – rendered in brush and ink at Proenza Schouler's New York atelier – depicts a diffuse landscape in the crosshatch print, consisting of a river, mountains, a forest, and a solitary canoe traveling across the fabric.

For Autumn/Winter 2021, designer Rabih Kayrouz culled from 20 years’ worth of archives and fabrics to bring his most iconic designs to life. Musing on the short lifespan of fashion, the collection was intended to have lasting impact and remain in wardrobes for years to come. Here, we see a bustier dress made out of a single piece of gold lamé fabric from a previous season.

The costume inspired creations of Erdem Moralioglu's Autumn/Winter 2021 collection draws on the realm of ballet – depicting a dancer’s wardrobe between the stages of rehearsal and performance. The asymmetrical dress below flows like water across the body, the sheer fabric nipped and tucked perfectly to flatter the model's frame. Made-to-order and produced in London, UK, the dress's limited production takes part in the brands new sustainability effort to reduce their impact on the planet within the next 5 years.

At Prada, Raf Simmons and Miuccia Prada explored the juxtaposed world of post-pandemic dressing in their Autumn/Winter 2021 collection. The fine balance between dressy elegance and comfort took shape; here in the form of an oversized bomber in Re-Nylon (Prada's sustainability effort in using econyl, a proprietary material made from up-cycling industrial nylon waste like fishing nets and carpets) with a contrasting faux fur interior. Underneath, a superfine wool roll-neck for comfort.

Sugar pink tulle took to the runway at Simone Rocha for the designer's Autumn/Winter 2021 collection. Spanning black leather jackets to pastry-like creations adorned with romantic florals in red embroidery thread and 3D silk appliqués, the designer explored the idea of "fragile rebels" in the collection dubbed Wild Roses. The theme permeated the jewellery as well: faux natural pearls covered in hand-painted roses dangling from the models' lobes.

This season, designer Pierpaolo Piccioli reopened the historic Piccolo Theatre in Milan for a show shrouded in dark elegance. In stark black and white, the collection saw slashed hemlines expose lean legs and graphic diamond patterns cocoon the models in perfectly cut cashmere coats. The sheer dress below, with scattered ornamental ostrich feathers (imported from South Africa, and certified as not subject to live plucking), was part of the shows finally.

With the passing of Kenzō Takada last year, designer Felipe Oliveira Baptista dedicated his final collection as creative director of the brand to the founder. But, instead of going the traditional route through the archives, Oliveira Baptista didn’t reissue a single garment or print from the master’s greatest hits of the 1970s and ’80s. Instead he pursued legacy and sentiment of Takada. In this feature, one of the designer's padded dresses in printed nylon ripstop traverse through the nordic woods.

Our model is as if transformed into the owl itself, engulfed in Balenciaga's Laser-Cut Coat in shredded beige leopard printed dead stock nylon. For his Autumn/Winter 2021 collection, designer Demna Gvasalia kept for the climate-emergency-aware generation in mind imagining a future of nature and people co-existing, where clothes are worn until they fall apart.

This Del Core dress required approximately one thousand hours of work. Mounted on an invisible tulle bodice, there are no machine seams involved in draping the mushroom printed fabric with iridescent threads. The one of a kind, hand made piece is carefully created to pass the test of time, lasting season after season. Far from the mass-market mindset, Del Core's collections have a niche audience, who knows and appreciates the value of craftsmanship, tailor-made products, and fine materials.