Forget runway idealism! This year’s graduate show by eleven Royal Danish Academy graduates, brings together a new wave of talent from nine different countries, each using fashion as a tool to question — and reimagine — who we are, who we design for, and how we work, when the planet is in crisis.
Each collection is designed for people: complex, contradicting, authentic people and communities. The work deep dives into subcultures, identity politics, and shared lived experiences. They are not just designing around their audience — but with them in mind. It’s not about theory; it’s about making connections.
And while the silhouettes are fresh and future-facing, they carry the weight of heritage. Exploring craft techniques passed down through generations, queer and cultural histories folded into fabric, statements on class, taste, and power stitched into the seams. It’s fashion as autobiographies, voices of protests and offerings.
Radically inclusive, and unapologetically real
Fashion is changing, and the graduates aren’t waiting for permission — they’ve already started rewriting the rules. They don’t want to just make clothes. They want to start a movement.
Royal Danish Academy
Photos: James Cochrane
Their collective work stretches across continents, touch on diverse identi-ties, and build on multiple cultural perspectives. The eleven graduating designers from the Royal Danish Academy’s Fashion, Fashion, Clothing and Textiles – New Landscapes for Change, are taking stock of the past, preserving only the best parts, and creating a new, radically inclusive, and unapologetically real fashion future.
This year’s graduate show brings together a new wave of talent from nine different countries, each using fashion as a tool to question — and reimagine — who we are, who we design for, and how we work, when the planet is in crisis.
The graduates’ collections want to start a conversation. Two days after the runway, the designers are inviting the public into their world with a documentary screening at Autopoul Vinbar. Expect behind-the-scenes footage, honest reflections, and a raw, rare look into what it really takes to make meaningful fashion today.
The Royal Danish Academy, Class of 2025:
In order of Runway appearance
Leonie Winterhalter
Maria Çlara Pontes Leca
Jan-Niklas Jessen
Anya Belitskaya
Brigitta Timea Szekernyés
Mengjie Hui
Sofia Adell Parramon
Niels Frederik K. Petersen
Sofia Munk
Polina Feddersen
Clémentine Ollivier
Collection showcased during Copenhagen Fashion Week
Graduate collection by @royaldanishacademy_mafashion
showcased during @cphfw
Location: Politikens Hus
Casting: KKH Management @kkhmanagement
Showcaller: Marikka Lærke Pieterson @prinsesselalalaa
Videographer: Aske Just @justlugonja
Photographer: Simon Contreras Iori @sise_contrerasiori
Backstage Photographers: Maja Maria Aaby @majamariaaaby, Sarah Fals Henríquez @sarahfalshenriquez
Makeup Artist: Jenny Jansson using Kess Berlin @jenny_jansson @kessberlin
Hair Stylist: Marianne Jensen @mariannejensenhair, Kao Nordic
Guest Management: NAT Studio CPH @natstudio_cph
Visual Communication: Viola Moth @viola.moth
Music Artist: Divad Yaya @divad_yaya
Funded by: Tuborg Fundet @tuborgfondet, MFK Almene Fond, Det Kongelige Akademi @kglakademi
Sponsored by: @pometaldesign, h.u.g. bageri @h.u.g.bageri, @oakberry.nordic, Goldwell Nordic @goldwellnordic, Kess Berlin @kessberlin
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