Despite it being the opening day of Copenhagen, it’s not going out on a limb to claim that Caroline Bille Brahe’s Caro Editions was the most feel-good show of the week. Gray skies were countered by beaming smiles, shouts and cheers, and much foot tapping to a spectacular soundtrack (Bikini Kill, Peaches, and Yoko Ono, Doechii and JT, Sophie Ellis-Bextor—and a take on Felix Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March.”)
The idea for the show was to recreate Caroline (née Brasch Nielsen)’s 2018 wedding to Frederik Bille Brahe—which by all accounts was a blast. (Cecilie Bahnsen, who made the bride and bridesmaid’s dresses, says that there must have been hundreds of guests, with most of the creative community of Copenhagen in attendance.) Like their wedding attendees, today’s show guests enjoyed a “ceremony” under a bridge before being supplied with a glass of pink champagne and whisked away—along with still-dressed models—by boat to The Apollo (one of Frederik Bille Brahe’s restaurants) to continue the celebrations. La Glace, the legacy baker who made the couple’s wedding cake, was re-commissioned for a four-tiered wonder for the wedding show. In 2018 it poured; it only sprinkled today, as if to applaud how the brand transformed the catwalk experience into a joyous, creative, and memorable experience in which clothes and community were enmeshed.
Given the theme, the collection included actual bridal looks; the majority of the collection was imagined as being worn by wedding guests. Preppy is a word the designer used to describe the vibe. That said, there was nothing traditional or quiet about the clothes, though there was a sense of being “dressed.” There was an almost Grace Kelly-like appeal to scarf-wrapped heads; shoulder pads and hats were more suggestive of Alexis Carrington. Mulberry supplied the toppers which were customized by Bille Brahe, as were a number of one-off pre-loved Mulberry bags, which were available for sale post-show. One of the larger totes featured large bows made from the plaid that Mulberry uses for linings. Bille Brahe asked for some yards of the material and used some of it for a black courduroy-trimmed barn jacket, a Caro Editions staple. (Bow-decorated sneakers were part of another match-up with New Balance.)
“The whole collection is silks and laces and sequins and dots,” Bille Brahe said on a walk-through. Some of the deadstock materials were sourced from exclusive Paris design houses. Raw silk was predominant and used on Caro’s irresistible pants with bows at the ankles, which were paired with smart little jackets, some with dramatic lapels. There were short dresses that looked young, and mini dresses that sizzled with a more adult sensuality. Couples, as well as a mother-and-daughters trio, were included in the casting, underscoring that front and back of house, Caro Editions is very much a family affair.