IN CONVERSATION WITH NICKLAS SKOVGAARD
interview by MARIA MOTA
For FW26, Nicklas Skovgaard sharpens his focus. Coming off a year of major milestones, from an LVMH Prize finalist spot to a new atelier, the Danish designer presents a collection rooted in cinema, identity, and evolution. Drawing on the 1937 film Mille, Marie og Mig, Skovgaard explores duality and transformation, using colour, silhouette and styling to examine how clothing can shift between restraint and glamour, fantasy and function. A new collaboration with HOFF brings sneakers into the mix, grounding the collection and reinforcing Skovgaard’s belief that practicality and romance don’t have to cancel each other out.
We spoke to Skovgaard about cinema as inspiration, the emotional use of colour and shape, collaborating with HOFF, and his vision for the brand going forward.
When developing this collection, what was your overall thought process? Were there specific inspirations, references, or ideas that guided you along the way?
This collection began with cinema as an emotional and conceptual starting point. I was drawn to the 1937 Danish film Mille, Marie og Mig (Mille, Marie and me), not just for its aesthetic language but for its exploration of duality and transformation. The idea of a woman living multiple lives - disciplined and rational in one moment, theatrical and excessive in another - felt deeply contemporary to me and my work. From there, the collection became a way of examining identity as something layered and unstable rather than fixed. Mille, Marie and Mig are not characters in a literal sense, but states of being. The clothes reflect that tension: they often pretend to be something other than what they are, shifting between restraint and glamour, function and illusion.
Colour and shape are central to your visual language. Can you talk us through the decisions behind the colour palette and shapes for this collection?
Colour and silhouette were used as emotional tools rather than decorative ones. I wanted the palette to feel bold but controlled - strong contrasts that could hold both softness and severity at the same time. There’s a dialogue between airy, luminous tones and deeper, more grounded colours, mirroring the shifts between performance and introspection in the collection. In terms of the silhouette, this season marks a clear evolution. I moved away from the bubble hems that have become part of the brand’s signature and instead introduced a more grounded silhouette that draws focus to the waist. The shapes are sharper and more overtly feminine, but still slightly strange - classic structures disrupted through fabric choices or proportion.
This collection marks a collaboration with HOFF. How did that partnership come about, and what did the collaboration bring to the design process?
The collaboration with HOFF came quite organically. I was interested in introducing something unmistakably functional into the collection - an object that carries a strong everyday language. Sneakers felt like a natural counterpoint to the romantic and cinematic elements of the clothes. Working with HOFF allowed that contrast to feel intentional. The partnership grounded the collection and emphasized one of its core ideas: that glamour doesn’t need to be precious, and functionality can be expressive. Seeing the garments styled with sneakers - alongside curated vintage shoes - reinforced the tension between fantasy and reality that runs throughout the collection and the DNA of my brand.
Last year you were an LVMH Prize finalist, won the Wessel & Vett Fashion Prize and moved into a new atelier. How did it feel to present this new collection in light of those milestones, and how are you thinking about the future from here?
Presenting this collection felt very charged, but also grounding. Those milestones brought a sense of validation and momentum, but they also sharpened my focus. Moving into a new atelier and reaching this point with the brand made me more aware of responsibility - to the work, to the team, and to the universe we’re building. Rather than feeling like a conclusion, this collection felt like a recalibration. It’s a moment of clarity where the language of the brand becomes more precise, more confident, and more ambitious. Looking ahead, I’m thinking about growth in a very considered way - deepening the emotional and technical aspects of the collections, continuing to build strong partnerships, and expanding the brand internationally without losing its intimacy or strangeness. The future feels open, and that’s exciting!
