The Danish fashion design award has previously been a pure talent competition. This year, the focus expanded into also include established brands and experienced designers who have demonstrated their entrepreneurial and innovative skills. This, founder Nina Wedell-Wedellsborg explains, reflects the clear mission; empowering the next generation of Danish fashion entrepreneurs. Setting the standard for the years to come, she continues, this year’s winner ”demonstrates remarkable growth with a clear vision of every business aspect”.
The three finalists, Forza Collective, Heliot Emil, and Saks Potts, presented their collections and business strategy to an international jury of industry experts holding a diverse range of experience and specialisms across the board. The criteria included design talent, sustainable vision, innovation, creativity, and business entrepreneurship. The winners, announced in Copenhagen last night, was Saks Potts, securing a cash prize of €40.000 and extensive communication and inclusion in all the official activities and opportunities of Copenhagen Fashion Week, valued at almost as much.
— We started this company when we were just 19 and 20 years old, and we grew up with it, say Cathrine Saks and Barbara Potts. It feels good to win after nine years. We have managed to build a brand that is much bigger than our business, by leveraging our community and by thinking internationally from the very beginning. Authenticity, craftsmanship, and our community are at the heart of our work and winning the prize will allow us to continue to stick to our core values.
This prize, the duo continues, marks a significant step towards more exciting collaborations and sustainability improvements.
— With a small but passionate team, we dream big. We’re on a mission to encourage our customers to buy products of even higher quality, keep their styles for many years, repair and care, and even resell after use. Every day, we strive for improvement, driven by our commitment to being authentic and doing things in an unconventional way, both in our products and the way we communicate. We are proud to be two female founders and entrepreneurs, it has been a struggle to be taken seriously, but this only fuelled our fires. This prize will help us a lot in making an even more positive contribution to the fashion industry.
According to Copenhagen Fashion Week CEO Cecilie Thorsmark, the brand is truly representative of Danish fashion.
— Saks Potts has continued to flourish with their signature aesthetic and global community, reflecting their values across the pillars of entrepreneurship, fashion innovation, and creativity. This is a big achievement that should be celebrated and recognised but it comes with an obligation to push themselves in sustainability so they can continue to inspire and set new industry standards, she says.
— What I look for in a brand or what attracts me about a brand is a feeling, Yasin Müjdeci, founder of Voo Store in Berlin and jury member, adds. Saks Potts gives me a nice feeling. I would like to see people, our customers and community, wearing their pieces. They create positive fashion and that is what we need. It’s fashion, it’s dreams, it’s creativity, and today’s vote was exactly for that.
