Helle Hestehave and Rikke Baumgarten titled their latest collection Blast of Blooms, but there were no florals as that name might suggest. Instead, what we saw was a range of clothes entirely dedicated to millennials and, as the show notes read, “the blooming youth of today.” What this translated to was an unmistakable lineup of social media–driven trends: puffer coats, tracksuits, Reeboks, white boots, and colored tights. These looks felt as though they were ripped straight from the feed of an influencer with upwards of 500,000 followers. You can’t blame Hestehave and Baumgarten for going after the gold mine—these pieces will probably rake in a decent profit, and, hey, fashion is a tough business.
The brand is so much better than that, though, and while a portion of their collections usually skew toward these millennial “bloomers,” the designers have typically managed to add their own spin. There were some pieces that Hestehave and Baumgarten did do well with this go-around, including a wild red Lurex top and skirt, a chic dark-camel overcoat, and a quirky red corduroy suit. These two designers love clothes, and they love to play with them, which always makes this show smile-inducing, but this time around it could’ve used a more distinct point of view.
