“Put a bib on it” seems to be the current Scandi style secret. Maja Dixdotter, the new head of design at By Malene Birger, had layered one over a knit dress when we met on Zoom, and she looked fantastic and warm. It’s squared shape was repeated throughout a confident collection in which comfort was balanced by chic.
With easy, chunky knits and oversized, fringed scarfs you can sink your hands into, Dixdotter, who is Swedish, displays her fluency in hygge. “I’ve always been very interested in doing clothes that have a nice comfort with a great pattern,” says the designer, who has transformed a trench and other outerwear pieces into something extra by adding a square sort of collar. The out-of-proportion neckline of a boiled wool coat makes a statement. “I wanted the collection to feel very substantial, also from a distance,” she adds. “So the idea of blowing up something to give it an interesting view came down a lot to the fabrics and the fibers. We’ve worked a lot with blowing up details, but also blowing up textures.” Adding to the medley of proportions and texture is a soothing palette of cream, beige, and rust. A touch of red acts like an exclamation point.
“This season is a call to stop, look, and embrace the bigger picture,” the show notes read. Dixdotter did just that by playing with perspective in an upside-down world. Her approach, she said, was “to look at small things and try to see what happens if you zoom in. It turns out to be quite interesting.” Indeed.
