When the first model at A. Roege Hove came down the runway wearing just underwear and boots, minds immediately turned to Bella Hadid’s spray-on dress at Coperni’s spring 2023 show. Rather than presenting a futuristic vision of the future, the focus this time was on the here and now: the craftsmanship of the clothes.
First, a layer of the designer’s—now signature—delicate gauze knitwear was tied on at the neck and the back, becoming increasingly transparent as it was pulled across her body. Then, another, slightly weightier, monochrome layer was pulled through the arms and across the front, before being draped over the shoulder and secured at the side. With that, the look was complete.
“I hope it will add to the understanding of the material,” designer Amalie Røge Hove said of the performance element, during a preview. “The people seeing our show have not always been wearing our styles, so I think it’s [about] getting this sense [that] you feel like you touched a knit at the show, even though you didn’t.”
The pared-back set—a black box inside the Royal Danish Playhouse—was also designed to put a magnifying glass on the intricate techniques involved in the construction of each piece. The brand’s trademark ribbed knits, made from cotton and nylon (30% of which is now recycled), are arguably a modern take on Issey Miyake’s famous Pleats Please line. Designed to stretch, Røge Hove’s pieces come in two sizes, depending on how see-through you want the garment to appear.
While her revealing two-piece sets and body-con dresses have often featured in the past, the Royal Danish Academy graduate added several new dimensions to her offering this season. As a finalist of the 2023 Woolmark Prize, she used wool for the first time, with heavier knits layered below and above more diaphanous pieces. Texture was another key theme, via feathery skirts where the yarns hung loose, and a structured blazer and skirt featuring a windowpane check, created via three layers of knit that were combined into one.
Røge Hove said she has felt “a bit misunderstood” by the idea that her designs are “all about showing your boobs and being naked,” since first emerging on the scene in 2019. Her latest collection has undoubtedly shown her clothes’ true potential. “[Each] collection is building on top of where we ended last time,” she reflected. Layer by layer, she’s—quite literally—doing that.
