.new collection
Aknvas With a View
*NYFW Spring/Summer 2025
written Malcolm Thomas
Office chic, camp, and fluidity were the themes at Aknvas.
From the 37th floor of Tapestry at 10 Hudson Yards, Danish designer Christian Juul Nielsen, the designer behind Aknvas (a Danish play on “canvas”) proved that he knows all about strong points of view with an impressive resume that spans stints at John Galliano for Dior to Oscar de la Renta, Nielsen’s work under the tutelage of fashion’s modern masters gives him major bragging rights. However, Aknvas doesn’t promise the same kind of pointed perfection of his predecessors but something much more inviting—freedom.
The freedom lies not just in the designers’ clothes but the people wearing them. The type of genderless and youthful fluidity that acts as an honest reflection of the mirepoix of talent working in the industry and those inspired by it. These clothes are pretty but not delicate, tough but not mean, these clothes are for everyone.
The official title of the collection was Nordic Midsummer Camp, and Aknvas inventive takes on denim and his liberal use of floral appliques, his vegan leather peplum jackets, and shimmering sequin ensembles seemed loud enough to make this a camp of dreams and speaking of the office, Nielsen’s pinstripe shirt dress and pinstripe padded shoulder cropped shirt with matching skirt will definitely fight off any Sunday scaries, indeed. Gen Z eat your heart out.
There is also great skill in choosing the right venue for your show, as is the right fabric for a collection, and no one would argue an office building might not be the most summery choice, especially when competing against a panoramic backdrop of the Manhattan skyline. Think about it: there is something inherently imposing. The sharp cornered edges, the machine-cut glass, the sound the ground makes when you tiptoe down the lacquered lobby, yet Nielsen’s collection shone through like I imagine it always does.
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(c) Aknvas, NYFW 2025 - Spring/Summer 2025