COPENHAGEN,JANUARY 29, 2020

by BROOKE BOBB

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK - JANUARY 28: A MODEL WALKS THE RUNWAY AT THE SELAM FESSAHAYE SHOW DURING THE COPENHAGEN FASHION WEEK AUTUMN/WINTER 2020 ON JANUARY 28, 2020 IN COPENHAGEN, DENMARK. (PHOTO BY YULIYA CHRISTENSEN/GETTY IMAGES)

Right off the bat, Selam Fessahaye’s fall collection felt deeply personal. It began with a barefoot model wearing a voluminous, floor-sweeping taffeta ball skirt and a one-shoulder crop top, her hair braided and adorned with traditional Eritrean jewelry worn by her mother and grandmother. Fessahaye is Swedish-Eritean, and she often mines her familial roots for inspiration. As she explained post-show, “With this collection, I’m telling my story, focusing on my heritage. It’s a ready-to-wear collection with no limitations.”

Fessahaye has few boundaries when it comes to design, favoring exaggerated silhouettes and a smorgasbord offering of materials and textures. This was made clear as the models began to stroll on the runway one by one, each different heights, different body types, different races. It was one of the most diversely casted runways in Copenhagen Fashion Week history. It was also a showcase of Fessahaye’s playful imagination, specifically in the way she deconstructed hoodies and cargo pants and blew them up to giant proportions.