Central Saint Martin’s Graduate, Gaia Brandt presented her soft a-symmetric knit designs at Copenhagen Fashion Week last Wednesday. Models were dressed in muted greys and blues and wore undercut wigs, referencing the angular silhouettes and sombre tones.With grounding in tailoring, the shapes were sharp and perfectly balanced: maxi skirts were worn with cutaway, belly-skimming jumpers.

Brandt claims inspiration from Dadaism – a Twentieth Century avant-garde art movement that equally praised the destruction of the old and the innovation of the new. Set against the Nordic weather and Copenhagen’s dramatic Royal Academy of Music, Brandt’s collection held true the Dadaist’s sensibilities. Scandinavian in clarity, the pieces were decorated with applique t-shirt designs. Explaining, that the t-shirts were second hand and collaged into her knits, this gives a new perspective to contemporary Dadaism.

Also inspired by the painted Vilhelm Hammershøi, Gaia Brant coats a selection of her designs with geometric, graphic prints.

Brandt is a strong advocator of the Scandinavian mantra of keeping it simple; she steers clear of mass-production, in favour of hand producing pieces. Imbuing them with individuality and nuance, Brandt's collection referenced this, with their splatter of pattern’s, trompe l’oiel and block colouring.

Sombre in mood, but coloured in pastels, filled with personality and yet charming, Brandt’s pieces are more complicated and ambiguous than first meets the eye. Enchanting in their apparent simplicity but filled idiosyncrasy and inspired references, Brandt could be bigger, she could be stocked everywhere, but without the handmade element of her work, Brandt’s individuality would wear off.

By Lucy Morris