Christiania-founded ALIS was a local favourite in the '90s and '00s – and just had its second-coming with a runway debut at Copenhagen Fashion Week that honoured the brand's roots, elevating it to full-blown fashion player status
This evening, in a tented courtyard (yes, it was cold) smack dab in central Copenhagen, we witnessed a resurrection. Beloved Danish streetwear brand ALIS, a ubiquitous local presence across multiple subcultures in the late '90s and early '00s, was given a second life. Under the ownership of Rains’ Daniel Brix Hesselager and Philip Lotko, the second coming of ALIS made its runway debut with a collection that honours its roots (the brand was founded in Christiana in 1996) whilst elevating it to full-blown fashion player status.
That’s thanks in large part to designer Tobias Birk Nielsen, whose personal relationship with the OG ALIS and experience with his own tech-forward brand ISO.POETISM made him just the guy for the gig. “Hanging out on the street and around town – ALIS was somehow always there,” says Birk Nielsen, who’s born and raised in Copenhagen. “It’s always on people’s backpacks on a sticker, every sign or every bench. It’s this presence – this Copenhagen presence.” For Birk Nielsen, a key element of the brand was its inclusiveness; it wasn’t for a rarified subculture, anyone could buy a t-shirt and get in on “the movement”. To emphasise the “if you know, you know” energy, staff passed out t-shirts printed with original ALIS muse Sorat May Andersen to a handful of guests sitting front row as we waited for the show to start (Sorat also closed the show, wearing just logo tape and a thong).
The new ALIS, however, is notably more considered. Logos haphazardly slapped on a T-shirt this is not (though there are logos – a subtly updated take on that ubiquitous symbol). “The qualities are well-curated, the treatments, the dying techniques are very thoughtful,” says Birk Nielsen. “We’re bringing that energy that is represented by ALIS into something that has a bit more longevity.”
So what is thoughtful streetwear according to ALIS? It’s relaxed acid wash denim sets and decadent leather shirting. Cropped bombers with stitched graffiti logos and long denim trenches. It’s checkered boxer shorts styled under low-slung jeans and white Kurt Cobain sunglasses. For women, it’s floor-grazing plaid skirts with matching bra tops and hip-hugging pinstripe pants. To emphasis the fashion-forward element, the show is styled by It girl Pernille Teisbaek (also co-owner Philip Lotko’s wife).
Old heads will come for the nostalgia (including a soundtrack that featured Suicide’s 'Dream Baby Dream' and 'I Love You Always Forever' by Donna Lewis), but Birk Nielsen hopes the new ALIS will capture a new generation of musicians, skateboarders and, yes, fashion folk. “It will be a bridge between both generations,” he says. “We’re tapping into the current generation but it has this long history, which is quite unusual. It’s something that has gone through time and has gotten some authenticity by going through time.” Streetwear, it seems, is not dead. It was merely taking a nap.
See all the looks from the autumm/winter '25 ALIS collection below.
