The 9 biggest Scandinavian fashion moments of 2024

Say what you will about 2024, it was a pretty major year for Scandinavian fashion. Not so much on our home turf, mind you, but abroad. This was the year that our most notable designers (both established and emerging) spread the Scandi gospel far and wide, dressing Hollywood A-listers, abandoning local shows in favour of fashion capitals and collaborating with big name sneaker brands.

We love to see it, so long as our travelling heroes never forget where they came from. Who knows, perhaps this is just the part of the hero’s journey where our protagonist heads abroad before ultimately returning home, stronger and more aesthetically pleasing than ever before. Whatever the case, our little region is making big waves in the toughest “if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere” fashion cities in the game and that’s certainly something to raise a shot of schnapps to.

Below, we break down the nine biggest Scandinavian fashion moments of 2024.

There had been whispers of Copenhagen’s “number one guy in the group”, Ganni, heading to Paris ever since the beloved brand was curiously absent from two consecutive Copenhagen Fashion Week schedules. Well, for spring/summer 2025 it happened. Ganni in Paris (to be pronounced Ganni in Pa-ree) offered an elevated take on the traditional Ganni Girl codes – poufs, prints, playfulness – with a French scarf-around-the-neck twist. How long will Ganni remain in the French capital? Only time will tell, but Paris worked out pretty well for Emily Cooper (ironically played by Lily Collins, a person who spends as much time in Copenhagen as possible).

Ganni wasn’t the only Scandi brand to migrate to a 'Big Four' show schedule this year; for spring/summer 2025, Toteme headed to the Big Apple, showcasing it’s confident Swedish minimalism in a massive no-fuss loft space. New York totally ate it up and the show even made the front page of the New York Times. Concrete jungle where dreams are made of indeed.

Speaking of eating things up, deference must be paid to Hodakova’s spoon top, which sort of sums up the Swedish It designer’s banner year in one clingy clangy item. Worn on the red carpet by Cate Blanchett, it’s a shiny emblem to the quirky sustainability championed by the brand, which also saw major red carpet moments courtesy of Emma Corrin and Saoirse Ronan. Oh, and I almost forgot, Ellen Hodakova Larsson also claimed this year’s LVMH prize.

Related: Cate Blanchett stirred our sartorial senses with a spoonful of Swedish design for the second time this year

This fall, H&M went on a world tour to rival Sweat and they even brought Charli XCX along for good measure. The Swedish fashion giant’s seemingly endless rebrand extravaganza brought out fashion Swedes from Bill Skarsgård to Elsa Hosk in London, Paris, Stockholm, New York… is this thing still happening? No one knows, but we’re here for it.

Thanks to a kiss seen round the world at a little event called The Olympics and a viral proposal captured on the digital cover of this very magazine, Desiré Inglander is, without question, the Scandinavian It girl of 2024. With one fashion month under her belt and a slew of noteworthy campaigns on her feed, Inglander is just getting started. Watch this space.

Related: “What just happened?”: Newly-engaged Desiré Inglander shares her side of the story – and wedding plans so far

The image of those models huffing and puffing around the track in their signature AVAVAV finger shoes, emblazoned with those three stripes, lives rent-free in fashion’s collective consciousness. Like it or not, Beate Karlsson remains unmatched when it comes to viral fashion show moments. If you’re going to do it, do it right.

Before there were viral moments, there was Ann-Sofie Back. The cult Swedish designer proved she’s still the greatest to ever do it with a totally killer (pun intended) don’t-call-this-a-retrospective retrospective at Liljevalchs museum in Stockholm, at which she murdered her own archive in cold blood. It’s up until February, catch it if you can.

Cool girls everywhere shed a tear when just two weeks ago, Saks Potts announced it was closing up shop. Not all Scandinavian fashion moments are happy ones, but this one has a silver lining: Cathrine Saks and Barbara Potts ended things on their own terms, with smiles on their faces. Here’s hoping there’s something big around the corner for 2025.

Related: Saks Potts: The 10 most memorable moments in a decade of Danish design

2024 was Charli XCX’s year and we were all just living in it. Call it a bit on-the-nose, but Charli for Acne Studios really says it all, doesn’t it.