Cmmn Swdn presents its collection at Copenhagen Fashion Week for the very first time, simultaneously launching their womenswear line
After spreading its wings in London and Paris, Cmmn Swdn made its way over the Øresund bridge from its hometown of Malmö, to showcase the brand’s latest collection at Copenhagen Fashion Week for the very first time. But founders and life partners Saif Bakir and Emma Hedlund had another surprise up their well-tailored sleeves – autumn/winter ‘25 marked a double debut, as the label also launched its first-ever womenswear line.
“Womenswear is something that we’ve been wanting to do for a really long time,” says Hedlund, who trained as a womenswear designer at Central Saint Martins. “And because we’re husband and wife, and with our backgrounds in design disciplines as a womenswear designer and a menswear designer, it has always felt like the next natural step for us.” This season, the duo felt it was the right moment to make the move, having matured and reached a point where they’ve cemented and fine-tuned the brand’s menswear to the desired standard. “We’re confident in our aesthetic,” Bakir adds.
As opposed to treating the womenswear range as a separate entity, both Hedlund and Bakir see it as the final piece of the puzzle – hence why Cmmn Swdn included pieces from the AW25 menswear collection at CPHFW as well. “It’s [the AW25 showcase] a reflection of us, really. Now it feels like it’s becoming a whole,” Bakir says. “It’s come a full circle now that we can present two collections that mirror both of us.”
Since the brand’s menswear is imbued with feminine nuances, Hedlund and Bakir wanted their womenswear to adopt a more masculine edge. “It’s almost that contrasting clash of the menswear flirting with the womenswear and the other way around,” Hedlund says.
Showcased at Thorvaldsens Museum, Hedlund and Bakir had felt an instant pull to the location due to its vibrant warm colour scheme, which is found in much of Cmmn Swdn’s clothes – and the AW25 offering is no exception. As hinted above, the collection adopts a personal approach, blending the dualities of Hedlund – whose family hails from Sweden – and Bakir, whose parents are Middle Eastern into a cohesive yet contrasting line-up. “It’s about that mix of cultures and how those two worlds collide,” Bakir reiterates.
This collision materialises distinctly through juxtaposing textures and proportions. Sequin-swathed, breezy trousers team with an oversized, double breasted coat crafted from weighty bonded wool. Bold shoulders meet cinched waists. An oversized, metallic lurex knit finds its perfect match in sharp straight-fit trousers. Elsewhere, crisp cotton poplin shirting with long pointy collars layer under deliciously sculpted blazers, while billowing long-line numbers mesh with cropped lengths. Debuting this season, a desert-hued trompe l'oeil print that mimics the illusion of fur, adorning winter-ready outerwear. Ultimately, it's the immaculate tailoring – a Cmmn Swdn trademark – that steals the spotlight this season.
So, now that the label’s womenswear has officially been unveiled, who is the Cmmn Swdn woman? “She’s very confident in herself yet down-to-earth. She's mature – she doesn’t need to pretend that she’s anything that she’s not,” says Hedlund. Bakir adds, “But at the same time, she’s soft and caring.”
See all the looks from Cmmn Swdn's autumn/winter '25 collection below:
