Saks Potts - AW23

Held at the expansive concert hall in Copenhagen’s iconic Tivoli amusement park, today’s Saks Potts show – the biggest of the week in terms of audience, the girls tell me – was a celebration of family in all its forms. It’s a fitting theme for designers Catherine Saks and Barbara Potts. Not only did both women recently become mothers, they practically grew up as sisters, becoming best friends in kindergarten and remaining largely attached at the hip as they went on family trips and outings up until they started their brand nearly a decade ago. “We met each other when we were five and have been best friends ever since,” says Potts. “We also have our small family as the team, here in the office,” adds Saks. “And the word family has taken on a new meaning for us, since we became mothers.”

It was a family affair indeed, with a youth marching band opening the proceedings and the likes of Veneda Carter with her daughter and a pregnant Caroline Bille Brahe walking the show. “You can see family in so many different ways,” says Potts, adding that recently the duo have seen close friends in same sex couples struggling to grow families of their own. “We want to highlight that family constellations come in many different forms,” says Saks.

Practically, the garments are suited to the family-centred activities that populated the designers’ lives. Driving to Potts’ summerhouse in the north of Copenhagen, listening to songs from the late 90s. Cozying up by the fireplace and exploring in the nearby woods. “Our brand is so personal,” says Potts. “It’s Saks Potts, it’s our last names.”

These are the sorts of clothes the girls and their friends are keen to wear right now – distressed leather bomber jackets, and sumptuous knits. A standout laser-cut suede dress for a night out, the brand’s signature D ring at the hip. “It’s super sexy because it’s totally see-through, but then there’s still the D ring where you can put your keys,” says Saks. “You have to have your keys somewhere.” The styling plays with proportion, with bulkier outwear paired with slim trousers. A paillette dress is printed with argyle, a glamorous nod to the sweaters the girls wore in their youth. Pony hair leopard jackets — both short and long – paired with purple slacks also remind us these mums know how to party.

There’s a certain energy in the room, particularly when Saks and Potts take their bow to the whoops and hollers of the thousand-plus guests. “We love our shows to be so inclusive and to invite all of our friends,” Saks says. “It’s important that the press and everyone come,” says Potts. “But we also want to invite our weird uncle from Jutland who says every Christmas ‘Barbara, I still don’t understand what you are doing in this fashion industry’.”