MILAN — “It’s so hard with these prizes to know how your presentation has been and what the feedback was. I just feel so happy right now, I’m very honored — this is a very big recognition for my brand,” said Nicklas Skovgaard.
The Danish designer tuned in on a video call with WWD on Thursday evening, right after learning he won the annual Wessel & Vett Fashion Prize. Designed as Denmark’s answer to the LVMH Prize, the prestigious award, which was previously bestowed to the likes of Stem’s Sarah Brunnhuber, Anne Sofie Madsen, Cecilie Bahnsen, A. Roege Hove, Saks Potts and Iso.Poetism by Tobias Birk Nielsen, is aimed at fostering local brands and supporting the international growth of the most promising fashion talents in Scandinavia.
Second time’s a charm for Skovgaard, as he was already a finalist of the contest in 2022. “That was a time when the brand was really new,” he said about his namesake womenswear label launched in 2020.
“I didn’t have a proper production yet and I was only working with one store at that time. So it’s also been super interesting in the past couple of weeks to work on the presentation for this year’s prize, looking back at what has actually happened throughout the past three years and how the brand has been developing,” he said.
This approach sparked the personal presentation Skovgaard staged for the jury. “Being an emerging designer in this industry can be extremely challenging sometimes. How do you work your way around it? I decided that I really wanted to just share my journey all the way from my childhood, when I fell deeply in love with fashion, to where I am today,” Skovgaard said.
Self-taught in textile creation, Skovgaard started his journey when he discovered a children’s loom in a thrift shop, which sparked his passion for weaving unique fabrics now informing his collections. The mix of unexpected materials — from handwoven wool and technical and water-repellent fabrics, to silk taffeta with stretch jersey — now results in a modern, often theatrical take on traditional silhouettes via volume interplays, peplum hems and puffed sleeves. His fashions stand on the edge of romanticism and realism, evoking a sense of familiarity and otherworldly at once.
Skovgaard’s inspirations span from baroque aristocratic portraiture to ’80s pop culture, and are drenched in personal memories.
“I grew up in a very small island in the south of Denmark. It was a very typical countryside and a place where there was no fancy store around. And I think the person who really introduced me to fashion back then was actually my mother,” Skovgaard said about his biggest muse.
“She wasn’t working within the fashion industry or anything, but as a child, watching her getting dressed for her everyday life and for going out, I think really helped me shape my love for fashion,” he continued. “What drives my passion for fashion today is still this kind of almost childish way of thinking about fashion. Obviously this is such a big business, but to me it’s so important to keep these moments of creativity and imagination as part of it.”
The attitude links with the ultimate mission of the brand, which is “to make people really, really happy whenever they wear one of my pieces,” Skovgaard said. “To me, it’s all just about creating garments that resonate with you once you wear it, where you get a good feeling from and that somehow can empower you. Again, I remember being a child, watching my mother getting dressed and seeing how happy she could become when putting on a certain dress: it’s that same kind of energy that still guides me today.”
In revealing this edition’s winner at the Tom Christoffersen Gallery in Copenhagen, Wessel & Vett Fashion Prize’s founder Nina Wedell-Wedellsborg highlighted how Skovgaard “stood out for a unique and emotionally rich aesthetic.”
“The designs blend theatrical and historical influences with a modern touch, turning nostalgia into something fresh and relevant. Through precise construction and a strong sense of form, [he] transforms clothing into stories that reflect honesty, artistry and innovation,” said Wedell-Wedellsborg, who additionally defined Skovgaard as “a bold new voice in Danish design — one that challenges conventions while staying true to [his] roots.”
Skovgaard beat two other finalists: Mfpen, a Copenhagen-based fashion brand founded in 2015 by Sigurd Bank, and Stel, the womenswear label founded by Astrid Andersen.
Like Skovgaard, the other two finalists were also nominated before. In particular, Andersen previously won the contest but with her namesake menswear label. All three designers’ sophomore nomination reflect the contest’s sharpened focus on integrating more established brands and experienced designers with up-and-coming talents — a format tweak introduced in 2023.
All boasting different approaches to fashion, the finalists were revealed during Copenhagen Fashion Week in August and selected by a panel of industry experts, who assessed entries based on criteria such as design talent and originality, sustainable credentials and business strategy.
This edition marked the return to the contest’s original concept of a dual jury: a creative one assessing each designer’s vision, aesthetics, craft and technical skills, and a business one evaluating the commercial potential, market reach and long-term brand sustainability.
The former was spearheaded by Wedell-Wedellsborg and included the likes of Sara Sozzani Maino; designer Henrik Vibskov; Marimekko’s creative director Rebekka Bay; Line Hangaard, senior womenswear designer at Jil Sander, and Olya Kuryshchuk, founder and editor in chief of 1 Granary, among others.
The latter comprised Copenhagen Fashion Week’s chief executive officer Cecilie Thorsmark; Mulberry CEO Andrea Baldo; Tekla CEO Kristoffer Juhl; Ganni cofounder Nicolaj Reffstrup, and Rikke Amtorp, head of brand and creative at Magasin du Nord, to cite a few.
As winner of the accolade, which was formerly known as the Magasin du Nord Fashion Prize and counts the support of Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, Skovgaard will received a cash award of 500,000 Danish krona, or 67,000 euros, and, as part of the continued sponsorship and collaboration with Copenhagen Fashion Week, complimentary slots on the official show and presentation schedule for the fashion event’s fall 2026 and spring 2027 seasons.
Skovgaard already knows how he wants to invest the prize money: A little extra help might drive the next chapter of his brand, since so far he handled directly most aspects of the business, overseeing everything from design and production to sales and communication.
“It’s been a very good way of understanding the retail market and also understand how it is to grow an emerging brand,” the designer said. “But I feel like I’ve taken it so far I can myself in terms of sales, so one of the things that I’d invest the money is to actually start working with a sales agent so we can both maintain the relationship with the existing stockists and reaching new retailers around the world,” Skovgaard said.
The brand’s current distribution includes the likes of Dover Street Market in Paris, Carv Store in Japan, and Café Forgot, Maimoun and Mr. Larkin in the U.S. In addition, Skovgaard recently relaunched the label’s online store, which offers his seasonal collections as well as a selection of archival items and made-to-order pieces. Especially from the e-commerce, Skovgaard can see potential to grow the business in the U.S., where most of the orders are currently coming from, he said.
Established in 2012, the Wessel & Vett Fashion Prize is spearheaded by the Wessel & Vett Foundation, created by the descendants of department store Magasin du Nord’s 19th-century founders Emil Vett and Theodor Wessel. The award’s change of name in 2022 was intended to mark the prize’s 10th anniversary and further celebrate the entrepreneurship and innovation of the retailer.