Copenhagen Contemporaries

In light of how we live now, Denmark's next wave of designers have an eye on the past while rethinking approaches to interiors, architecture, and furniture. Here are five to watch.

- Rachel Gallaher

FEW AESTHETICS HAVE achieved the level of global recognition that Scandinavian design has. Known for clean lines, minimalist forms, muted colours, and premium craftsmanship, the work coming out of Nordic countries (specifically Denmark) is among the most iconic in the industry. “Danish design is a union of ethics and aesthetics,” says Christian Andresen, the creative-experience director at design house Fritz Hansen. “One of its virtues is that it transcended the country. So many companies became internationally known based on the designs from the 1950s and 1960s.”

With names like Fritz Hansen, Georg Jensen, and Carl Hansen & Søn still producing in-demand classics and cutting-edge architecture firms such as Henning Larsen and Bjarke Ingels’s BIG working on a global scale, the Danish influence stretches far, its appeal rooted in simplicity, connection to nature, and a human-focused approach.

But there’s a fresh group of practitioners in Copenhagen who have, over the past decade, made it a point to poke at perceived boundaries and ask why things can’t be done differently. Brought together by a healthy respect for Denmark’s design heritage but also an open, sometimes against-the-grain philosophy, these five names are poised to lead the way for Copenhagen’s nextgeneration creative class.

Helle Mardahl

For this former fashion name who burst onto the design scene in 2018 with her colourful blownglass creations, leaving Copenhagen was the key to better appreciating the city’s appeal. Like many teenagers, Mardahl saw university as a way to escape the limitations of the only place she’d ever lived, so in the late 1990s, she enrolled at Central Saint Martins.

“When I went to London, I couldn’t stand Denmark,” Mardahl admits. “I had to leave because I wasn’t feeling inspired. It took a new place and meeting new people to come back and love it again.”