Munthe (Q3460)
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Munthe is a fashion house from FMD.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Munthe |
Munthe is a fashion house from FMD. |
Statements
2009
creative director
Naja Munthe passed up the runway this season in favor of a fashion film, and wrote enthusiastically in her show notes about how the digital format allowed her to create a “fanciful universe” with the Danish filmmaker Malthe Ejlers. It was one covered in (fake) snow where some models romped, and others seemed to free-fall into the ether. Aesthetically, the collection seems similarly directionless and disparate, save for the consistent use of a brilliant blue. While it’s difficult to discern the connection between wintery quilted pieces and summery dresses, it’s clear where the inspiration for a two-tone zippered jacket came from. There seems to be more cohesion behind the scenes, however: Munthe reports that 73% of the lineup was made using responsible materials.
4 February 2022
The most Gen Z-friendly collection at Copenhagen Fashion Week was presented by one of the city’s most senior labels, Munthe, founded in 1994. The brand chose to show digitally, capturing the energy and light-heartedness of its film in the clothes.There’s no narrative to this line-up; instead, it’s really about pieces and a positive attitude. “I was trying to capture that feeling that you can express yourself in many ways,” says Naja Munthe. “And I don’t think it matters that you are different kinds of women in one person.” That was conveyed by a cast of models of diverse backgrounds and personal styles in the film as well as the brand’s many options for dressing up and down, from floral dresses to striped knits. Leather dresses have puffed sleeves, while fringed looks add a Western touch.Munthe wasn’t designing to a theme, as she usually does, thinking less about a specific time or a place and more about actual clothes. She asked her staff to go through their wardrobes to find their favorite pieces; those became the basis for the collection, to which she then added a 1970s gloss, a decade, she says, that “is for me very happy, and free-spirited, and positive, and rock-and-roll.” Based on her conversations with customers, it seems that many people are ready to party. “Away with all the sweat pants. You want to look sexy, and dress nice, and go out,” the designer declares. “I think that’s really the feeling that is around now, that enough is enough. We want to live our lives.”For all their sauciness, Munthe’s garments prioritize sustainability. The designer estimates that about 70 percent of the spring collection was made using sustainable materials, more were transported from factory to showroom by train as opposed to shipping by air. Sustainability goes beyond materials, though. The designer’s aim this season was to create “keeper” pieces—the catch is that many many of these flirty garments look destined for a swipe-right fling rather than a long-term, grow-old-with-you relationship.
12 August 2021
A few themes are emerging as the fall 2021 season kicks off, one being that by necessity designers are focusing on local inspiration and finding joy in it, and another being that in an uncertain world, they are rediscovering the tactile pleasure of materials and craft.Naja Munthe returned to the pottery wheel after many years and the shaping and glazing she did with clay influenced her new collection, most visibly in terms of prints. This season they were developed from her own hand-drawn designs. (Munthe also painted the bags in the look book, which are for show only.)It was no surprise to see these organic prints being used on dresses and skirts, but rather inspiring to notice a free-form pattern on a pair of baggy pants. Denim-heavy, the collection as a whole skewed rather young. Ruffles and pinafore dresses felt moreLittle House on the Prairiethan of the moment. A patchworked shirt and robe jacket could integrate more easily into a more sophisticated wardrobe.More intriguing that the collection itself were the subjects Munthe explored around it. One of those was gender; both male and female models wore the collection. Another was sustainability. Munthe is known for applying her creativity not just to her designs but to her sets. Wanting to contrast her “very feminine, personal, artistic look” with an industrial aesthetic, the look book was shot in a stock house outside of Copenhagen. “It felt so good to just show up in an environment that was already there and leave it again the same way as you entered it, knowing that you didn’t waste anything at all. We just used what was there,” Munthe said. “I think that this whole sustainable [journey] that we’re on and a lot of other Danish brands are on makes us stop and wonder, ‘Do we need to do this?’ or ‘Can we do it in a more sustainable way?’ The way that we keep challenging ourselves and each other, and encourage each other to think more sustainably, that’s really positive.”
3 February 2021
Naja Munthe has one of the most playful aesthetics among the Copenhagen Fashion Week designers. Her runway shows, like her clothes—the inside-out, upside-down silhouettes of spring 2020 come to mind—tend to brim with quirk. Even in this moment of COVID-19-induced disruption, her point of view remains cute and cheeky. In lieu of a physical runway show, Munthe created a video depicting models walking on a small, foldable treadmill in front of a video montage of a seascape; electronic music plays in the background. The film captures your attention the same way that a bouncy, catchy TikTok video might, but the moving visuals don’t distract from the actual clothes.This season, Munthe focused heavily on denim (jeans were a huge category for designers who showed resort), as well as layering pieces like chunky knit vests and collared shirts. Her outerwear was quite nice, especially a green and black checked overcoat. Printed pouf-sleeve dresses will hit home with her current fans, but the separates, which were much more streamlined than usual, may attract a newer customer. The designer’s big win here was editing things down, and mixing playfulness with practicality.
10 August 2020
Disruption was the theme of Naja Munthe’s fall 2020 collection. She held her show inside a corporate-looking bank office—what better place to agitate with pink cocktails, OTT influencers, and bright clothes than a financial institution? The runway was decorated with a pixelated rainbow check pattern and it snaked through the main lobby with offices and conference rooms dotting the exposed floors overhead. Munthe enjoys juxtaposition. Her clothes are often designed with eccentricity in mind, as well as an opposites-attract mentality. Last season, she styled suits with one sleeve worn loose and the other tied around the waist.This season the disruption, if you can call it that, came via the many narrative threads running through the garments. She showed Western denim embroidered with tiny horseshoes alongside bright digital print dresses. There were T-shirts embellished with a rhinestone “Copenhagen” logo and a voluminous minidress splashed with a crystal yin and yang symbol on the front. Indeed, the collection could have used more balance and synchronicity, but one has to appreciate the fact that Munthe always shakes it up and does things her way.
30 January 2020
Earlier this year, Naja Munthe celebrated 25 years in the fashion business. She’s been building her contemporary Copenhagen-based label since the early ’90s, and she’s the the only designer in the city who still owns her own namesake brand after nearly three decades. That’s not an easy thing to manage after so many years, especially considering the local players like Ganni and Saks Potts that have risen up around her and entered a space that she carved out first. But Munthe has never sweat the competition, and her show this week was as confident as ever.Munthe is often quite literal when it comes to her references; it’s part of the playful charm of the brand. This season she paid homage to Brancusi with grid decorated trousers and a matching shirtdress, and a suit worn with one sleeve out and one tied down around the waist. This jumbled up, haphazard styling continued throughout, and it was a smart way to showcase just how versatile Munthe’s garments can be. She got a bit off track with logos, literal prints, or too-heavy textures, but otherwise, this collection had a fun, approachable aura.
8 August 2019