Set Design for Holzweiler’s A/W 20 Runway Show
Earlier this year, Snøhetta developed a bespoke set design for Holzweiler’s autumn/winter runway show at Copenhagen Fashion Week, conceptualized in collaboration with stylist Alexandra Carl and art director Rana Toofanian.
The Holzweiler runway show, dubbed “Our Soil” was unveiled at The Plant, a re-used old A.P. Møller Mærsk plastic sorting factory, just at the outskirts of Christians Harbour in Copenhagen during fashion week.
Together with Snøhetta, floral designer Moa Nordahl, installed soil and Nordic plants in the plant box, reflecting the colors of the collection shown on the runway.
The staging of the performance was set in place to reminds us that there are powerful invisible forces, frequencies and energies constantly at work – especially within Mother Nature – hence also within ourselves.
"One of the most challenging and interesting aspects of the fashion world is its speed, especially when designing a runway concept. The temporality of the installation is very exciting, as it demands a fantastic coordination between the creative ideas and the built form. The impact of the design should be clear while also triggering curiosity. In the end, the essence of the vision for the collection should come through,” says Snøhetta architect Manon Tardieu about the show’s set design.
Integrated Plant Music
The musical backdrop was set by founder and director at Data Garden, Joe Patitucci, in a unique collaboration with DJ Loke Rahbek, creating a mesmerizing atmosphere in a combination of plant wave music – live from the plants in the plant box – and electronic beats. Loke Rahbek's cool Nordic-noir electronic production perfectly supplemented the organic plant sounds composed by Joe Patitucci creating a unique "sound bath" to accompany the models on the runway.
The Holzweiler A/W 20 collection looks to Norway's national treasures of agriculture and nature as the inspiration for the latest collection.
The show’s set design was designed to be reused, and both the plant box and plants got a new home after the show. The plant box was split up into three parts post show, and re-used in a new store in Oslo, the showroom in Copenhagen and an installation abroad. The plants will grow in front of the Holzweiler Headquarters in Oslo and the soil was donated to an organic farm just outside of Copenhagen.
