Five years ago brands like Ganni, Saks Potts and Stine Goya replaced any ideas we had of minimalist Scandi style with a wave of florals, sequins and colour. But for Rotate founders Jeanette Madsen and Thora Valdimars, their local fashion scene was lacking something.
“It wasn’t sexy enough!” says Jeanette. “The colours started popping up, but everything was too long, too girly. There were dresses but they weren’t party dresses. The focus has never been on going out.”
The pair had struck up a friendship working as fashion editors at Copenhagen’s Costume magazine, and had each garnered massive Instagram followings for their cool, colourful street style. They had long dreamed of running their own label, which they were always determined would focus on affordable, super sexy party dresses.
“We’re not from rich backgrounds or anything,” says Thora. “And we would travel to Milan or Paris and see all these girls in super short dresses and really low necklines, and, like, feathers and sequins and latex. And we were like, that’s what we want! So we thought, let’s do it ourselves, and let’s make it affordable.”
Not having a degree in design would once have made launching a brand difficult, but social media has levelled the playing field. A chat with an investor friend and a chance introduction to Denise Christensen, CEO of Copenhagen fashion conglomerate Birger Christensen (which also owns a brand called Remain and Gen Z label Cannari Concept, launching this summer), meant the dream became a reality in summer 2018, when they launched under the Birger Christensen umbrella.
Their first drop was a joyous, event-centric edit of seven colourful dresses (we wrote about it here) – from puff sleeved jacquard minis to shimmering 70s maxis – priced from £180 to £420 that made a big noise on the street style circuit and many a fashion girl’s Instagram feed. “Social media made everything possible. There were no limits with where you could go with your network,” says Thora, explaining how they gifted the first collection to their friends on the fashion circuit, who posted themselves wearing Rotate to runway show and at parties. Perhaps the best adverts for the brand though are the founders themselves, who live in the clothes they produce, and have a combined Instagram following of 463,000.
“Since day one, Rotate celebrated Thora and Jeanette’s love of life and parties and this essence runs through everything from their collection, to the shows, and gives them a unique positioning in the contemporary world,” says Browns Fashion’s Buying Director Ida Petersson, who was one of a handful of buyers and editors to be invited to Rotate’s first ever “beautiful, intimate” runway show. “We placed an order the very next day and had the pleasure of being one of two global launch partners for the brand. I love how they offer incredible pieces at an affordable price for a customer that craves a statement look.”
The UK is Rotate’s biggest market, with Italy, USA, Germany and the UAE following. Why do they think it resonates so well on British shores I wonder? “Because UK girls always dress fun!” says Thora. “And when they go partying, they don’t care. You know, you can be 15 or 50 and size 0 or size 50-something, and if you want to wear a short dress, you do it!”
People are generally more conservative in Denmark, they explain. “It’s changed a lot in the last five years but the mentality here is that you shouldn’t think that you are better than others. So dressing up and being OTT and owning it can be at odds with that in some ways,” says Jeanette.
They cite something called Jante Law, a Nordic social code in which you must aspire to be average (it originates from a satirical book A Fugitive Crosses His Tracks published by Danish-Norwegian author Axel Sandemose in 1933, and outlines ten rules of conduct – among them statements like ‘Don’t think you are anything special’ and ‘You’re not to think you are good at anything’) suggesting this as a reason Scandis are more reserved. (Side note – it’s also one many attribute as a key reason Denmark consistently tracks among the top happiest countries in the world.)
“If I’m I Copenhagen, I still find it hard getting my picture taken on the street,” says Jeanette. “I don’t like it. Because if people look at me… people are laughing at me sometimes, and I’m like, can you please not, I think it’s so hard standing here, so can you please not!” The admission is a surprising one coming from one of Scandinavia’s leading street style influencers, a woman who has 341,000 Instagram followers and who has propelled her career and image through having her picture taken. “It’s just in Denmark,” she continues. “In foreign countries it’s different.”
Shy or not, the pair have hit the zeitgeist with their collections, which now include tailoring, pleather trousers, jumpsuits and going out tops. Rotate now has 450 stockists globally and from 2021 to 2022 the business grew a whopping 75 per cent. Birger Christensen doesn’t break out individual brands but sales across Rotate and sister brand Remain hit €30 million in 2022, just four years after launch of both labels. In Covid they pivoted quickly from party dresses and launched a successful loungewear offshoot called Rotate Sunday and in 2022, they launched bridal, swimwear and accessories alongside their first ever NFT and AR filter.
Their AW23 show last week took place in a vast airport hangar on the outskirts of Copenhagen and was absolutely packed to the rafters with around 500 guests – all of whom went wild when Real Housewives of Beverley Hills star Lisa Rinna hit the runway in a black bodysuit and leopard coat. If anyone knows how to create a social media moment, it’s these pros. “From the brands inception, they knew how to wow an audience with music and unexpected moments,” agrees Petersson.
With a range of ten all-black basics hitting the shelves and Rotate accessories, and someday a standalone Rotate store – they hope – in the pipeline, it seems this is a high-octane sequin and latex label whose star is most definitely on the ascent.
“I think the only way that you can survive in this business is by really believing in what you are doing,” says Thora. “You have to have a clear vision of what you want to do and really be true to yourself. Because otherwise it’s a hard job out there, it’s a crazy industry.”
