AKNVAS FW24: Fashion Paints a Poem
New York, February 12, 2024 —
Within the polished hush of The Ritz-Carlton NoMad, far above the city’s familiar pulse, Christian Juul Nielsen invited guests into a reverie — a moment suspended in elegance. The debut of AKNVAS' Fall/Winter 2024 collection felt less like a traditional runway and more like an orchestrated study in movement, texture, and memory. At 1PM sharp, guests gathered in quiet anticipation. Models began to emerge in a rhythmic procession of womenswear and menswear, grounded yet expressive. Footwear collaborations with Stuart Weitzman and Dr. Martens formed a compelling contrast: soft and sculptural versus grounded and utilitarian. Behind the scenes, Cogni Bank's sponsorship reminded us that even beauty needs a benefactor — a nod to the enduring relationship between finance and the arts, old world and new.
A Dialogue Between Art and Cloth
This season, Nielsen trades trend for tribute, offering a deeply considered collection inspired by visual art’s more elusive corners. The works of Richard Artschwager and John Currin form the philosophical backbone of the offering, not in pastiche — but in spirit. Pom-pom knitwear, reminiscent of Artschwager’s tactile sculptures, danced with a restrained playfulness, invoking the artist’s lifelong tension between form and function. Faux fur outerwear, rendered in dreamlike palettes, nodded to Currin’s peculiar, sensual canvases — garments as brushstroke, each one exuding texture and drama without ever tipping into theatricality. These were not mere references. They were interpretations — subtle transfigurations of artistry into fabric, cut, and line.
Elsewhere, Nielsen explored structure in quieter ways. Pinstripe suits, softly tailored, merged workwear clarity with almost monastic restraint. Stone-washed denim — softened with time — suggested a lived-in sophistication, while 3D crocheted florals bloomed unexpectedly from collars, sleeves, and hems. Like remnants of a forgotten garden in Rome, these flourishes grounded the collection in something tactile, tender, and almost haunted.
The garments spoke in layers — never shouting — echoing the Roman architectural language: arches, shadows, bloom, and decay. A Roman Interlude in Sequin The final chapter unfolded in glimmer: a suite of draped sequin dresses, each piece flowing like a fragment of moonlight. These dresses were not about shimmer for shimmer’s sake. They were elegies — homages to Roman grandeur and to Currin’s emotive storytelling. Sequins cascaded like water over columns, each fold sculptural, each glint deliberate. This was glamour as art form, restraint as seduction. In a fashion landscape often built on speed, Nielsen dares to slow time. AKNVAS FW24 whispers what others scream. It tells us that refinement is not about exclusion — but intention. That art and fashion are not distant cousins, but lovers — eternally entwined. And as the final model faded from view beneath the soft chandeliers of the Ritz, one truth lingered: This was not just a collection. It was a poem in cloth — and Christian Juul Nielsen its author.
Creative Director: Christian Juul Nielsen
Make-up : Maud Laceppe for MAC Cosmetics
Hair : Panos Papandrianos for As I Am
Styling: Ketevan Gvaramadze
Casting: Juliun Williams
Women's shoes: Stuart Weitzman
Mens shoes: Dr. Martens
Hosiery: Les Belles
Location: The Ritz Carlton NoMad New York
New Music: Dorian Electra
PR: Agentry PR
Production: Christina Neault
Energy drink: Cloud Water
Water: Voss