CMMN SWDN unveiled its Fall Winter 2025 collection, In Between Spaces, reflecting the personal experiences of designers Saif Bakir and Emma Hedlund. The collection embodies the complexities of living between two cultures, exploring the tension of existing between Sweden and the Middle East. It examines themes of identity, belonging, tradition, and modernity, translating these concepts into garments that navigate contrast and fluidity. Each piece serves as a metaphor for the state of being in transition, shaped by the collision of histories, aesthetics, and lived experiences.
FALL WINTER 2025.26 MENSWEAR COLLECTIONS
A refined palette of sand, cream, and grey provides the foundation for the collection, counterbalanced by bold patterns, rich hues, and metallics that reference Middle Eastern heritage. Scandinavian minimalism is interwoven with details, creating a visual language that feels both restrained and opulent. The collection introduces an interplay between structure and movement, where precise tailoring meets fluid draping. Fabrics reinforce this contrast, with heavyweight wools juxtaposed against lightweight silks, creating silhouettes that shift between defined and unstructured.
This season marks a significant moment for the brand as it debuts its first womenswear collection. Designed with the same conceptual rigor as its menswear, the new line reflects an evolution in the brand’s approach. Emma Hedlund, who trained at Central Saint Martins, brings her expertise in womenswear to the collection, shaping garments that embrace strength while retaining an understated elegance. Hourglass blazers with broad shoulders and fitted waists reinterpret traditional tailoring through a contemporary lens, balancing sharp construction with an inherent softness. Elongated shirts feature scarf-collar designs that introduce layers of draped fabric, referencing elements of traditional Arabic dress. Exaggerated pointed collars emerge as a recurring detail, bringing a graphic edge to classic silhouettes.
Oversized down jackets, constructed from fur-printed technical fabrics, reinterpret the symbolism of fur in contemporary fashion. Long associated with luxury and status, fur here is reimagined as an element of both function and historical reference, bridging the past with the present. The material choices throughout the collection reinforce the dialogue between heritage and modernity, where traditional craftsmanship informs progressive design.
The collection was presented at Thorvaldsens Museum, a venue chosen for its warm color scheme that resonates with the tones and textures of the garments. The space provided a fitting environment for a collection that navigates cultural intersections and the emotional weight of displacement.
In Between Spaces examines the complexities of identity through fabric, cut, and construction. By embracing contradictions and fluid transitions, CMMN SWDN shapes a collection that resists singular definitions. The result is an exploration of duality, where strength and vulnerability, past and present, structure and fluidity coexist.
