HERSKIND is a Copenhagen womenswear label designed by Birgitte Herskind with her daughter Andrea Hess. I like how it softens Danish tailoring, and this edit starts with the tops.
HERSKIND Tops: A Guide to Danish Dressing
A mother and daughter on dressing
I have a weakness for family businesses, and HERSKIND is a good one. Birgitte Herskind is the founder and designer, her daughter Andrea Hess is the brand director, and together they make clothes in Copenhagen that feel like a conversation between two generations (I can only guess at the dinner table debates).
Their point of view is Danish design, precise craft and tailoring, with masculine structure and feminine fluidity pulling against each other. The AW24 collection looked to 1950s waistlines and 1990s minimalism, and I see the same push and pull in this edit: light blouses beside black and copper tops, then a mahogany coat, a suede jacket and skirts in green and black. It is a way of dressing with a clear line but no fixed uniform. I like that softness sits next to structure and neither one disappears. I went deeper on a related idea in Liquid Satin Dressing: Fluid Satin Skirts, Dresses and Tops.
The top half, with a little tension
These tops let the label's contrast show without raising the volume. The Mia Blouse and Caterina Blouse sit at the light end of the palette, and the Tootsie Top and Royal Shirt keep the clean shirt language going. The Little Top brings in copper, the Emmeline Top is the black counterpoint, and the Sisi Silk Hooded Blouse adds the softness of silk with a hood on top. The Linnea Top in tan and the Gabin Top in calla green are an easy way out of cream.
Picture her in the Mia Blouse under a sharp jacket on a day with meetings and dinner, then choosing the Little Top with dark trousers for a looser plan. A styling note from me: let copper or green be the only strong color and keep everything else quiet.
Layers that soften the line
The outer layers draw the silhouette without overpowering the skirts and dresses. The Ultra De Lux Coat in mahogany and the Ray Suede Jacket in cognac warm up the palette, while the Leigh Jacket in gun checks brings pattern. The Herbert Skirt in copper and the Anda Skirt in calla green are two ways to leave the neutrals, and the Angel Skirt is the black anchor. The Laura Dress in tobacco and the Linus Dress in sand carry the same colors as a complete look.
In my fashion dreams, she leaves Copenhagen late in the day in the Laura Dress under the Ray Suede Jacket, the colors echoing rather than matching. I would keep the base simple when the Leigh Jacket goes on and let the check do the work. With a skirt, try a top in the same shade family, then add contrast through texture instead of another print.
A quieter kind of strength
HERSKIND makes the case for tailoring that can soften without losing its line. That is what keeps these pieces interesting to me: a blouse can sit under a coat, a skirt can change the mood with one color, and a dress can stay in the same earthy palette as the layers around it.
What I would skip is buying a whole look at once. I would start with the piece I can imagine in my own real week, then build around its shape. Although I suspect the coat will end up leading the way.
