We live in complex, harsh times as humans. Forgetting who we are and why we are. Pretending we are sharp and the centre of the world, when we actually share this home with other souls. In these moments of uncertainty, we must not look at ourselves, but mirror what we find in nature- cooperation.
Emotion wrecking, anxiety about the future and economic hardships shift our priorities and focus. And it is a pressure we bear with us daily, until we realise it is a shared feeling.
Henrik Vibskov has always found a way to adapt its narrative to changing contexts; in this season, it does so by addressing the collaboration beneath the surface and the social structures we find in nature. Structures which we should extrapolate to ourselves as a species in order to divide the load. “To look at the frog is to look at ourselves — interdependent bodies in constant transition, navigating thresholds and the weight of what we carry”. Yes, the topic might be a simple frog, but we have indeed so much to learn from them.
Blue, green, and brown, in contrast with orange and hints of black, invaded the backstage, visually anticipating the Frog Carry Frog universe. Models arose from an elevator wearing fake, wet, sticky bangs that reminded the slimy substance of frogs that had just emerged from the water.
To fully emulate this creature, hair was just the starting point. Headpieces dominated with bonnets crowned with a playful ball, or bulbous dual orbs evoking froglet eyes—alternating with oversized rain hats and balaclavas that morphed the wearer into sleek amphibians. Trousers toyed with exaggerated volume and daring cuts, as if sculpted from the sinuous legs of dancing frogs. Both elements were strong assets in changing the human appearance to a toad silhouette. Socks shared the spotlight as well, whimsically mismatched pairs or those emblazoned with frog motifs.
Monochrome jacquards, organic patterns, and mushy textures commenced to appear once the models were completing their outfits, transporting us to their habitat. On the other hand, Tailoring-centred structured garments are in contrast with soft, organic-textured sweaters. Underlying both the serious and picturesque aspects of the collection.
Maintaining the brand´s signature two-tone shoes with thin, long laces, as well as the concept of layered designs, which are similar but not identical (playing with the eye by doing so). Yet this time, interlocking adds up; it unveils the underlying structure and dialogues with it, bringing a playful new visual plane.
When the line-up began, so did the final touches for these froggy-like models. Make-up and hair professionals were ready for action, and you could see them in their incessant movement, retouching and adjusting details. Some team members were checking with a lint remover for possible intruders on the clothes.
Backstage lay underground, following narrow ground-level stairs into the depths of the inner theatre, which paradoxically opened outward. When the performers were sent upstairs, I followed them to the illuminated blue stage within the magnificent brown-brick round Ostre Gasvaerk Theatre. It felt like surfacing from water, the audience perched high above the pond-like stage.
Actors were holding ladders and changing postures with the music; some models, as they walked by, diverted their path to interact with them, either placing or taking orange boxes. Alluding, in this way, to the cooperation and (literal) shared weight that we observe in the wild for everything to keep working.
Eventually, the show unfolded, and I found a flyer on my seat with this cute frog lifting weights. On the back, the press release detailed the inspiration behind this collection, and I feel compelled to highlight this quote- “Frog Carry Frog is a portrait of shared strength: a reminder that every height reached rests on many shoulders, and that together, we carry more.”
Photography by Ionela Bona for VEIN MAGAZINE
