Missing: Rolf Ekroth SS24

At a skatepark in Copenhagen former poker player, social worker and salesman turned designer, Rolf Ekroth, debuted the first runway collection from his eponymous label.

Launched in 2020, the brands collections have always been looking back.

Having spent much of his early years lost on where he truly wanted to take his life, Ekroth eventually found his way to Helsinki’s Aalto University where he graduated in 2015.

Since then, he has been a finalist at the Hyeres Festival and won the Designers’ Nest competition just a year after he left Aalto.

Ekroth’s label creates gender-neutral and size inclusive clothing with a heavy focus on sustainability, 80% of his designs being made from recycled materials.

His SS24 collection entitled ‘Missing’, that has been the subject of much excitement at Copenhagen Fashion Week this year, is centred round introspection.

It focuses on looking at his past through rose tinted spectacles and as a result roses are a consistent motif throughout the show.

Bold floral patterns and bright, exuberant colour-ways were emblazoned on to a variety of oversized silhouettes. The collection featured aspects of classic tailoring, outerwear essentials and 90s streetwear, all reimagined with Ekroth's quintessential flair.

The suiting focused on loose functional styles and hardy fabrics, frequently paired with shirts featuring collars reminiscent of old fieldworker's bandanas.

Ekroth featured shorts of yarn cut in a manner akin to rug making to create eye-catching and textured repeating patterns partnered with chunky, tasseled knitwear.

Alongside this, he included outfits reminiscent of army fatigues, inspired by his military service, using the floral designs present throughout the collection to create bright and striking camouflage patterns.

He wished to pay tribute to hardworking people, with plenty of workwear, the occasional apron and an emphasis on function first designs. This tribute was particularly fixated on the people of his home country, Finland, with his celebrated friendship bracelets becoming alpha-woven necklaces, paying homage to traditional Nordic craftsmanship.

The title ‘Missing’ was inspired by his feeling that we all live our lives yearning for the joys of our youth. He speaks of his personal experience of this, his nostalgia for the 90s, his parents the 60s and his grandparents the 30s. Yet the collection actually centres around his realisation that we shouldn’t be fixating on these periods but remaining present and focusing on the joyful aspects of every stage of life.

Ekroth stated, “I should be happy with where I am”. This inspired much of the design direction with most of his recent work being centred around “old crafting traditions" and "trying to reimagine them into something new, but never letting go of the nostalgia”.

Despite its rose-tinted and jubilant aspects, Ekroth’s characteristically utilitarian style remains at the forefront of the collection. His signature oversized, workwear inspired pieces appearing in the vast majority of the looks.

Although his brand has faced many challenges over the course of its short life, he has accepted the often-slow growth rate of small labels in this industry and he is gaining new sponsors with every season.

Vogue Business cited increased brand awareness as the key to the label's continued success. The excitement and extensive media coverage this SS24 collection has inspired certainly appears to be a remarkable first step in achieving this.