With an MA from London’s Royal College of Art, a list of stockists that includes Dover Street Market worldwide and a starry spot at Copenhagen Fashion Week – Cecilie Bahnsen is a talent that hits right on the edge of art and commerce. Her ruffled organza and reinterpreted shirt-dresses are powerful, yet they don’t feel overpowering. While Bahnsen’s textiles strike a crisp image, the silhouettes ooze with playfulness.

Cecilie Bahnsen’s CV includes working as a print designer under John Galliano. Even though there are no prints in her collections, the clothes have similarities with Galliano’s new ideas at Margiela. Both take familiar items of clothing and interpret them with a forward-looking twist – in Bahnsen’s case it’s a white shirt revisited in a poetic, Emily Brontë-esque way. Ties, ruffles, textures and just the right amount of bare skin – hers is a world of daring femininity.

Here’s Cecilie Bahnsen’s Because Passport application:

Cecilie Bahnsen autumn/winter 2017, shown at Copenhagen Fashion Week

FULL NAME: Cecilie Rosted Bahnsen

DATE & PLACE OF BIRTH: 15 February in Gentofte, Denmark

BRAND: Cecilie Bahnsen (womenswear)

BRAND’S DATE & PLACE OF BIRTH: 1 June 2015 in Copenhagen, Denmark

CURRENT LOCATION: Copenhagen

What are the places in Copenhagen or London we need to visit and why:

Copenhagen’s Louisiana Museum of Modern Art has the most beautiful views, architecture and hosts incredible art and exhibitions.

Danish or English food?

Danish. I love my rye bread.

Favourite word in Danish/English:

Love.

Do you feel more like a Danish or an English designer?

I feel like a Londoner.

Is the feeling of belonging to a place/nation important to you?

No. I love that I have more than one city that I can call home.

Follow Cecilie Bahnsen through Instagram at instagram.com/ceciliebahnsen. The finale of the LVMH Award is being held on 16 June at the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris. Find out more about the finalists at lvmhprize.com.

Text by Dino Bonacic