The Wessel & Vett Fashion Prize 2026 has annlunced its four finalists A new era of creativity and commercial empowerment

The Wessel & Vett Fashion Prize 2026 has presented its new finalists: Berner Kühl, Bonnetje, Caro Editions and O. Files, increasingly positioning itself as an entry point into the creative process and, more broadly, creativity. The new format, which includes workshops in the designers’ studios in Copenhagen, shifts the focus from the final result to the construction of the system: how an idea develops, how a brand is structured, how a vision is translated into a sustainable practice. It is a paradigm shift consistent with contemporary fashion, where the strength of a project lies not only in aesthetics but in its overall architecture.

The four finalists outline four very precise interpretations of this new Nordic sensibility: Berner Kühl works on the rationality of the wardrobe and on durability as an aesthetic gesture; Bonnetje deconstructs the classic through circularity and the revelation of the garment’s internal structure; Caro Editions introduces an emotional and instinctive dimension, where fashion becomes a biographical and affective extension; O. Files instead builds a controlled and conceptual language, in which tailoring discipline intersects with archival references and uniforms. During Copenhagen Fashion Week, the finalists will present their work to the public through runway shows, presentations or showroom visits, where the jury will carry out a final evaluation, discussion and announcement of a winner.

This final phase brings together the new format of the competition, enabling a more complete evaluation of the future of the brands, while placing all finalists at the center of international fashion attention. Together, these four projects are not only competing for a prize, but are drawing a coherent map of how contemporary fashion can oscillate between rigor and intuition, sustainability and individual gesture.