PROUD

FASHION DESIGNER SHOWS MODERN
FOLK COSTUMES AT DESIGNMUSEUM DANMARK

The Danish fashion designer Nicholas Nybro has gained recognition for his innovative and extravagant fashion creations. In October, the public can join the designer on a design adventure across Denmark through a series of modern, vibrant, and diverse folk and regional costumes in the exhibition PROUD.

From Amager to Ærø and from Hirtshals to Højer. Dressed in a cap and leopard jacket, Nicholas Nybro has traveled around the country in an investigation of our relationship with clothes and status in different parts of Denmark. On his research journey through the country, Nybro has taken the temperature of the Danish folk spirit and has gained an insight into the various regions and their cultural history through conversations with local citizens and museum staff. The result, which can be experienced at Designmuseum Danmark this October, is 21 sumptuous, beautiful, humorous, distinctive, and thought-provoking costumes, each telling stories about a region’s identity, diversity, environmental spirit, and sense of belonging.

Puffer jacket and mourning dress combined
Nybro, in his unique fashion, plays with symbols and aesthetics, challenging our perception of everyday wear, party wear, work attire, and costumes. Colors, materials, and designs unfold in a thrilling display of diversity. For instance, the inspiration for the Amager costume came from both the contemporary borough and Amager’s original folk costumes, particularly the distinctive mourning dress known as the jøben. Nybro aspired to design a costume that drew from the historical mourning dress and combined it with today’s large, black puffer jacket, which he observed in the urban landscape of Amagerbrogade on a chilly February day.

A transforming folk costume
During his research for the PROUD exhibition, Nybro discovered that the folk and regional costumes of yesteryears often evolved in expression to reflect tastes and trends of the times, thus they could be viewed more as popular fashion costumes rather than immutable folk costumes. Nybro’s collection of modern folk costumes presents a potent narrative, reflecting the colorful and diverse Denmark of 2023. It tells a story that transcends geographical and local disparities, revealing a pride in our origins and a sense of belonging.

First solo exhibition at a museum
PROUD displays costumes from Amager, Nørrebro, Strynø, Ærø, Fanø, Sønderborg, Randers, Aalborg, Hirtshals, Højer, Esbjerg, Billund, Herning, Aarhus, Vollsmose, Nykøbing Falster, Roskilde, Svanholm, Christiania, Valby and Tisvilde. The exhibition, which is Nicholas Nybro’s first solo exhibition at a museum, is on show at Designmuseum Danmark in Inner Copenhagen from 5 October 2023 to 3 March 2024. In connection with the exhibition, the book PROUD (Muusmann publisher) is published, in which Nicholas Nybro unfolds the story behind each costume in text and images.

About the designer
Nicholas Nybro is a trained designer from Design School Kolding. He has done several fashion shows and collections and has, among other things, dressed the American pop star Sia. Nicholas Nybro is the designer behind the red ball gown that the actress Ghita Nørby wore to an art ball at HM The Queen in 2016 and which received a lot of attention. In addition to his work as a fashion designer, Nybro is also a costume designer and has made costumes for e.g. the Danish Broadcasting Corporation’s Christmas calendar Theo & The Magical Talisman in 2018 and for the play Twelfth Night at Grønnegårdsteatret in 2019.