When I hop into my video call with Christian Juul Nielsen, the Creative Director behind AKNVAS, he’s in his Manhattan studio, sitting amidst racks of the clothing that comprise the brand’s AW2022 collection. So much of our conversation would end up exploring notions of contrast in his design history, and the shot of him in a navy blue sweater juxtaposed against the vibrant colors of the collection is burned into my memory as my first impression of the Danish-born, Manhattan-based designer.
Boasting an illustrious resume working for other designers, Nielsen started AKNVAS in 2019 with womenswear, eventually releasing menswear collections beginning in 2020. Despite conforming to notions of “menswear” and “womenswear” for the purposes of high fashion classification, most of Nielsen’s garments are essentially genderless and meant to be worn by anyone.