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“Over and under and over and under” was the title of Stem founder Sarah Brunnhuber’s fourth collection—and it was evident in every element of her recent presentation at Copenhagen Spring 2026 Fashion Week. Attendees lined the walls of a room, in the center of which sat a handful of lucky guests receiving instruction in willow weaving. A procession of models slowly orbited around them revealing a collection that sweetly referenced the work of a novice craftsperson.
Brunnhuber describes the central narrative of this collection as allowing “form to follow technique.” A weaver and textile designer by trade, she started with a basket, finding inspiration to weave her own from fabric scraps around her studio. She grew that into a larger, industrialized technique for woven garments, in which she can eliminate waste by weaving pattern pieces directly on a loom. The basket-style method “dictates the aesthetic of the garments, and that’s what makes everything so cohesive.”
In some pieces, the basket is interpreted quite literally, like a smock made from a loose weave of strips of fabric. In others, it’s a more subtle homage. Stem’s off-white basket vest exhibits the designer’s unique way of weaving and how it can placate differences or gaps in fabric—but in quite a luxurious-looking, beautiful way. Those manipulations shape the garment’s bulbous silhouette, with threads cinching it at the waist and fabric spilling from the collar and hip. Unraveling threads cleverly form a sort of fringe to trim the garments throughout, whether that’s on denim jackets, a range of French-feeling smocks, or sack-like dresses.
Brunnhuber, who was born in Germany but raised in the UK, launched her brand in 2021 after studying design at Design Academy Eindhoven in the Netherlands and interning for fellow Danish brand Henrik Vibskov. Her debut collection attracted Ganni and led to a collaboration the following year. The three predecessors to this collection reveal a unified, novel identity. Since launching, she has made this zero-waste production technique that involves weaving pattern pieces directly on the loom a design signature—for more reasons than one.
Sure, the title of this collection and its application so accurately reflect the motion at play in weaving, but it’s also meant to allude to the overwhelming, frenzied nature of overproduction. “I’m on a mission for people to understand a little bit more about how their garments are made,” she explains. “I often say that I’m trying to make production the story.” But when you look at the range of product she’s made, you think only about well designed clothes you want to wear.
“If I’m really honest,” she says, “I also just want to make pieces that feel really approachable to wear. That was really important to me.” She styled each ensemble with a pair of clogs and the looks felt right at home on the streets of Copenhagen. I’d swap in a flat sandal—and wear it everywhere.
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