Fashion Forum: Forza Collective – A Force of Sensory Elegance
Fashion Forum, January 2026, Elsebeth Mouritzen
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” must be Kristoffer Kongshaug’s mantra. Once again, he excelled with a cosmopolitan collection of desk-to-dinner looks in Forza Collective’s refined signature cuts and muted monochrome palette.
There was a distinct Lower Manhattan vibe to the experience, with the day’s cold winter weather accompanying the walk down to a back entrance of CIFF, and two floors up, dazzling cones of light in a raw space the size of a parking garage, underscored by pounding music from the speakers. The only decoration was the catwalk’s feminine carpet hue, the pale lilac shade Parisians call “parme.” In a quietly ingenious way, Kristoffer Kongshaug thus wove together the two cities that have shaped him as a creative person, turning them into a backdrop for where he stands today with Forza Collective: entirely his own, and sharper than ever.
He adhered to the familiar expression, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” by continuing the signature cuts that, since his debut at Copenhagen Fashion Week just two years ago, have gently shaken up ideas of what sensuality, elegance, and good style can be. At the same time, he refined the silhouette and devoted even more attention to technical details such as wrapped buttons, small shoulder pads, and the deconstruction of conventional prototypes, guided by his instinctive ability to blend haute couture finesse with the practicality of ready-to-wear.
Already in some of the first exits, he began his flirtation with the body’s curves, first in a short, lightly trapeze-shaped jacket with diagonal pleats on the front and a flowing, slit skirt in the finest gray wool, followed by a long-sleeved day dress with a square neckline plunging to just below the breastbone—without becoming vulgar, though perhaps inviting the wearer to layer something underneath, at least at the start of the workday.
He himself describes his clothes as desk-to-dinner for professional women who need to look polished enough to head straight to a restaurant after hours. The black, tailored one-button jacket with flattering elongated hems was quite simply delicious—to look at—especially from the back, where the spine was cut into angled panels of Italian wool and reassembled into a fan-like work of art, while the trouser legs moved playfully beneath. As with the other trousers, featuring draped flounces at the waist like a small skirt that softened the look, his skirts also had a gentler corporate cut, with sharp, deep pleats at the front and a single masculine reference at the back in the form of a pocket flap. All of it beautifully styled with crisp white shirts, cut with a more generous, detail-rich volume and ’70s collars.
The ’60s-short dresses in pink or red—several of them hanging loosely with small pleats falling from the reintroduced shoulder pads—featured dropped waists with pintucks or asymmetrical panels on the skirt, and could easily take a turn on the town after work. Meanwhile, black evening dresses with winged sleeves that opened into cutouts at the sides of the bodice and a bare back demanded a party of their own.
Kongshaug safeguarded his DNA with the familiar peek-a-boob and scallop-shell-shaped cutouts in small, close-fitting bustier evening dresses in red, white, and black wool crepe, alongside less constructed jersey dresses with softly gathered bodices and skirts. In between were simply beautiful black knee-length dresses and more covered designs for every type of woman, plus a great coat to throw on top—also for those who don’t wear standard model sizes. It was refreshing to see how elegantly this can be done, without needing to make a spectacle of it.
He knows his craft. CPHFW needs a brand like Forza Collective.
