CARO EDITIONS, UP CLOSE

For Caroline Bille Brahe, design begins with instinct. After years working internationally as one of the top models at her time, the Copenhagen native eventually returned home and launched CARO EDITIONS - a label shaped as much by lived experience as by the informal training she received watching some of the industry’s top designers up close. Her approach resists the idea of a singular muse or uniform aesthetic. Instead, the clothes exist in conversation with the women around her: friends, collaborators, and the wider creative community that informs the brand. The result is fashion that feels deeply personal and meant to live inside real wardrobes, while adding a kaleidoscope of color, texture, eccentricity and a humoristic edge.After Submission Beauty’s collaboration with CARO for the AW26 collection in January, we revisited our conversation with Brahe about independence, sustainability, and the thinking behind CARO EDITIONS

PHOTOGRAPHY NIKOLAJ MØLLER @nahmnahm
INTERVIEW JESPER GUDBERGSEN @yessirjesper

Hi Caro ! First things first - who are you, describe what you do and how you landed at this point?
My name is Caroline. I worked as a model from the age of 13, and when I stopped—around 21—I remember thinking, what am I actually going to do with my life now? Modeling had been my entire teenage years, and I hadn’t really thought beyond it. But I was always very interested in fashion, and I always loved it.

So over the next few years, I tried different things. I had a vintage shop for a while, because I’d loved vintage for a long time, and I worked on a few projects here and there with friends who had brands. Then my husband kept saying, you need to do your own thing.
It took me a few years to really lean into that, but eventually we made the decision for me to start a brand together. He’s not involved on a day-to-day level, but he is a partner in the brand.

Are you from Copenhagen originally?
I grew up just outside of the city, but moved away from home and into the center of town when I was 15 - I really didn’t feel like living at home any more. I think when you start working so young and are around adults only, from a very early age - it makes you independent very fast. It was a good place to start before moving abroad, as I did. I lived in New York for 6 years, starting in my late teens. But I always knew I would end up back in Copenhagen.

What does living in Copenhagen mean to you? How does it inspire what you do with the brand?
I love living in Copenhagen and I love that people around me in this city have a unique point of view when it comes to fashion and that this celebrates great personal style.
But I wouldn’t say the city inspires my collections per se; most of my inspiration comes from the years I spent abroad as a model. Working closely with most of the big international designers was the best schooling I could get - I didn’t go to school for design ever.
I don’t think of my brand as having a particular ‘scandi’-style. I think we are more about a very individual and personal style - mixed with all the things I learned from working in fashion for so long.

How would you describe the person that wears your clothing?
I don’t think of a ‘Caro Editions’ woman, If I had to define who that is, I think I would say that she is someone with her own sense of taste and she would never wear Caro Editions head to toe. For me it is important that my clothes are attractive to someone who has a well-defined sense of personal style, who is able to imagine herself just sprinkling my designs into her already great wardrobe.
I don’t like putting my name on other women, but I’m always so proud to see people with a great look that have a piece from my collection in the mix. My goal is for people to buy things from Caro Editions that last and will live in their wardrobes for a very long time

When you were finalizing the AW26 show, did you think about the women around you — your friends, collaborators?
In preparation for every show, I always keep my girls in mind. Oh, this dress is great for so-and-so, she’ll look really good wearing this. I think about their lives and what would make sense for a variety of people I know - it’s so important to feel comfortable in my clothes. I believe that if you don’t feel comfortable in what you’re wearing, the clothes won’t look good on you.

“Of course I am inspired by the people I see around me. But If I like what I’m making, then that’s actually enough for me. If I would feel good wearing this, I trust other people would too”

I guess it doesn’t hurt to be surrounded by a group of fiercely independent and gorgeous women with great style…?
I will say this, with the chance of sounding a little arrogant, haha? Of course I am inspired by the people I see around me. But If I like what I’m making, then that’s actually enough for me.
If I would feel good wearing this, I trust other people would too 

I’m not quite sure how to put it - but your clothes also seem to have a sense of.. Humor, is it? There’s something very unexpected about them
I don’t know if it’s humor, but it’s very distinctly personal and very much me. I suppose some may find my color and material combinations unusual, and it does differ from some of the more serious designers out there - but the connecting dot is that everything we do is very personal.

Do you think being a mother has influenced the way that you design?
No. I love being a mother, but I don’t necessarily look at motherhood as something that should dictate every aspect of your life. You often need to wear clothes that are comfortable, yes, but I don’t believe you need to start dressing a certain way just because you are a mother. You should stay true to what you like.
Every mother finds her own way, but staying home because you are a mom now is not for everyone. One shouldn’t change everything because your life now involves children - I want my children to be a part of all aspects of our life. They probably don’t have a very traditional upbringing - we take them with us everywhere - but for us it is important to see their parents what they love. I think that serves as inspiration for them and it will ultimately be the happiest life for them. So yes, I may think of comfort now more than ever, but I would never want to make clothes that don’t already fit into your existing lifestyle, children or not.

That makes me think of what you mentioned earlier - making clothes that fit into your life already. I see that as a very sustainable approach, something that is so important to us at Submission. Making things of quality that will work for a very very long time and do not need to be replaced…
I think we are really a sustainable brand, without even trying too hard or being super focused on that. We buy about 80% of our materials from deadstock, even for our wholesale collection, and nothing is ever produced for us from scratch. There are so many things available to us out there, there’s no need to produce all new materials for my brand.
I actually love using fabrics that other brands have used before, even what you might very clearly recognize - I don’t see that as a problem. Using something vintage or something that has already lived another life in some way - that just makes it more special for me.

We also try to use all of our leftovers for something new, we even get scraps from our producers. We make hairbows from them, or send pieces to our manufacturers in India to use as one of a kind embroideries and embellishments. Somehow we find a way to use as much as possible.

“I think we are really a sustainable brand, without even trying too hard or being super focused on that. We buy about 80% of our materials from deadstock…. Using something vintage or something that has already lived another life in some way - that just makes it more special for me.”

So much has been said over the last few seasons about inclusivity on every level. What are your thoughts on this - particularly when it comes to casting?
I find that casting is a bit like falling in love.. For me it’s not entirely about how someone looks, it’s about the person. Measurements and physical appearance are less important to me. If I get inspired by who they are, it doesn’t matter if they’re 16 or 50 and any size.
Something I do think about is that everyone is healthy, I don’t like the extremes in either direction. Working with someone super skinny or very very large doesn’t signal health to me. For me it’s all about balance: if you have a healthy life, you can look however makes you feel good. And again, personality and individuality mean everything to me.

While things have slowed down since your teen years as a model, you have experienced a fast-paced life for many years. How do you ground yourself?
I wouldn’t be without all the crazy experiences of my early years in fashion - they made me who I am today - but it is nice to get to a point where things have slowed down. I have always felt like I was the boss of my own life and that I had a choice to say no when things got out of hand. If you don’t like the music, you can always go to another room, you know?
I think for me, the big change was meeting the person I want to be with the rest of my life. Meeting my husband, building a family together and seeing how much more there is to life outside of the world I was in for so many years. There is so much noise, that I am happy not to be a part of any more. 

The AW26 show in Copenhagen had an intimate atmosphere and strong focus on craftsmanship. What was the thinking behind the collection?

The show had a smaller and more intimate approach this season.  We wanted to narrow down the focus and really show the craftsmanship of what we do with Caro Editions. Every look in this collection is made for this show by our seamstresses that we work very closely with, and each piece has an almost couture feel to them. Couture meets everyday is the theme I have been working with. It’s a clash of worlds that I find very intriguing. 

In a recent feature on you and your husband Frederik, he said something that resonated with me. Doing something that you love can bring so much happiness to other people. What does happiness mean to you?
I would agree with him! I love what I do and it makes me so happy to share a passion of mine with other people. The joy I get in return makes me feel very happy and makes it all so much more meaningful to me to do this job. 

@CAROEDITIONS