Highlighting CPHFW New Talent and Dazed Magazine’s One to Watch

Alectra Rothschild / MASCULINA is a Danish clothing brand built on the values and future-forward vision of inclusion, craftsmanship, femininity, performativity, and high fashion. Her work is a glamorous celebration of the queer and trans communities that fuel Copenhagen's counterculture. In the last few years Alectra Rothschild has had the pleasure of creating custom looks for international stars like Michéle Lamy, Arca, Yves Tumor and MØ along with local scandinavian stars like Jada, Tessa, COBRAH and Nadia Tehran. And she even takes custom commissions on her IG.

Alectra got her start as a trained tailor. She studied at Beckmans College of Design, MA Fashion under Fabio Piras at Central Saint Martins, and studied sustainability and fashion at The Royal Danish Academy.

She trained under the likes of sculptural Dutch designer Iris Van Herpen (one of the first designers to adopt 3D-printing as a garment construction technique, as worn by Lady Gaga for the launch of her perfume Fame.) and avant-garde Danish fashion designer Anne Sofie Madsen. She then scored her very first job in the fashion industry at Mugler under the creative direction of Casey Cadwallader. And if that wasn’t impressive enough, she has also done freelance work for Alexander McQueen and a collab with Birkenstock.

Since graduating, i-D mentioned Alectra Rothschild as “best of CPHFW SS23+FW23”, she was chosen for Dazed100 List 2022 by Dazed and was selected as the first CPHFW NEWTALENT: One to Watch for FW23. CPHFW NEWTALENT is established by Copenhagen Fashion Week to nurture, develop, and promote emerging Nordic talent on a global scale for emerging brands with less than five years in business.

‘You Are Wasted Here, You Are A Star’ SS25 Collection

On August 5th 2024, Alectra Rothschild/Masculina showcased her Spring/Summer 2025 collection produced by inter.agcy. In her press release, she explains that the collection is called “You are wasted here, you are a star” which speaks to the position of trans people in our society. “We are wasted in this world because we are disproportionally experiencing extreme discrimination, homelessness, joblessness & violence for simply existing and obviously not appreciated for the Stars we are”, Alectra expressed.

The collection itself investigates intimacy and platonic love. This is shown by having garments such as nightgowns, robes, and leisure wear. These pieces are inspired by the 20’s Boudoir and the 20’s silhouette from Erté. It’s about the space in front of your vanity table putting on your glamour or getting undone with your close girlies around. “Is it Vanity, or your Sanctuary?”

For her SS25 presentation, held on a nondescript parking lot, the designer put her muses on motorcycles and sky high scaffolding in looks that channel a Berlin-esque sexy and sultry post-club afterparty — dancing on scaffolding to DJ g2g’s trap-heavy soundtrack.

The collection celebrates an intimate, post-club scene. Romantic nightgowns juxtaposed next to slutty clubwear that meets leathery racer pants and jackets. “It’s about that space you have with your friends when you are in private,” says Rothschild, noting that this collection is much more “romantic and intimate” than the two that preceded it. “It’s sensual, but also slutty, because that’s just the DNA.” (The intimacy was hardly present in the show itself, mind you, which welcomed the public to take in the spectacle).

According to Vogue Scandinavia, “the collection continues the narrative kicked off by the debut Masculina presentation, dubbed R.I.P. Masculina – her very own funeral – and followed by last season’s 'Rebirth', which found a cast of mostly trans models totally alive and ready to hit the club. And now we’ve reached the so- called “afters” – that ominous, dead-of-night moment where clubwear gives way to lace nighties and deconstructed overshirts, perhaps belonging to somebody else (Rothschild cites 1920s boudoir as a major reference). “There are still remnants of the club coming with you,” she says, pointing out the latex offering, specifically. She even made her own latex for the occasion, pouring the liquid substance onto a large glass table and embossing it with lace before fashioning the hardened material into a second skin. Elsewhere, second-skin fetish-y looks with cut-outs, spikes and rings.”

Although Rothschild’s show featured a cast of what she calls “cunty muses”, there was one woman who served as a major point of inspiration. “There’s a lot of my mum in this collection,” says Rothschild, who took in the show from the front row, snapping and smoking a cigarette. “She’s always dressed in layers of black and lace and velvet.” Her mother contributed in a literal way as well; the opening gown was made of her old velvet and lace dresses. “It’s a showpiece because it can’t be replicated,” says Rothschild. “That one’s my favorite.”

The showpieces are created from upcycled garments, fabrics, and stockings. Alectra worked with intricate techniques like ruffles, gatherings, deconstruction, and slashing along with corsetry and created her own latex from scratch. The collection features Oleatex — a plant-based 100% vegan material created from the olive industry waste — as a sustainable replacement for leather made from recycled polyester and olives, and deadstock lace and silks from the deadstock fabric company Belgerian Fabrics.

Alectra declares this collection as a “romantic love letter to my queer and trans siblings.” with a nod to her impressive swath of avant-garde mentors and muses.

Watch the Runway Film and discover all the looks from the Alectra Rothschild / Masculina SS25 collection below: