PHILIP MESSMANN. AVAILABLE AT NET-A-PORTER
the same way. Ultimately, the idea emerged to create a
brand for the girl who loves fashion, but has to fulfil
her dream wardrobe on a regular salary.”
The pair teamed up with Danish boutique Birger
Christensen to create Rotate Birger Christensen — a
limited selection of satin wrap dresses, jacquard mini
dresses with ’80s-style shoulders and floaty off-the-
shoulder maxi dresses realised in black, magenta and
snakeskin print. The dresses sit around the $275–$500
mark (with one $640 crystal-embellished outlier) and
launched in late 2018, just in time for the silly season.
The simple-meets-sexy Scandi aesthetic and accessi-
ble price point was a tempting combination for Net-
a-Porter’s global buying director Elizabeth von der
Goltz, who snapped up the debut collection as a Net-
a-Porter exclusive. “We had long been big fans of
Jeanette and Thora’s incredible personal style, so when
we heard they had designed a collection together, we
immediately reached out to be the first to see it,” she
says. “Our customers can’t get enough of Scandinavian
style right now — it’s an incredible aesthetic that
mixes luxury fashion with everyday streetwear, and I
felt Rotate’s first collection mixed timeless glamour
and sartorial precision in a distinctive way.”
While they were atCostume, Madsen and Valdimars
started to grow their digital platforms. Their style — a
mix of ultra-feminine dresses and streetwear staples in
bold, bright colours — earned the pair regular appear-
ances on ‘best-dressed’ lists. Now, with a combined
Instagram-follower tally of nearly 200,000, they’re
using their engaged audience and influential network,
which includes fellow influencers Emili Sindlev, Tamu
McPherson and Freja Wewer, to promote their brand.Jeanette Friis
Madsen and
Thora Valdimars.“We wanted to create a
brand for the girl wholoves fashion, but has to
fulfil her dream wardrobeon a regular salary.”
- JEANETTE FRIIS MADSEN
HOSTESS
HOW-TO
The Rotate founders’
top tips for
throwing a soiree
to rememberWEAR
“It’s all about
accessorising — show
off your best feature
and then style it up
with amazing
chandelier earrings,
OTT necklaces and
bracelets and really
high shoes.”– Thora
“I like my dresses to
be a little too short,
with thin high heels
and a statement
earring.”– JeanetteSERVE
“Welcome punch,
followed by a rotation
of margaritas,
cosmopolitans and,
finally, espresso
martinis — to make
sure everyone is up all
night long.”– Thora
“Champagne!
Everybody loves
champagne.”– Jeanette
PLAY
“Destiny’s Child,
Cardi B and Jennifer
Lopez.”– Thora
“Sean Paul, Beyoncé
and Drake.”– Jeanette“Although fashion is a creative area and there is so much
focus on newness, it’s still a very conservative business. Things
are done in a very specific way,” Valdimars explains. “Our goal
from the beginning was to do things our way, and not be
scared of doing it differently.”
Their way paid off. Rotate’s unconventional launch with
Birger Christensen meant success was almost immediate: the
brand now sits neatly in the retailer’s stable of The Row,
Jacquemus and Ganni; anecdotally, my Instagram feed and the
parties I attended in December and January were awash in
Rotate’s party dresses; and statistically, the data backs them up.
“We weren’t surprised when the brand received immediate suc-
cess following the November launch,” von der Goltz says. “The
first season saw a 91 per cent sell-through of the pink, puffed
sleeve jacquard dress in just two months, which is huge.”
While it may have felt inevitable for Net-a-Porter, success was
never guaranteed for Madsen and Valdimars. “We were
extremely surprised at how quickly the brand has taken off,”
Madsen admits. “We really didn’t expect it, but
we are so happy people love the dresses. When
we see girls wearing the pieces and tagging us in
photos — it’s such an incredible feeling.”Rotate A/W 2018. Opposite page: a look from S/S 2019.