Danish label Berner Kühl has won the 2026 Wessel & Vett Fashion Prize, announced on 6 August at the Orangeriet in Copenhagen during Copenhagen Fashion Week SS27 (WWD). Founder and creative director Frederik Berner Kühl received EUR 40,000 to support the growth and brand, along with a bespoke artwork by Copenhagen-based artist Esben Weile Kjær.

The prize, presented annually by the Wessel & Vett Foundation, honours a Danish designer or label showing what the foundation calls "exceptional originality, creativity and entrepreneurial vision." Founded in 2012 by Nina Wedell-Wedellsborg, the foundation was set up to carry forward the legacy of Theodor Wessel and Emil Vett, the duo behind Magasin du Nord, the Copenhagen department store that has anchored the city's retail since the 19th century.

This year marked the first time the award ceremony was held during Copenhagen Fashion Week itself, having previously taken place on a separate calendar. The 2026 edition also introduced a revised format: the jury worked more closely with each finalist's creative and commercial processes across the spring, rather than judging from a distance.

Berner Kühl was one of four finalists shortlisted for the prize. The others — Bonnetje, Caro Editions and O. Files — each received a participation grant of EUR 10,000, along with mentoring and industry support. The finalists were announced earlier in the year on the prize's official Instagram account.

Berner Kühl's profile has been rising within Copenhagen's fashion ecosystem. The label is also part of CPHFW NEWTALENT, a talent scheme presented by Pandora, the Danish jewellery company, that supports emerging Nordic designers showing at Copenhagen Fashion Week. The scheme gives newer names access to the week's runway schedule and the buyers and press who attend it.

Copenhagen Fashion Week has grown into one of the more closely watched stops on the international calendar, particularly for its emphasis on sustainability requirements for participating brands. The August edition, showing the SS27 collections — spring/summer 2027, the ranges that will reach shops early next year — runs across the city's venues and showrooms.

For Frederik Berner Kühl, the prize money and the added visibility arrive at a stage where a young independent label faces the familiar squeeze between production costs and the need to reach customers beyond its home market. The EUR 40,000 grant is modest by the standards of luxury conglomerate investment, but for a label operating without outside backing, it covers sample development, a showroom presence or a season of production — the practical costs that sit behind any collection a buyer sees on a rail.