In 2025, international fashion company BESTSELLER is celebrating its 50th anniversary. To mark this milestone, they are launching the BESTSELLER design competition, inviting international design students and talents to create a capsule collection that interprets five decades of fashion design.
Since its founding in 1975, BESTSELLER has witnessed fashion’s ever-changing landscape a constant evolution of style, trends, and self-expression. New ways of dressing have emerged, with trends and looks reimagined time and again. Through this competition, the company aims to take a creative look at the fashion scene over the past 50 years.
“Nearness has been one of the cornerstones for BESTSELLER since the beginning. We have always believed in the importance of closeness to our customers, colleagues, partners, and, importantly, the product itself, which we want to celebrate with this competition. We are excited to see how design talents draw inspiration from our creative heritage and bring it to life in contemporary and future fashion,” says Louise Sylvest, CPO and Head of BESTSELLER Identity.
Bridging Then and Now
The design competition is facilitated by the fashion brand SELECTED, known for creating contemporary clothing for both men and women. The brand hopes to see entries that align with SELECTED’s focus on quality and Scandinavian design, while also considering longevity and sustainability.
“We are eager to see different interpretations of specific characteristics from the past 50 years of fashion, reinvented with a contemporary perspective. We hope that the collections will tell a story that bridges the gap between then and now, creating connections across time. How do you pay homage to fashion’s heritage while defining tomorrow’s design? We look forward to receiving the talents’ answers to this,” says Magnus Löppe, Design Lead at SELECTED.
International Talent Development
The main prize for the BESTSELLER design competition is 5,000 euros, with second and third places receiving 3,000 and 2,000 euros, respectively. Finalists will be invited to Denmark twice. The first visit is to meet SELECTED’s design team and experience the inner workings of a global fashion company. The second visit is to present their designs in front of experts and members of BESTSELLER’s top management.
The competition is open to design talents from all over the world.
“BESTSELLER’s story, which began with a single clothing store on the west coast of Jutland and now brings together 24,000 colleagues around the globe, is a great reminder that anything is possible with passion and the right product. With this competition, we hope to open doors for the next generation of creative talent, giving them the opportunity to take their first steps in the fashion industry and share their vision,” says Louise Sylvest.
