Narrative Fashion by Alma Jørgensen

From a Danish fishing village to Berlin’s avant-garde fashion scene, Alma Jørgensen brings instinct, craftsmanship, and narrative art direction to a new generation of design.

Alma Jørgensen is a 24-year-old designer whose path into fashion began far from the industry. Raised in a small fishing village in the Danish countryside, she initially considered a more scientific future before reconnecting with a more intuitive, hands-on way of working. After a year at a Scandinavian design folk high school, she was encouraged to apply to Weißensee Kunsthochschule in Berlin, where she has been studying for the past three years.

Currently in Paris, her practice continues to evolve through a blend of instinct, experimentation, and formal training, developing a clear sense of narrative throughout fashion. In the following conversation, she reflects on her process, inspirations, and the insights of her work.

IRK: How would you define your practice today: fashion, storytelling, or something in between?

Alma Jørgensen: For me, storytelling and fashion design don’t contradict each other. Most garments tell a story, I just like to be more intentional about it. My practice in fashion is always closely connected to narrative and storytelling. Some might describe it as costumes, which can be true, but for me, it’s about the performative aspects of fashion and character development. I often work with wigs, masks, and other elements to conceal the models and transform them into part of the story.

IRK: Your fashion designs often draw from memory and nostalgia. Why do you use personal narratives, and what influences them?

Alma Jørgensen: I think nostalgia plays a role for many designers, maybe because childhood is when taste first forms. A lot of what I’m drawn to connects back to early memories. “Attic Pirates” came from dressing up in my grandparents’ attic, but also from a fascination with color, patterns, exaggerated silhouettes, and fairytale-like worlds. I’m drawn to that sense of childhood imagination and I like fashion that feels light, intuitive, and playful, not something that is trying too hard to be cool. 

IRK: How do you choose your fabrics, colors, and patterns, especially given how layered and textured your pieces are?

Alma Jørgensen: It’s very intuitive, I don’t overthink it. I make quick decisions based on a strong attraction to a fabric or object. I like when patterns clash and colours enhance each other. There’s something exciting in putting things together that maybe shouldn’t work, but somehow do. I usually start with a material that excites me, and then the story grows from there.

IRK: Your work feels very playful. How do you keep that spontaneity while developing a structured process?

Alma Jørgensen: I allow myself to be playful at the beginning. I experiment through draping, drawing, and sourcing materials, often from flea markets or the streets in Berlin. I think with my hands rather than starting with a fixed concept. Once I see what excites me, I begin shaping a story and structure, while staying flexible and making changes along the way.

IRK: For “Attic Pirates”, what came first: the story or the garments?

Alma Jørgensen: The story wasn’t actually the starting point. I began without really knowing what I wanted to work with, just draping random fabrics and bedsheets on my own body, wearing silly hats and more extravagant pieces from my own closet. I photographed myself to create a kind of lookbook of characters, which I then used to develop the shapes for the collection. It started to feel nostalgic, like childhood dress-up, and that’s when the concept came. I then worked with bedsheets and sourced more “grandma-like” materials. I think a lot about personalities when I work with storytelling, often exaggerating stereotypes into characters.

IRK: Could you tell us more about “Leavers Tale”, its fashion narrative, and how it connects to or differs from “Attic Pirates”?

Alma Jørgensen: “Leavers Tale” also begins with a material, here leftover lace from French factories. I was part of a competition where we worked directly with these factories, using their waste to create something new. The collection tells the story of lace production and its industrial evolution with the invention of the Leavers Loom during the Napoleonic era. The characters are inspired by that history, and by the role lace has played in fashion over time. Like “Attic Pirates”, the material already carries a story that I build on.

IRK: You often work with found or existing materials like bedspreads, sheets, or found objects. What draws you to them, and how do you transform them into garments?

Alma Jørgensen: I work very hands-on, starting with what I already have or can find. It doesn’t make sense to buy materials without a clear concept. It just makes more sense to begin with what’s available. The materials guide me, and that’s how ideas take shape. Later, I might add new ones, but for “Attic Pirates”, I barely bought anything. Sustainability is of course, an important aspect, but it wasn’t the reason I started working this way; it’s more like a natural bonus that comes with my process.

IRK: Headpieces and accessories play a big role in your narrative fashion designs. How do you approach them, and what do they bring to your narrative silhouettes?

Alma Jørgensen: I just really love hats! I worked for a milliner in Berlin, which influenced me a lot. Headpieces complete a character; they can be funny and ironic. I don’t want people to take my designs too seriously, because they’re not meant to be. Wigs, hats, and masks also conceal the wearer’s identity. They help transform the person into a character and make them part of the story.

IRK: Floral motifs appear often in your work. What attracts you to them, and what do they represent?

Alma Jørgensen: I like working with stereotypes, and floral patterns are a clear symbol of femininity, princesses, and romance. In “Attic Pirates”, they also connect to my grandparents’ attic and that “granny flower” feeling. I enjoy taking something familiar and cliché and using it in an exaggerated or ironic way.

IRK: How do you see your universe evolving?

Alma Jørgensen: I don’t think I’ll move away from playful silhouettes; it feels natural to me. But I can still engage more with real-life themes. My current collection, “Far from Heaven” is more grounded and melancholic, inspired by the film by Todd Haynes, but I still approach it with playfulness and irony. My universe is expanding, combining emotional depth with the same expressive language and slightly humorous language, while shaping a strong sense of narrative fashion. I can see myself continuing to work this way!

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Full credits:

“Attic Pirates”
Photographers: Anna Rosa Krau @annarosakrau, Jacob Tillmann @jacobtillmann, Meike Haagen @mxlln, Oz John @ozjohn.photo, Noga @noga_shtainer 
Models: Felix Woeller @felixwoeller, Leo Moritz @le0m0ritz,  Anouk @anou_hlb, Leon Jakupi @leon_jakupi 

“Leavers Tale”
Photographer: Anita Schulte-Bunert @nit-sb
Models: Änne Ruwe @aeruwe, Anesa Joy @anesajoy, Rosalie Geraldine @sir.aloe
Production: Leo Moritz @le0m0ritz, Maria Melzer @maria.melzer