Luring us in from corners across the globe that intertwine the art of wearing with the art of living, the luxury of high fashion paints its impact in the effervescence of pure glam. With the rise in coverage of fashion weeks through Paris and Milan, New York and London, we are now able to witness the personality of each city’s style, giving us the opportunity to emulate the conversations designers have with us through their clothing.
Yet often underappreciated is the subtlety and timelessness of Copenhagen Fashion Week. The Autumn/Winter showcase becomes overshadowed each year by the untouchable glitz of Paris, but individuality reigns each year as Copenhagen utilises its ability to communicate its city’s voice through clothes.
This year was no different: sparking conversation through the absence of large Scandinavian brands (such as Ganni) as well as a rise in young designer-led brands, Copenhagen’s impact and unique character does more than just show us beautiful clothing: it leaves us with the key takeaways of modern artistry.
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From diverse silhouettes to layers upon layers, Copenhagen fashion week is notably consistent in its highlighting of streetwear – things that can be easily recreated by the individual. Deadwood x Tretorn’s show balanced ‘glitter and glam’ with bold, chunky streetwear pieces. Velour tracksuits walked before leather pants, and silk parachute dresses were coupled with wellies (Wellyball inspiration, anyone?). Enhanced streetwear dazzles with elements of fur and sequin, providing simple additions to basic outfits that take street clothes to the runway.
While Marimekko consistently dazzled in its bold, cutout prints and simple silhouettes, Copenhagen particularly highlighted Mocha Mousse, otherwise known as the Pantone colour of the year. Simple and (as the theme would predict) timeless, Mocha Mousse stuns in cashmere sweaters, wide legged, menswear silhouettes, and coats upon coats upon coats. Copenhagen fashion week does not fear the stereotypical ‘unflattering’ silhouettes of traditional winter clothing and menswear inspired items; rather, it uses patterns and accessories to enhance outfits into things that can be truly worn by anyone. Copenhagen fashion week reigns supreme with model and clothing diversity which anyone can recreate.
Notably, creative director Maria Høgh Heilmann showcased this exact notion at her show, styling day to day piece with a subtle flare – understated sweaters, miniskirts, and what she denotes as the ‘purity of natural materials’ and the ‘delicate details of it all.’
Keeping it Fresh! Young Designers and Streetwear Influence
The pull of Paris fashion week and typical designer showcases comes in the unattainable luxury. Anyone knows a Gucci from a Chanel, a Prada from a Miu Miu. Yet, as already seen, Copenhagen fashion week’s 2025 collection reigns unique in its accessibility and enhancement of young designers amidst what we can call a ‘luxury slowdown.’
Designers explored creative showpieces and experimentation with worldbuilding through their designs, layering art into the world of fashion. Copenhagen fashion week’s platform allowed for designers such as A Roege Hove (Amalie Røge Hove) to rise from a financial struggle and reopen her brand in a flourishing new light. Experimenting with layered bodycon knits, Hove drew on Copenhagen classics (knits upon knits upon knits) with a new showpiece of texture and structure. The personality communicated by her brand parallels the debuts of Danish-Korean brand Birro and womenswear brand Rotate, with pieces staged in collaboration with Danish multimedia artists and designers. Amongst all this, streetwear brand Fine Chaos epitomized Copenhagen fashion week’s underground ways of embracing couture, staging a show in Werkstatt nightclub accompanied by electro-pop music. Furthermore Stine Goya, hosting its show at an art exhibition curated by its namesake designer, blended painterly floral windbreakers and maxi dresses with three-piece skirt-over-pant suits, highlighting fashion as an art in a space of art.
Fashion is not just high-status out of reach brands strutting up and down the runway in Copenhagen fashion week. It is art, performance, and an outlet, expressing a rebirth of ideas of creativity and drawing in newcomers and older brands alike.
Sustainability and intersectionality
To no secret, Copenhagen (and Scandinavian culture as a whole) is rooted in sustainability and the simplicity that comes with practices that prioritise the Earth. Sustainability, intersectionality through diversity, and society as a whole is as relevant as ever when expressions of art are brought into the picture, and Copenhagen Fashion Week does not fail to highlight and prioritise global focuses in an artistic showcase.
Copenhagen Fashion Week not only requires sustainability quotas to be met by the show as a whole, but individual designers also play their part. The Caro Edition’s Fall 2025 collection, specifically, showcased clothing made from deadstock Chanel tweed, combining versatility and sustainability to create something effortlessly timeless. Copenhagen has set the scene for sustainability in high fashion, influencing the promise from the British Fashion Council that London Fashion Week will begin to adopt the same policies.
The intersectionality of sustainable fashion was not merely touched upon, but celebrated at Alectra Rothschild’s show opening with statements made by recently elected political leaders to remind individuals of the dangers the LGBTQ+ community faces globally. There is no ‘fashion bubble’ in Copenhagen fashion week, and rather, the world as we know it is celebrated as each model displays something that communicates the designer’s ethos
How Copenhagen Fashion Week can influence you
In honoring high fashion, we are aware now of how prominent Copenhagen fashion week remains in so many more ways than just a runway. We can also now honour just how important the precedent Copenhagen Fashion Week is setting for the future of high fashion. No longer is high fashion as ‘high’ as it has been. It is no longer untouchable and out of reach; rather; it strives to uphold a status of diversity and inclusion, of representing people rather than just an item of clothing on a rack.
Here at St. Andrews, we can draw inspiration from the themes and looks of Copenhagen fashion week as we move throughout our styles as well. Some clothing essentials are linked below, but my biggest takeaway is that warmth and flamboyance are never mutually exclusive, rather, one can simply not exist without the other. These, the MOST comfortable Tretorn sneakers that I have ever worn, are a must buy if wanting to recreate the looks of Copenhagen Fashion Week.
A patterned blouse is just as impactful when paired under a thick coat, and accessories (think vintage and large) are a must, no matter how grey the weather is outside. The Gambit blouse from Domus Vivendi is a gorgeous option, as well as any of the blouses from Baukjen. Sustainability can also be tied into our recreations of high fashion, and I find that the pieces best mimicking Copenhagen’s fashion week come from the vintage stores here in St. Andrews- always the best places to look to find unique and sustainable coats and tall boots. This Vintage 1970s fur lined coat is not only secondhand, but one of a kind. If you want to splurge, Levinsky Copenhagen does sustainable leather and fur: worth it for a lifetime purchase.
Style and culture are not mutually exclusive, and we can continue to improve our culture around fashion through the things we wear, the ways we display it, and all the individual personality that we are able to bring amongst our own personal style.