Ready to refresh your wardrobe with a touch of Scandi cool girl? Stylist Corina Gaffey shares the trends and takeaways to know from Copenhagen's spring/summer 2026 collections.
Storm clouds may have loomed, but Copenhagen Fashion Week’s August edition refused to be dampened. With Storm Floris threatening to disrupt my flight and the Danish capital weather forecast predicting inclement downpours, I feared a fashion washout, but the week proved weatherproof.
Successfully braving the elements, designers including Alis, Skall, and Munthe staged impressive shows with memorable backdrops, including Botanic gardens, a Danish design museum, and a race track. The street style set, never ones to let a little rain dampen their fashion fun, turned out in everything from technical jackets to polka dots, stripes, and butter yellow.
When it came to the spring/summer 2026 collections, the runways served a mix of Danish design signatures and fresh takes on wardrobe staples. Recurring trends that appear season after season reemerged, proving that they are stalwarts in the Scandi-cool girl wardrobe and probably should be in yours, too.
Handcrafted Details
Artisanal practices were at the heart of the 2025 Zalando Visionary award winner IAMISIGO’s show at Copenhagen Fashion Week, set in the bright warehouse space of Fabrikken. Traditional African crafts techniques, including hand-weaving, chainmail forging, glass blowing and fibre knotting, were combined to create wearable art imbued with cultural memory and spiritual depth. A favourite was the light-filled, beaded recycled glass handbags that hung from models’ arms, sculptural raffia totes, and chainmail metal dresses that were model artisanal armour. Speaking about why Bubu Ogisi from IAMISIGO was chosen as the winner of the Zalando Visionary award for 2025, judge, founder and creative designer of GCDS Giuliano Calza said: “What really stood out to me was that Zalando recognised a designer whose work is significant and rooted in strong values. It showed a real commitment to championing vision, not just what’s trending or commercially obvious.”
Tailoring (but not as you know it)
The suit is a Scandi stalwart staple, but for the SS26 season, designers reimagined classic suiting, deconstructing and rebuilding it. Designers like Bonnetje and Skall shrunk proportions into cropped styles or doubled-up blazers. Forza Collective incorporated unexpected styling layers, and Rave Review dialled up the drama with dramatic shoulders.
The LWD (that’s Long White Dress)
From clean-lined minimalism to fringing and texture, one thing is clear: SS26 is all about the long white dress. Cecile Bahnsen returned to the Copenhagen schedule, featuring a slew of white-hued dresses with textural embroidery and voluminous minis. Forza went classic with slinky slip dresses, while Skall sent pretty bordaire anglaise styles topped off with coordinating bandanas. The Garment, known for its minimalist aesthetic, embraced texture and fringing in its selection of LWDs.
Polka Dots
From the runway to the rainy streets, Copenhagen went dotty for spots, pun intended. Whether scaled-up or subtle, colourful or monochrome, dots were smattered on everything from dresses to jumpers, skirts, and even skin. Caro Editions leaned into the glam eighties with slinky dresses and headscarves printed with graphic dots, while Rotate gave the print a fragile, romantic edge with sheer halter-neck dresses and blouses. Rolf Ekroth played with polka dots on sweatshirts and skirts, even dotting some on models’ skins.
Florals
Florals for spring… groundbreaking. Forget the ditsy sweet print; the florals shown at CPHFW were far from your typical printed floral motif. Instead, designers reworked rosettes, embroidery, and floral detailing into more 3D styles, adding depth to everything from leather jackets to buttons to shoe straps. Romantic and sweet, yes, but with that Scandi edge.
Sports Season
On a waterfront square, streetwear brand Alis blared out Oasis, and kicked off their model procession of footie-themed collection, completed with goal-netting strewn from models’ ensembles, jerseys and puffed-up bombers. At Baum, set in a grandstand, jockeys’ uniforms were reimagined with the go-faster racing stripes decked out on Elsewhere, sporty references weren’t as literal. Skall crafted a utility, technical jacket in the softest cream, while Cecile Bahnsen also went delicate with her sporty references with a sheer floral embroidered hoodie, teamed with dkdkkd trainers.
Suede
The sumptuous fabric got a warm-weather reboot on the SS26 runways. Baum offered pea-green co-ords and deep brown jackets in the tactile fabric. Rotate wrapped up ruffled high-low hemmed dresses with brown suede jackets for the ultimate boho-chic. Gestuz collection was dominated by suede decked in halter necks and trouser ensembles, while Herskind doubled up on suede in jacket and scarf combos.
Yellow
Butter, saffron, and flax, the reign of the sunshine shade is still on track for SS26. Rotate’s butter yellow slinky slip dresses and lace-trimmed shorts were IT-girl bait. Streetwear label Alis showcased leather bombers in a marigold hue, while Cmmn Swdn matched oversized suiting in golden yellow with glittering knits.
Pink
Far from the Barbie-core pink that has dominated the fashion landscape, the Danes showed a softer, rose-tinted take on the sweet shade. Chalky and grown-up, The Garment showed how colour-phobes and minimalists can adopt the shade into their wardrobe by pairing it with beige for the ultimate chic combo. Anne-Sofie Madsen teamed a pink ruffled camisole with black baggy trousers for the ultimate cool-girl combo. Rave Review sent out sweet candy-cane striped dresses.
Lingerie Dressing
Kicking off proceedings on the first day of fashion week was Bonnteje and their boudoir meets tailoring collection. Lacy slip dresses, suspenders layered over shirting and reworked cami dresses started a trend that continued throughout the week. Opera Sport styled the ultimate Scandi cool-girl outfit of slip dress and Havianas, an outfit that wouldn’t be a miss on any of the streetstyle set. The humble flip-flop was one of the most worn shoes by show-goers. At Baum Und Pferdgarten, lace camis were styled with cargo pants and topped off with equestrian-style hats. At Rotate, silky shorts with lace trims were paired with flowing trenches, and butter-yellow lace-trimmed bras peeked out of suiting. At Anne-Sofie Madsen, bright tights styled as trousers were layered over briefs and topped off with slogan tees. Nicklas Skovgard drew inspiration from sleepwear, but instead of the expected silk pyjamas, he delivered an avant-garde twist with quilted skirts and dresses, all while front row guests watched the show from bed-turned-seats.
T-shirts
Trust the Danes to show why a T-shirt should be one of the hardest-working pieces in your wardrobe. The wardrobe staple did serious heavy lifting on the catwalks. At The Garment, a longline version was paired with full skirts, while Munthe styled over crisp shirting and finished off with sequins. At Baum, it was matched with slinky pencil skirts, and Anna Sofie Madsen opted for a slogan tee and bright-tight combo.
Sheer
As well as lingerie dressing, the broader trend of sheer and under-wear-as-outerwear continued its annual presence. At the Munthe show staged in the Botanical gardens, look after look was an iteration of diaphous pieces styled up in the ultimate cool-girl fashion. Intricate embroidery deep-v tops were layered over stripey polos and finished with leather skirts, and large-scale pailette-sequined skirts were effortlessly slung over shirting. The takeaway? The sheer trend can be wearable, practical, playful and covetable – are you going to be a sheer convert for SS26?
Equestrian
From cute to chic, horsey references appeared embroidered on stripes at Stine Goya, while Baum staged their equine-inspired show with a racing track as a backdrop. Models paraded the cobblestones in modern heritage styles of country checks, horse-printed silk scarves, and jockey-inspired racing stripes. The Garment went minimal with their horsey references, opting for tailored blazers, saddle bags, leggings, and riding boots.
Trench Games
Considering the changeable weather, it was no wonder trenches had a strong showing on the SS26 runways. The classic wardrobe staple was kept stylish and straightforward through the Scandinavian lens, whether it was casually thrown over a hoodie at Alis, buttoned-up at Aiyu, or belted and caped at MKDT. Trenches styled up with everything from micro shorts to suiting, proving once again why this timeless piece remains a perennial favourite in the Scandi wardrobe.
Accessory Details
Never ones to shy away from an outfit-elevator, Scandi designers like to add styling flourishes that can amplify an ensemble instantly, and this season was no different. Skall completed the cottage-core-tinged collection with bandanas in coordinating fabrics, most notably neck scarves elegantly draped or artfully knotted at MKDT, and Rave Review.
Photography by Copenhagen Fashion Week.
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