How to Dress Like a Copenhagen Fashion Week Showgoer

Every Fashion Month seems to bring much of the same conversation about the same locations: Blah blah blah Paris! Blah blah blah Milan! Of course, I understand that these cities are part of the pinnacle of fashion: Dior, YSL, The Row, Schiaparelli, and Miu Miu all show their wares in these cities and are often (not always) responsible for pushing the needle on what the rest of the world wears. But I suggest turning our eyes to another city, like Copenhagen, whose Fashion Week is quickly climbing the ranks of notoriety.

At Copenhagen Fashion Week, designers are seemingly less willing to participate in the rat race of presenting multiple collections yearly or every season. Instead, creative directors show when inspiration has struck them, which feels deeply in line with the Fashion Week’s ethos, and official rules, regarding sustainability practices from participating brands. As a result, what comes down the catwalk in Copenhagen always feels in tandem, or just a step ahead, of what the fashion-forward crowd is already dabbling in. This season, it’s puffed shoulder pads, thonged heels, and see-through dresses and skirts in the presentation of brands like Caro Editions, the Garment, and Mark Kenly Domino Tan and on the attendees alike.

Here’s what I saw on the runway and in Copenhagen’s streets that inspired me.

It would seem as though we’re matriculating backward through time via our fashion trends. It would make sense, then, that the ’80s are due for a revival. In Copenhagen, brands like Caro Editions and Nicklas Skovgaard re-created the shape and feel of the decade in slightly updated ways with puffy sleeves, fluffy voluminous skirts, and billowing pants cinched at the ankle. Fashion Week attendees wore revamped blazers with massive shoulder pads and cinched waists (a departure from the slouchy, oversize ones we wore circa 2022) and sizable bubble skirts and attempted to one-up each other for who could wear the biggest scrunchie in their hair.

In the several seasons I’ve attended Copenhagen Fashion Week, one trend has remained king: flip-flops. Rain or shine, the Scandi girls are not afraid to have their toes out and about. Granted, their tax dollars actually go toward keeping their streets clean; ours seem to go toward whatever tickles Eric Adams’s fancy that week. Marimekko and Rotate were just two brands that sent models down the runway in these thonged shoes. In the front rows of several shows I went to, I noticed flip-flop after flip-flop dangling from the feet of multiple attendees. It felt like the $10, more personalized version of that photo from the most recent Chloé runway show where every celebrity wore the same pair of chunky wedges.

From left: Photo: Raimonda Kulikauskiene/Getty ImagesPhoto: Raimonda Kulikauskiene/Getty Images

From top: Photo: Raimonda Kulikauskiene/Getty ImagesPhoto: Raimonda Kulikauskiene/Getty Images

Put the microbags AWAY; the big boys are out to play! OpéraSport, Sinéad O’Dwyer, and Baum und Pferdgarten sent sizable satchels down the runway. Massive bags are back, and thank God for that. I’ve begun carrying too much (a change of clothes, flat shoes, hand sanitizer, a lighter, several pairs of sunglasses, a book, a journal, my wallet, a Tamagotchi) to go back to the tiny shoulder bag I tried to make work for the past two years. At my core, I’m a schlepper, which my physical therapist hates, but what’s a girl living in a big city to do? Bonus points for the Copenhagen crowd who personalized their bags with charms and trinkets galore.

Clockwise from top left: Photo: Raimonda Kulikauskiene/Getty ImagesPhoto: Raimonda Kulikauskiene/Getty ImagesPhoto: Raimonda Kulikauskiene/Getty ImagesPhoto: Edward Berthelot/Getty Images

From top: Photo: Raimonda Kulikauskiene/Getty ImagesPhoto: Raimonda Kulikauskiene/Getty ImagesPhoto: Raimonda Kulikauskiene/Getty ImagesPhoto: Edward … more
From top: Photo: Raimonda Kulikauskiene/Getty ImagesPhoto: Raimonda Kulikauskiene/Getty ImagesPhoto: Raimonda Kulikauskiene/Getty ImagesPhoto: Edward Berthelot/Getty Images

Copenhagen is, of course, the quintessential bikeable city, so it would make sense that this ’50s silhouette has made its resurgence with a vengeance here. There is no time to get your pant leg stuck in a bike gear! Places to go! People to see! Cardamom buns to be eaten! A favorite trend of mine from the week, fashionistas and brands, like Rotate and Gestuz, put their best shortened hem forward with these cropped pants.

From left: Photo: Christian Vierig/Getty ImagesPhoto: Matt Jelonek/Getty Images

From top: Photo: Christian Vierig/Getty ImagesPhoto: Matt Jelonek/Getty Images

Mark Kenly Domino Tan, Skall Studio, the Garment, and all the Scandi girls said it’s fine if people see your underwear. The sheer trend has been on the rise for a few seasons now, but nearly every group I spotted in Copenhagen had at least one person showing their bum, making the undergarments (or lack thereof up top!) the real centerpiece to any outfit.

Clockwise from top left: Photo: Raimonda Kulikauskiene/Getty ImagesPhoto: Jeremy Moeller/Getty ImagesPhoto: Edward Berthelot/Getty ImagesPhoto: Edward Berthelot/Getty Images

From top: Photo: Raimonda Kulikauskiene/Getty ImagesPhoto: Jeremy Moeller/Getty ImagesPhoto: Edward Berthelot/Getty ImagesPhoto: Edward Berthelot/Gett… more
From top: Photo: Raimonda Kulikauskiene/Getty ImagesPhoto: Jeremy Moeller/Getty ImagesPhoto: Edward Berthelot/Getty ImagesPhoto: Edward Berthelot/Getty Images