Since its relatively recent inception in the mid-2000s, Copenhagen Fashion Week has come a long way. Now unofficially dubbed “fashion’s fifth city” – after the “Big Four” parade of fashion weeks across New York, London, Milan and Paris, of course – the Danish capital hosts hordes of buyers, editors and influencers biannually, many of whom come from far away to admire and learn from the trendy new brands that this tiny design powerhouse continues to churn out season after season. {"@context":"https://schema.
org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Han Kjøbenhavn at Copenhagen Fashion Week. Photo: James Cochrane","url":"https://img.i-scmp.
com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/12/d4a9e61a-35f8-43ad-835e-02a24c1214af_dda704a3.jpg"} Han Kjøbenhavn at Copenhagen Fashion Week. Photo: James Cochrane Among the myriad reasons for Copenhagen’s rapid emergence as a fashion capital, three stand out.
First is its accessibility – unlike the largely luxury-only schedules that define Milan and Paris, Copenhagen is well-known for its mix of high fashion and the high street. There is a focus on introducing brands that, beyond affordability, also help foster a more welcoming and inclusive environment, encouraging up-and-coming designers to take creative risks. Second is the sustainability factor – while local success stories like Ganni have largely led the way when it comes to inspiring younger brands how to reuse and recycle, Copenhagen Fashion Week continues to set the standard when it comes to minimising the fashion industry’s enormous impact on the environment.
As of 2023, brands must meet certain sustainability requirements in order to have their show on the official schedule. {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"CIFF Village is a working space in Bella Center, and is a home for approximately 500 brands.
Photo: @ciffdk/Instagram","url":"https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/12/75932dca-6e64-4edb-bab9-a221b0b17acd_7390c88c.
jpg"} CIFF Village is a working space in Bella Center, and is a home for approximately 500 brands. Photo: @ciffdk/Instagram Last but certainly not least, Copenhagen has business-savvy, forward-thinking fashion executives to thank as much as the strength of its creative community. The Copenhagen International Fashion Fair (CIFF), one of Northern Europe’s largest trade shows, runs in conjunction with Copenhagen Fashion Week and actually predates it by over a decade.
Having recently merged with fellow trade show Revolver to maximise impact, CIFF now makes Copenhagen a go-to destination to see Scandinavian fashion, as well as a place for international brands to do business. We checked out Copenhagen Fashion Week and, ahead, break down five stand-out shows from the spring/summer 2025 season that embody the event’s creative values. 1.
Skall Studio {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Skall Studio by Julie and Marie Skall. Photo: @skallstudio/Instagram","url":"https://img.
i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/12/0ed4724f-20e0-49b8-bc1e-7b386a85e53f_377809e1.jpg"} Skall Studio by Julie and Marie Skall.
Photo: @skallstudio/Instagram It’s been 10 years since sisters Julie and Marie Skall first introduced their dreamy design vision to the world – and what a busy 10 years it’s been for both their brand, Skall Studio, and “Scandinavian girl fashion” at large. For spring/summer 2025, the brand celebrated its extensive archive of quiet luxury looks by adding finishing touches that were fitting for a brand fully confident in what it’s doing – and what its consumer wants. For the uninitiated, the “Scandi girl” look often refers to an assortment of things – classic bohemian chic, timeless minimalism, and comfortable wardrobe staples embodied by the Danes’ very own term, “ hygge ”, which loosely translates to mean “cosy”.
But, really, it all boils down to looking cool without trying too hard. The Skall sisters take the look one step further this season by reinventing the brand’s ethereal fabrics in new silhouettes, adding, for example, a cinched waist to a signature jacket – another Scandinavian staple. {"@context":"https://schema.
org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Skall Studio is the embodiment of hygge – how to look cool without trying too hard. Photo: @skallstudio/Instagram","url":"https://img.i-scmp.
com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/12/b03499d0-1bbb-4787-b182-335c3d4cc66f_8a66ae79.jpg"} Skall Studio is the embodiment of hygge – how to look cool without trying too hard. Photo: @skallstudio/Instagram By integrating family values into the very threads of the brand’s fine, understated fabrics, Skall Studio continues to celebrate the very best of Scandinavian craftsmanship.
The brand took several years to search for sustainable manufacturing partners before finally working denim into their offerings these past few seasons; it also weaves Danish wool into all of its sweaters, and eschews the use of fur and leather in all collections. 2. Henrik Vibskov {"@context":"https://schema.
org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Henrik Vibskov is now going for a “different” approach. Photo: James Cochrane","url":"https://img.i-scmp.
com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/12/243c235c-0bd9-48ea-a556-e788abffc000_41c2e6fd.jpg"} Henrik Vibskov is now going for a “different” approach. Photo: James Cochrane Unconventionally crafty, designer Henrik Vibskov has always been in a league of his own both in Copenhagen and Paris, where he typically shows his collections first during menswear fashion week.
This season, however, the designer opted to present in Milan just to do something “different”, as he said in our interview a day after the show. That word alone could define Vibskov’s entire career, and not just this collection: the designer says this was inspired by an episode when he was unable to pick up the phone while using his hands to prepare some blue cheese for a barbecue. {"@context":"https://schema.
org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Henrik Vibskov’s spring/summer 2025 show uses the image of hands to call for a more empathetic society. Photo: James Cochrane","url":"https://img.i-scmp.
com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/12/f50e6593-ee6a-4c7a-8714-e0ee47e63366_dda704a3.jpg"} Henrik Vibskov’s spring/summer 2025 show uses the image of hands to call for a more empathetic society. Photo: James Cochrane As the designer further explains, the collection uses hands – what we take for granted despite using everyday – to call for a more empathetic society.
It’s quite a meaningful message when you consider how Vibskov has continuously subverted expectations of a fashion designer’s traditional trajectory over his past two decades in business, having created everything from art museum installations to ballet costumes, all while maintaining a strong focus on community values and craftsmanship. Both of those were on full display at his Copenhagen show this season, where a full house of friends of the brand turned up to watch his cast of characters navigate his latest show, which leaned more towards performance art than your traditional runway. Titled “The Orchestra of the Soft Assistance”, the show sees puppet hands gently lifting the veil on a collection made up of delicately crinkled pleats and wispy silhouettes.
3. Marimekko {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Marimekko has long garnered a faithful in Asia.
Photo: James Cochrane","url":"https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/12/6b19451a-22ff-4ae4-8bf5-4c15e94f5268_41c2e6fd.
jpg"} Marimekko has long garnered a faithful in Asia. Photo: James Cochrane It’s no secret that Marimekko is a huge hit in Asia, with six boutiques in Hong Kong alone. Celebrated for its vibrant, colourful poppy prints – its signature Unikko flower celebrates its 60th anniversary this year – the Finnish brand now has a near-ubiquitous presence both on the streets of Asia and in people’s homes (the company is just as well-known for its furnishings as it is for fashion).
This season saw the introduction of another celebrated artist, London-based Petra Börner, to the brand’s storied printmaking archive. {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Marimekko stresses casual, comfortable style.
Photo: James Cochrane","url":"https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/12/44984736-55dd-4e59-8f13-1b1c325d0ad5_41c2e6fd.
jpg"} Marimekko stresses casual, comfortable style. Photo: James Cochrane Some of the brand’s aesthetics do have Asian roots: prints by Japanese textile artist Fujiwo Ishimoto, a frequent Marimekko collaborator, were also included this season. But it’s the brand’s emphasis on casual, comfortable style that accounts for its resounding popularity in places like Hong Kong and Singapore, where hot and humid weather is the norm and functional fashion remains key.
Many of this season’s offerings were also made with lightweight, breathable fabrics. But its most exciting new addition would have to be Marimekko Maridenim, launched just days before the spring/summer 2025 show. True to the brand’s everydaywear ethos, the new denim line is made up of matching sets with the Unikko poppy printed all over, designed to mix and match easily with other classic staples in your wardrobe.
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Marimekko Maridenim was launched just days before the spring/summer 2025 show. Photo: James Cochrane","url":"https://img.
i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/12/45b17075-257b-4f1a-bae6-e94c0a44a10a_41c2e6fd.jpg"} Marimekko Maridenim was launched just days before the spring/summer 2025 show.
Photo: James Cochrane 4. Han Kjøbenhavn {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Han Kjøbenhavn’s gothic grunge makes it an outlier at Copenhagen Fashion Week.
Photo: James Cochrane","url":"https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/12/289d2130-d925-44c0-a4a7-28be05849663_595de0ff.
jpg"} Han Kjøbenhavn’s gothic grunge makes it an outlier at Copenhagen Fashion Week. Photo: James Cochrane Welcome to the dark side. Han Kjøbenhavn’s gothic grunge stood in stark contrast to many of the brands on the Copenhagen Fashion Week schedule, paying tribute to the city’s edgier underbelly with high-end streetwear consisting of larger-than-life silhouettes reminiscent of Rick Owens’ dark yet deeply refined and romantic work.
The last look – a fully white bandana tied to a sheer gown with a long train – seemed to transform the street alley runway into a bride’s walk down the aisle. {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Punk fabrics were reinvented for the brand’s spring/summer 2025 collection.
Photo: James Cochrane","url":"https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/12/da01eaf8-f456-4bca-a7ae-333ddbb3847b_41c2e6fd.
jpg"} Punk fabrics were reinvented for the brand’s spring/summer 2025 collection. Photo: James Cochrane Inspired by the clothes designer Jannik Wikkelsø Davidsen and his friends wore in their teenage years, the brand’s spring/summer 2025 collection, “Royals”, otherwise sees punk fabrics – faux leather and denim, primarily – reinvented in futuristic fashion. One gets the sense that Davidsen wanted to reimagine young misfits as kings and queens of the street.
Against a backdrop of industrial ruin and grey, stormy skies, his creations certainly did the job, with the models at the finale looking just like heroes – or villains, perhaps – ready to take on a brave new world. 5. Rotate Birger Christensen {"@context":"https://schema.
org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Rotate is the hot new brand among “It” girls. Photo: James Cochrane","url":"https://img.i-scmp.
com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/12/1446eb16-86d0-45ea-bf6c-13a149b7292c_595de0ff.jpg"} Rotate is the hot new brand among “It” girls. Photo: James Cochrane “It” girls around the world all want to wear Rotate, which comes as little of a surprise: the brand is the brainchild of stylists and influencers Jeanette Madsen and Thora Valdimarsdottir.
The same could be said of everyone who flocked to see the duo’s show this season, where the street style just outside the venue served as a barometer of what was to come: party dresses, crop tops and short skirts in every colour, made out of sequins, silk and sheer fabrics. This season added a romantic edge to the festivities by transporting guests to Copenhagen’s quaint Royal Library Gardens. Aiming to evoke the 1920s era in which the gardens were first built, the collection reimagined the brand’s classic fare in florals and fringe, with bubble hems and ruffles meant to recall flower petals, and sexy slip dresses embellished with floral lace and beaded embroidery.
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Rotate concluded Copenhagen Fashion Week. Photo: James Cochrane","url":"https://img.
i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/12/ab2503fa-fb8d-4a7d-bd25-a753c5cbe213_dda704a3.jpg"} Rotate concluded Copenhagen Fashion Week.
Photo: James Cochrane A Rotate party girl’s full wardrobe wouldn’t be complete without some glistening jewellery, which was provided this season by another Danish juggernaut – Pandora. Once again proving that some party looks never go out of style, the brand’s trendy yet timeless show was a fitting conclusion to the official Copenhagen Fashion Week schedule this season. Copenhagen is well-known for its mix of high fashion and high street, and a focus on accessibility, sustainability and business-savviness has contributed to its rise as a fashion capital The ‘Scandi girl’ look refers to a classic bohemian chic, timeless minimalism, and comfortable wardrobe staples embodied by ‘hygge’ – and this was on full display with Skall Studio.
