There comes a moment every summer when one finds oneself suddenly itching for a pair of Havaianas, to wear with everything from jeans and summer dresses. The culprit is, without fail, Copenhagen Fashion Week.
The Danish capital has become the epicenter of everyone’s fascination with Scandi style, as it’s the home base for such major players in the market as Ganni, Cecilie Bahnsen, and Baum und Pferdgarten. Many flock to it biannually for Copenhagen Fashion Week, not only to experience firsthand the easy, playful but never try-hard sensibility the market is known for, but also to get a temperature check on the nascent trends, which play out just as much on the runway as they do in the streets outside the shows. More often than not, this is where the seeds for the biggest sartorial phenomena are planted, even if they take a while to fully bloom. (See: opera gloves, sheer skirts, and, of course, flip flops for any occasion.)
The Spring 2026 season marks some major milestones for Copenhagen Fashion Week. Bahnsen, for one, is celebrating 10 years of her namesake brand, returning to the schedule after a few seasons in Paris with a white and silver collection that revisits some of its most iconic silhouettes and textiles. Meanwhile, Iamisigo — a slow-fashion concept out of Lagos, Nairobi, and Accra that won the Zalando Visionary Award earlier this year — made its Copenhagen runway debut, putting African craftsmanship and materials front and center.
The talent on the Copenhagen Fashion Week roster represents a broad range of styles and sensibilities. Still, you can pick out some key commonalities that are primed to take over wardrobes come spring. Ahead, the five takeaways from the Scandi season.
Baby Blues
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IamisigoMatt Jelonek/Getty Images
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BonnetjeMatt Jelonek/Getty Images
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Nicklas Skovgaard Matt Jelonek/Getty Images
Don’t worry, butter yellow maintains its stronghold on brands, Scandi, and beyond — it’s just that it’s now sharing the stage with its cousin baby blue. Designers are gravitating toward light, sometimes pale, other times dusty shades of blue for Spring 2026, styled both head-to-toe (as at Iamisigo) or paired with other neutrals (see: Bonnetje, Anne Sofie Madsen, and Nicklas Skovgaard), showcasing its versatility. Consider it a stepping stone to 2027’s Color of the Year, Luminous Blue.
Sheer Florals
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MuntheMatt Jelonek/Getty Images
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OperaSport Matt Jelonek/Getty Images
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ROTATEMatt Jelonek/Getty Images
I’m not going to say that, but it’s an indisputable fact: Florals are a springtime fashion staple. It’s something you’ll always see brands riff on in their warm-weather offerings. That doesn’t mean they have to feel stale, though. So, for Spring 2026, Scandi brands go in a more risqué direction, rendering their florals of choice in various see-through fabrics, such as lace (Munthe) and organza with bud embellishments (Opéra Sport — with flip flops, no less).
Bandana Bonanza
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Rave ReviewMatt Jelonek/Getty Images
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Skall StudioMatt Jelonek/Getty Images
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OperaSportMatt Jelonek/Getty Images
When a trend is playing out on the runway and in street style concurrently, you know something’s cooking. Spring 2026 might very well be the season of the bandana, if you’re to follow cues from the Danes. It’s the best flavor of trend: the type that you can incorporate into your wardrobe ASAP and that you can participate in with something you already own.
Undulating Hemlines
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Cecilie BahnsenMatt Jelonek/Getty Images
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IAMISIGOMatt Jelonek/Getty Images
For the past few seasons, the skirt conversation has been monopolized by talk of length. The brands at Copenhagen Fashion Week aren’t as concerned with whether minis are out or not — rather, they’re playing with the shape and volume of hems. Cecilie Bahnsen, Iamisigo, TG Botanical, and others use boning to draw undulating hemlines that maintain their shape, so it looks like you caught them in motion, adding a touch of drama to daywear.
Moto Jackets
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BirrotMatt Jelonek/Getty Images
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DeadwoodMatt Jelonek/Getty Images
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Nicklas Skovgaard Matt Jelonek/Getty Images
Another 2010s staple being reimagined for the 2020s, the moto jacket returns to the runway in slimmer, sleeker fashion. Whereas the ones from peak Tumblr were heavy on the hardware and boxy in shape (think: Acne Studios), the styles coming out of Copenhagen — courtesy of brands like Birrot, Nicklas Skovgaard, and Deadwood — are looser and less structured, without the lapels or collars.
Candy Stripes
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Baum und PferdgartenMatt Jelonek/Getty Images
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Rave ReviewMatt Jelonek/Getty Images
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MarimekkoMatt Jelonek/Getty Images
The pinstripe du moment in Copenhagen takes cues from candy packaging of yore with its color combinations, opting for playful and delectable shades that you wouldn’t instinctively pair together but just work. In the world of Spring 2026 stripes, pink is a neutral — and an excellent partner to everything from burgundy and chocolate brown to ivory.
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