Renewal is the key word for Copenhagen Fashion Week’s spring 2026 season. Renewal because three seasoned female designers are taking on new challenges—Anne Sofie Madsen is reshaping her long dormant brand, craft-obsessed Freya Dalsjø is making a return to the runway, and Astrid Andersen will be back for the third time with her new label Stel. And renewal because brands who are part of CPHFW’s history are making homecomings. These include Arnar Már Jónsson and Luke Stevens of Ranra, who made their catwalk debut in 2023 as Zalando Sustainability Award winners; Sweden’s Rave Review, who were last on the schedule in 2020; and hometown hero Cecilie Bahnsen, who now shows in Paris but will stage a 10-year retrospective presentation in the Danish capital.
It’s bolstering to see “graduates” of Copenhagen Fashion Week’s New Talent scheme—like LVMH finalist Nicklas Skovgaard—stay on the calendar, and to see STEM and P.L.N. return to it. We know that fashion’s appetite for the brand-new is insatiable, but fulfilling that hunger can come at a cost. Having talent and building a business are two different things, and sustaining creativity is as important as initial support for it. Also, “emerging” is a descriptor that can be applied not only to the young ones starting out, but to designers with years of experience who are reimagining themselves and their businesses.
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To Have and to Hold
Follow the clues on Instagram (lots of wedding pictures) and it’s clear that Caro Editions’ Caroline Bille Brahe is in the mood for love. Bridal inspiration aside, she also has a new crush—on Mulberry. The designer has applied her magic to eight vintage Mulberry bags, embellishing them with the story-like appliques and bows that she adores.
A Moveable Feast
CPHFW attendees won’t be leaving the city hungry or thirsty: There are 12 breakfasts, two cocktails, and six dinners listed on the official schedule. Stine Goya—which recently started making tableware—is hosting a soiree with Josephine Yaa Akuamoa of File Under Pop, a local firm focused on surface design for interiors, while By Malene Birger is gathering friends of the OG CPH brand to meet its new creative director Emilie Martinsen-Kønigsfeldt. Swedish chef Marion Ringborg of Studio Marion will prepare an Italian feast inspired by the brand’s spring 2026 campaign, photographed in Palermo, and Danish singer Coco O. will perform. Extending the food theme, Uniqlo aims to showcase the softness of its knitwear and “bring the fluff to life” via an installation called Soufflé House.
Put the Kettle On
Newer brands on the schedule include Kettel Atelier and Martin Quad. Kettel Atelier is a project by street style regular Laura Tønder, who works from Spain transforming vintage fabric and table textiles into light, body revealing designs. Darker in inspiration will be Martin Juncker’s Martin Quad collection. It’s based on Eugene Richard’s 1989 photo book The Knife and Gun Club: Scene From an Emergency Room—though the designer is quick to point out that his focus is on a clinical atmosphere rather than illness. Siggy Sonne, who performed with Fame Hunter at Nicklas Skovgaard’s fall show, will style the collection. A third new name to look out for is
Natascha Thougaard Domino, a recent graduate of Weissensee Kunsthochschule Berlin and one-time Skovgaard intern and dresser at the Royal Ballet, who will stage a performance/runway on a public street.
Horse Sense
Several Danish designers are in an equestrian state of mind this season. Baum und Pferdgarten have titled their show Notes from the Grandstand, and The Garment’s Charlotte Eskildsen has secured a spectacularly horsey location—Christiansborg Ridebane (the royal stables at Christiansborg Palace)—which, she says, has never before hosted a fashion show. The building dates to 1740 and is where the white horses that draw the Danish royal family’s fairy-tale-like golden carriage (used only on special occasions) are stabled.
Women (and Men) of the Year
Cecilie Bahnsen, who started showing in Paris in 2022, is coming home for spring 2026. To mark her first decade in business, Bahnsen will stage a retrospective show of archival garments. Aiayu’s spring 2026 collection will also include some legacy pieces; the brand, founded by Maria Høgh Heilmann in 2005, is marking “20 times around the sun.” Back for a second season from Iceland is 100-year-old 66° North.
From Aarhus to Your House
Those interested in retail therapy can look for it in Copenhagen’s spanking new multi-brand store, Støy. This is a sibling shop to the flagship, founded in 2007 in Aarhus by father and son Torben and Jakob Støy. Here you’ll find Auralee and Adidas, Fear of God, Khaite, and Jacquemus alongside local favorites like Tekla, Pas Normal, Mfpen, and Sophie Bille Brahe.
