03-08-2025
A Spring 2026 Copenhagen Fashion Week Preview
Fia Ljungstrøm at a fitting chez Freya Dalsjø.
Photo: Courtesy of Souleymane Said
WIP chez Freya Dalsjø.
Photo: Courtesy of Souleymane Said
Renewal is the key word for Copenhagen Fashion Week's spring 2026 season. Renewal because three seasoned female designers 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.
