The Copenhagen Fashion Week SS27 Shows Worth Talking About

Copenhagen Fashion Week SS27 celebrated its 20th anniversary with collections full of personality. Soft tailoring, expressive colour, sheer layers and tactile fabrics came together in a celebration of individuality, confidence and clothes that felt exciting without becoming unwearable. Beyond the runway, Copenhagen hosted installations, exhibitions, workshops, talks, pop-ups and public viewing parties, turning Fashion Week into a city-wide celebration of creativity and community.

What struck me most was the balance between imagination and real life. The designers proved that innovative fashion can still earn its place in a working wardrobe. Copenhagen Fashion Week has also become an important launchpad for Scandinavian talent, helping brands including Ganni and Cecilie Bahnsen grow from local favourites into internationally recognised names that now show in Paris. SS27 attracted recognisable figures including Alana Hadid, Leah Isadora Behn and Laila Hasanović, alongside international editors, stylists and fashion creators.

MKDT Studio Finds Beauty Between Calm and Wildness

MKDT Studio’s The Dark Light of Summer was one of the season’s quietest statements, but also one of its most assured. Creative director Caroline Engelgaar drew on Danish painter Vilhelm Hammershøi and photographer Kirsten Klein, bringing the stillness of domestic interiors into conversation with untamed landscapes.

That contrast appeared in restrained black and white, sculptural column skirts, translucent outer layers and blurred florals that seemed to move across the fabric. The tailoring was polished without becoming severe. This was clothing for a woman passing between different versions of her life: city and countryside, structure and softness, work and rest.

Sheer jackets and double-layered dresses placed a moving shadow around the body, making familiar wardrobe pieces feel atmospheric. Explore MKDT Studio’s collections and follow @mkdtstudio on Instagram for a closer look at the tailoring, fabrics and SS27 runway.

OpéraSport Lets Growth Take Centre Stage

OpéraSport opened the week with growth, staged in the garden created by Carlsberg founder Carl Jacobsen. Founders Awa Malina Stelter and Stephanie Gundelach used flowers as more than decoration: orchids, embroidery and sculptural blooms became symbols of change, renewal and the brand’s own evolution.

Shirred fabrics, soft tailoring, textured layers and the return of OpéraSport swimwear gave the collection a romantic ease. An oversized orchid worn at the shoulder and a dramatic white floral headpiece supplied the theatre, while the clothes beneath remained accessible. That is the brand’s strength. It understands how to build a memorable image without losing sight of what women might actually want to wear.

The fluid separates, and swimwear could move from holiday dressing to a summer evening with little effort. Explore OpéraSport’s collections and follow @operasport___ on Instagram for more from the Growth collection.

Anne Sofie Madsen Makes Sportswear Feel Otherworldly

Anne Sofie Madsen’s The New Desire brought one of the week’s most interesting collisions: sculptural craft met Nike sportswear. Square-cut fabric was folded, layered and manipulated into futuristic shapes, while silk chiffon and organza created transparency over jersey foundations.

Rather than feeling like a branding exercise, the reconstructed Nike T-shirts and slogan dresses extended Madsen’s interest in transformation. Her collaboration with Pandora added another layer of craftsmanship, while Nike’s First Sight Shadow made its women’s runway debut.

This was also Madsen’s final season in the CPHFW NEWTALENT programme, making the collection feel like a graduation without the polite restraint usually associated with one. Read my complete review of Anne Sofie Madsen’s The New Desire, visit the Anne Sofie Madsen website and follow @annesofiemadsenstudio on Instagram.

Gestuz Turns Private Rituals Into Rock-and-Roll Glamour

Gestuz looked to the heat and sensuality of 1970s Los Angeles for a collection built around women’s private rituals and the ways we archive ourselves. Photobooths became part of the show’s visual language: taking a picture simply for the pleasure of remembering who you were in that moment.

The clothes carried that same self-possession. Shoulder pads, leather, worn denim and zebra print sat alongside fluid silhouettes and bare skin. There was softness, but never fragility; sex appeal, but not at the expense of character. The strongest looks combined masculine suiting with distinctly feminine styling, capturing the brand’s modern rock-and-roll woman without turning her into a costume.

Gestuz sharpened its vintage references into a current, desirable wardrobe and made a strong argument for dressing for your own gaze. Explore the latest Gestuz collections and follow @gestuz on Instagram for more of the brand’s rock-and-roll approach to everyday dressing.

Nicklas Skovgaard Takes His Women From Day to Night

Nicklas Skovgaard approached SS27 as a complete day-to-night wardrobe for his cast of “Skovgaardettes”. Pastel taffeta, floral jacquard, checks and exuberant proportions brought drama, but the real achievement was control. Classical forms were pushed just far enough to feel strange and fresh rather than nostalgic.

The closing floral-jacquard looks had instant occasionwear appeal, while the checked dresses offered a more adaptable route into the designer’s world. Skovgaard’s instinct for performance remains central to his appeal, yet this collection also suggested a designer thinking seriously about how fantasy becomes a functioning fashion business.

Skovgaard created a compelling image, strengthened his recognisable codes and still made pieces people will want to own. Visit the Nicklas Skovgaard website and follow @nicklasskovgaard on Instagram to see the SS27 runway and his made-to-order pieces.

Stine Goya Returns With Colour, Polish and Urgency

After two years away from the Copenhagen runway schedule, Stine Goya returned with a collection inspired by Florian Illies’ 1913: The Year Before the Storm. Its cast of European artists and thinkers living with creative urgency before history changed gave the clothes an intriguing tension: joy set against uncertainty.

Goya’s use of bold colours like saturated pink, cobalt, and citrus yellow demonstrates how confidence and vibrancy can be integrated into your wardrobe, inspiring you to experiment with brighter hues and textured fabrics for a more polished, expressive look.

Bright tailoring, decorated tops with simple bottoms and one strong colour energising a familiar outfit were immediately adaptable. This was confidence made visible. Discover Stine Goya’s latest collections and follow @stinegoyastudio on Instagram for more colour and styling inspiration.

Studio Constance Keeps Modern Luxury Unruly

Studio Constance’s idea of “feral luxury” challenges the assumption that luxury must be pristine or restrained. Rebecca Dovenryd Almberg combines sensuality, strength and precise construction while considering how clothing can be reused and kept in circulation. The clothes lead with silhouette and attitude; responsibility supports the story. My Studio Constance runway review looks more closely at how the label is defining modern luxury on its own terms. You can also explore Studio Constance online and follow @studio_constance on Instagram.

The SS27 Trends That Can Work in Real Wardrobes

The clearest Copenhagen Fashion Week trends were transparency, expressive colour, romantic florals, tactile occasion fabrics and the continued softening of tailoring. The useful lesson is not to wear all of them at once.

A sheer organza layer can change a simple vest and trousers. A zebra-print accessory can bring Gestuz attitude to denim. OpéraSport’s flower details translate easily into a corsage, brooch or floral bag, while Stine Goya’s palette offers permission to introduce cobalt, pink or citrus into a neutral wardrobe. Nicklas Skovgaard’s taffeta and jacquard make a case for keeping one unapologetically dressed-up piece ready for the moments when basics simply will not do.

Most importantly, SS27 supports the idea at the centre of confidence and personal style: clothes should express who you are. Find more runway analysis in my guide to fashion trends and designer collections.

The best of Copenhagen Fashion Week SS27 was not united by one silhouette or colour. It was united by intention. MKDT Studio found movement inside restraint. OpéraSport made growth feel romantic. Anne Sofie Madsen transformed sportswear through craft. Gestuz celebrated women documenting themselves. Nicklas Skovgaard paired spectacle with commercial instinct, while Stine Goya reminded us that joy and seriousness can occupy the same look.

Not every collection rewrote fashion, and it did not need to. Together, these shows offered something more useful: distinctive ideas, beautifully made clothes and several convincing ways to dress with greater personality.

Which SS27 collection would you most like to bring into your own wardrobe? Let me know in the comments.