Copenhagen Fashion Week S/S27: Why Minimalism Is Out, and Surreal Proportions Are In

Copenhagen Fashion Week has apparently decided that tasteful minimalism has had its moment. Captured by photographer Dipu, the mood for S/S27 is less quiet luxury and more your extremely chic aunt opening her carefully curated archive and telling you to take whatever the hell you want.

Checks are back! Blown up, colour-clashed and stretched across prim little skirt suits that feel halfway between 1950s housewife and art-school menace. Caro Editions and Nicklas Skovgaard make the case for dressing like you have somewhere terribly important to be, even if that somewhere is just downstairs for a matcha oat latte. It tracks with Copenhagen’s wider move away from pristine minimalism towards colour, texture and playful styling.

Then we have the shapes. Shoulders puff, hips protrude, sleeves balloon, and silhouettes are modern architectural wonders. Paolina Russo’s woven armour and the Royal Danish Academy’s surreal proportions make the body feel more like a suggestion than a template. Elsewhere, The Garment and ALMADA LABEL bring things back down to earth with long, clean lines and deliciously tactile fabrics. Although even the sensible coat now seems to require a little drama. Sculpted tailoring and exaggerated proportions have become a recurring Copenhagen fixation. And we aren’t mad about it.

And granny chic? Fully alive and kicking. Berets, gingham, floral upholstery prints, sensible handbags, fur collars and ladylike buttons have escaped the vintage shop and acquired suspiciously good taste. Add Stine Goya’s dreamy painterly surfaces and OpéraSPORT’s flashes of white, and suddenly getting dressed like an eccentric relative feels like the most modern option available.

The connecting thread is pretty things made slightly strange: polished skin with enormous silhouettes, florals with denim, swimwear with a giant checked tote, romantic white dresses disappearing into actual flowers. Cute chic is allowed, but never without something being a little off.

Basically, Copenhagen is still doing what Copenhagen does best: making clothes look wearable right up until someone appears in a giant pink foam hat. And somehow, five minutes later, you want that as well.