Image courtesy of James Cochrane / CPHFW If there’s one overwhelming take away from an Australian‘s visit to Copenhagen, it is an envious swooning over the locals’ effortless style. This feeling only intensifies during Copenhagen Fashion Week, where emerging talent and design innovation take centre stage. Sustainability—through waste reduction, upcycling, and repurposing—plays a key role, setting a high bar for Australia and other countries to follow. Beyond the fashion itself, the laid-back coolness of CPHFW permeates every moment, from breakfast BMOs (the city’s very chic bread, cheese, and butter combo) to the pre-show buzz.
Off the runway, Havaianas, prolific stripes and impeccable layering were common sights. Meanwhile, the official Copenhagen Fashion Week program spotlighted brands making their mark with more than just a signature Scandi aesthetic. Below are three standout labels that made a lasting impression throughout the week.
Rolf Ekroth, the eponymous independent Finnish-Swedish designer, blends utility, heritage, and frivolity to bring sentimental clothing to the forefront of gender-neutral style. The label is “built upon observations of youth and life in Finland,” reimagining cultural nuances in a current-day context.
Conjuring the “stillness of a Finnish summer night”, the “Lavatanssit” Spring/Summer 2025 collection transported attendees to a warm and whimsical countryside. A playful runway emerged, crafted as an ode to the designer’s past holidays by the water in Finland. Notable pieces were, surprisingly, life vests adorned in floral prints, complete with ethereal matching bottoms. These inflatables appropriately matched the backdrop of the canal-laden Copenhagen, and its popular swimming spot La Bachina.
Ekroth’s common thread of intricate knitwear further tied the collection to Finnish and Danish roots via hand-knitted macramé bags, dandelion-adorned denim — with 250 handcrafted flowers — and handmade lace collars. Embellishments of labour and hundreds of hours of production took centre stage, perhaps reflecting the stillness and slowness of an out-of-reach summer that one always looks back on with longing. Ekroth sought to create “novel textures and knitted forms,” paying homage to Finnish tradition and creating a sartorial dreamscape. On close inspection, the models had crystallised tears permanently stuck to their faces using inventive makeup—taking the show up a level.
Arguably, the most memorable of catwalks from the week was emerging designer Alectra Rothschild. Debaucherous femininity, high-octane glamour, and considered craftsmanship define the show. As a large crowd descended onto a concrete parking lot, Charli XCX’s ‘Brat’ album began to play, and motorbikes were ridden as runway props. Attendees were seen dancing, as the entire event turned into a quasi-party, celebrating strong themes of inclusivity, sexuality, and confidence.
Extreme hedonism was exhibited as models climbed atop a scaffolding-esque structural focal point after their walk, with some seen to dangle upside down — in notably high stilettos — moving as if though they were in the club. Upon closer inspection of each look, Rothschild’s designs showcase her trained tailoring skills, having worked previously under the creative reign of Casey Cadwallader. Masculina displayed ample corsetry, leather, bared skin, and high hemlines — it was a tour de force in glamorous power dressing.
Founded by three Danish locals, Another Aspect feels like a reinterpretation of classic menswear that Australian fashion is yearning for. Transforming its central flagship store into a living and breathing street soirée, Another Aspect filled the footpath with a naturally occurring street-style hive and very cool comers and goers. Serving martinis and propping up a lo-fi jazz band in their front window, the Copenhagen-born brand created the ultimate aperitvo spot in their “Another Bar” event concept.
Since 2019, the menswear label has drawn upon the beauty of everyday life to craft high-quality wardrobe staples that exude a distinctive Scandinavian flair. A foundations-building brand, Another Aspect’s repertoire comprises textured shirts, midweight jerseys, and tailoring of various formalities — think high-low occasion dressing made to be lived in, worked in, or danced in. Exclusively working with deadstock fabrics, organic materials, and recycled fibres, the brand adheres to strict transparency in its supply chain, and an intimate European community of factories in Porto, Portugal, where its jerseys, pants, and shirts are produced. The knits and tailored garments are meticulously made in a family-owned factory in Florence, Italy, and their event even felt like the perfect place to wear such attire: a relaxed, summertime house party of sorts.
