Copenhagen Fashion Week: Where Good Taste Goes to Misbehave

There is something happening in Copenhagen that feels increasingly important to me. While the rest of fashion is still busy discussing creative-director musical chairs, celebrity campaigns, "quiet luxury" and which bag we are apparently supposed to want next, Copenhagen seems considerably less interested in behaving.

And maybe that is exactly why I keep paying attention.

Copenhagen Fashion Week has become one of my favorite places to look for actual ideas. Not necessarily the next trend. Not necessarily the next It item. Ideas about proportion, layering, sustainability and, most importantly, individuality.

The clothes aren't screaming, "Look, I'm fashion." In fact, quite often they look a little strange. A little awkward. A proper coat over something resembling pajamas. Masculine tailoring with something transparent underneath. Socks where you don't expect socks. Low trousers. Strange layers. Deadstock fabrics. Dresses that appear almost unfinished.

Good taste, slightly misbehaving.

And I love it.

THE GARMENT — Good Clothes, Slightly Undone

The Garment understands that perfection can be incredibly boring.

There is something wonderfully boyish about the collection: oversized trenches, long shorts, fine knits, shirts layered underneath sweaters, masculine proportions softened by transparency and dresses that almost float away from the body.

Nothing feels overly styled, even though, of course, it very much is.

That's the trick.

The clothes feel familiar, but the proportions make you look twice. It is less about buying an entirely new wardrobe and more about reconsidering how the things already inside one can be worn.

And to me, that is where styling becomes interesting.

BAUM UND PFERDGARTEN — Good Taste Is More Fun When You Ruin It a Little

This collection made me smile.

A beautiful spotted coat over a pale blue suit and shorts. Socks, leg warmers and heels. Leather layered over something delicate and transparent. Proper tailoring interrupted by lingerie.

Individually, everything makes sense.

Together, it gets a little weird.

Perfect.

There has been so much conversation about building the "perfect wardrobe": the perfect blazer, perfect trouser, perfect coat, perfect white shirt. But owning good clothes is only the beginning.

What are you going to do with them?

Baum und Pferdgarten's answer seems to be: stop being so precious and play.

BY MALENE BIRGER — Minimalism Got Sexy Again

For several seasons, minimalism has become almost a synonym for wealth.

Beige cashmere. Perfect trousers. Expensive handbag. Very little personality required.

By Malene Birger offered something far more interesting.

The palette is still sophisticated and restrained, but suddenly there is texture, transparency, movement and skin. Long fluid silhouettes sit next to cropped jackets. Fabric is draped, wrapped, embellished and allowed to move around the body.

It's minimalism, yes.

But minimalism after dark.

And frankly, it was time.

CARO EDITIONS — More Is More. Finally.

Then there is Caro Editions, which apparently did not receive the memo that everyone was supposed to dress quietly.

Thank God.

Rhinestones. Florals. Checks. Tiny shorts. Embellished denim. Color combinations that probably shouldn't work. Shoes that look like someone decorated them five minutes before leaving the house.

There is something wonderfully unserious about it.

And I don't mean unserious as an insult. Quite the opposite.

Fashion has become so obsessed with appearing expensive that sometimes we forget getting dressed is supposed to be fun.

Caro Editions remembers.

MFPEN — Corporate After Quitting Corporate

MFPEN is probably one of the best examples of why Copenhagen feels relevant right now.

The clothes are almost aggressively ordinary at first glance: low trousers, skinny knits, practical coats, dark skirts, shirts, slightly awkward layers.

And then you look again.

The proportions are off in exactly the right way. Sleeves appear where you don't expect them. Trousers sit differently. Everything has the feeling of someone getting dressed without consulting an algorithm first.

Even more interesting is the brand's approach to materials, incorporating deadstock, surplus and existing fabrics into its production.

This is the kind of sustainability conversation I want more of.

No giant speech.

No sustainability-as-aesthetic.

No need to make the customer feel morally superior for buying another sweater.

Just make smarter clothes from what already exists—and make them desirable enough that people actually want to wear them.

Sustainability without the TED Talk.

FREYA DALSJØ — Delete Everything Else

Freya Dalsjø takes almost the opposite approach.

Remove the styling tricks.

Remove the print.

Remove the embellishment.

Remove almost everything.

Now what?

A very good coat. A long ivory dress. A perfect line.

When clothing becomes this simple, proportion has nowhere to hide. The shoulder has to be right. The volume has to be right. The fabric has to fall correctly.

There is something almost radical about that restraint.

Sometimes the most interesting thing a designer can do is know when to stop.

AIAYU — Retired From Trying Too Hard

AIAYU might be the collection I can most easily imagine actually living in.

Soft tailoring. Relaxed trousers. Washed neutrals. Fine layers. An oversized utilitarian jacket. Clothes that don't immediately announce where they're from or how much they cost.

They simply look good.

And increasingly, I think that is the ultimate luxury.

The grey suit layered with multiple knits is exactly the kind of styling I love because nothing about it is revolutionary—and yet the proportions and layers completely change the way we see a very familiar wardrobe.

These are clothes designed to live in, not perform in.

So, What Is Copenhagen Doing Differently?

Maybe Copenhagen isn't trying to tell us what to buy next.

Maybe it's showing us how to think differently about what we wear.

That distinction matters.

Because fashion has spent the last several years becoming increasingly transactional. Buy the viral shoe. Find the sold-out bag. Get the jacket everyone saw on the runway. Repeat until Instagram decides we're finished with it.

But personal style doesn't work that way.

Personal style happens when you take a proper coat and wear it incorrectly. When you put something sheer under something masculine. When an evening skirt suddenly works during the day. When an old piece becomes interesting again because you changed the proportion around it.

It happens when the clothes stop being the entire conversation and you enter it.

And perhaps that's why Copenhagen continues to feel so refreshing.

There are young designers here willing to experiment. Sustainability is increasingly treated as part of the design process rather than a marketing category. There is less obsession with displaying luxury and more curiosity about what clothing can actually do.

Most importantly, there is individuality.

Fashion doesn't need another generation of people dressed identically in very expensive clothes.

It needs ideas.

And right now, Copenhagen has plenty of them.

Good clothes. Strange proportions. Less hype. More ideas.

I think I'll keep looking North.