We've Been Looking the Wrong Way at Copenhagen Fashion Week

Forget the street style for a moment. These are the Seven collections from Copenhagen Fashion Week SS27 that deserve your attention.

As Fashion month kicks off, first out of the blocks, Copenhagen. And once again the Danish city become fashion's favourite destination.

Instagram has been flooded with oversized shirts, colourful accessories, cool girls on bicycles and perfectly effortless Scandi outfits. Street style has become its own spectacle, with photographers lining pavements before a single model has stepped onto a runway.

And while we love seeing how fashion's creative crowd interprets the season, it does feel as though we've started looking in the wrong direction.

Because fashion week has never really been about the guests.

It's about the designers who spend months developing collections. The ateliers perfecting every seam. The buyers deciding what will eventually land in our favourite stores. The editors spotting the ideas that will shape what we wear next.

Fashion is creativity, yes, but it's also a business. Without those collections, there are no trends to filter onto the street six months later.

So, while the global lens has been firmly trained on the pavements of Copenhagen, we're turning ours back to where it belongs: the catwalk.

Here are the collections that caught our attention at Copenhagen Fashion Week SS27.

By Malene Birger: The Return of Quiet Elegance

By Malene Birger returned to the CPHFW runway with a collection of draped silhouettes, louche tailoring and a muted palette.

After a six-year absence from the Copenhagen Fashion Week schedule, By Malene Birger returned to the runway with new creative director Emilie Martinsen-Kønigsfeldt at the helm — and it was worth the wait.

This was Scandi minimalism at its most grown-up: beautifully draped silhouettes, languid tailoring and a palette washed almost entirely in white, cream and soft neutrals.

But don't mistake minimal for boring. Clever draping, asymmetric details and softly sculpted shapes gave the collection interest without shouting for attention.

And perhaps that's what made it feel so relevant. Against a backdrop of increasingly maximalist fashion, By Malene Birger made a very convincing argument for clothes you simply want to wear.

Our Runway Takeaway: Quiet luxury isn't going anywhere — but it's becoming softer, looser and a little less polished.

Stine Goya: The Art of Exaggeration

Stine Goya was still playful but this time the collection had an injection of romantic florals.

Stine Goya brought a celebration of volume, movement and nature to the schedule. Silhouettes were soft but exaggerated, with ballooning sleeves, billowing skirts and sculptural shapes joined by sheer layers and romantic florals.

Colour remained unmistakably Goya, but this time the palette felt softer and more painterly, with pretty pastels, fresh greens and floral tones adding to the sense of a collection in full bloom.

Our Runway Takeaway: Volume is having a moment. Look for balloon sleeves, fuller skirts and softly sculpted shapes for SS27.

Nicklas Skovgaard: Meet The Girl Group

Inspired by girl groups from the Sixties to the Spice Girls, Nicklas Skovgaard’s SS27 collection was playful and nostalgic.

Nicklas Skovgaard looked to the girl groups of the ’60s for SS27, creating his own fictional trio, the Skovgaardettes, and building the collection around their day-to-night wardrobes.

Gingham came in mismatched proportions, boxy ’60s suits were given a modern spin and rebellious black leather sat alongside pastel taffeta and floral jacquard. Sweet, subversive and brilliantly playful, it felt nostalgic without ever becoming costume.

Our Runway Takeaway: Gingham grows up for SS27. Wear it with sharper tailoring, unexpected proportions or a little black leather.

The Garment: The Chicest Tourist in Town

For SS27, The Garment's Charlotte Eskildsen caught the travel bug. Entitled The Tourist, the collection imagined a wardrobe that could fit neatly into a suitcase, with pieces picked up along the way becoming stylish souvenirs of journeys taken.

Dressy tailoring met boyish shorts, while lingerie and pyjama-inspired pieces brought a softer mood. Practical, polished and wonderfully nonchalant, it was the kind of holiday wardrobe we'd very happily pack.

Our Runway Takeaway: Holiday dressing gets smarter. Think relaxed tailoring, longer shorts and lingerie-inspired layers that work from sightseeing to supper.

Baum und Pferdgarten: The Off-Duty Ballerina

Baum und Pfergarten looked to the world of ballet for inspiration.

For SS27, Baum und Pferdgarten found inspiration in the ballet dancers spilling out of Copenhagen’s Royal Danish Theatre after rehearsals — legwarmers, headbands and ballet shoes mixed haphazardly with everyday clothes and ’80s sportswear.

That undone styling ran through the collection, with satin jackets, corset details and tiny tutus meeting capri leggings and scrunched-up legwarmers. Less prim ballerina, more dancer on her way home, it made balletcore suddenly feel cool again.

Our Runway Takeaway: Balletcore loosens up. Wear legwarmers, capri leggings and delicate satin with everyday pieces rather than going full prima ballerina.

OpéraSport: Sport Meets Romance

Mixes of sportluxe and flourishes of femininity ruled at OpéraSport.

OpéraSport opened Copenhagen Fashion Week with a collection that played to its strengths: mixing sporty, functional pieces with something altogether more feminine.

Signature sash belts, shirts shrugged nonchalantly off one shoulder and sporty separates were joined by embroidered silk corsets, butter-yellow lace and delicate floral appliqués. It was romantic without losing the effortless edge that has become the Copenhagen label’s calling card.

Our Runway Takeaway: Opposites attract. Mix technical and sporty staples with lace, silk and softer feminine pieces for a very modern contrast.

Anne Sofie Madsen: The Future Feels Good

Designer Anne Sofie Madsen’s SS27 collection was ethereal yet wearable.

Anne Sofie Madsen brought an otherworldly quality to SS27, layering sheer black chiffon over nude slips, oversized tulle ruffles and draped peach and cream silk.

Clever pattern cutting based on rotated squares kept even the most dramatic pieces fluid rather than stiff, while reworked Nike branding added an unexpected sporty edge. Ethereal yet surprisingly wearable, Madsen's brand revival just keeps getting more interesting.

Our Runway Takeaway: Sheer dressing stays, but gets softer. Think translucent layers, fluid draping and barely-there fabrics worn over simple slips and separates.

So, What Will We Actually Be Wearing?

For all the theatre of the runway, Copenhagen delivered plenty we'll be borrowing for our own wardrobes. Capri pants are going nowhere, gingham is back, volume is getting bigger and ballet influences are loosening up with legwarmers and sporty layers.

We'll be mixing opposites too: lace with tailoring, pretty pieces with leather and sportswear with something altogether more polished.

So yes, we'll continue scrolling through the Copenhagen street style — we'd be lying if we said we weren't. But let's not forget to look through the doors of the shows too.

Because before a trend reaches our Instagram feeds, our favourite stores and eventually our own wardrobes, someone has to create it.

And that's what fashion week is really about.