It is no secret that Copenhagen Fashion Week, held twice a year, has two very different faces: a cold season that calls for the warmest coats in the wardrobe and another defined by long hours of sunshine and getting everywhere by bike. The latter welcomed us with spectacular weather a few weeks ago, when Samsøe Samsøe invited us to experience its Copenhagen from the inside, bringing us closer to the city where the brand was born and to the creative community that continues to shape its universe.
And Copenhagen Fashion Week is quite the context for it. Few events on the international fashion calendar have generated as much attention in recent years, with reports still trying to understand the reasons behind its massive international success. There is clearly something happening here that goes beyond the shows themselves, and experiencing the city during fashion week helps explain it. Copenhagen has managed to make design part of everyday life in a way that feels surprisingly unforced, something Samsøe Samsøe understands particularly well because, quite simply, this is home.
What became clear very quickly was that the invitation was not simply about attending an event or seeing what the brand was working on. Samsøe Samsøe wanted us to understand its way of looking at the world, and Copenhagen became an essential part of that experience. A boat trip through the city took us past docks packed with locals lying in the sun and enjoying the unusually good weather. For a while, we almost managed to blend in with them and experience the city at their pace.
Meals at some of the places currently generating the most interest on Copenhagen’s circuit gave us another opportunity to spend time with the Samsøe Samsøe community. There was enough time to sit together and actually talk, creating connections that extended beyond the usual fashion week introductions. It sounds obvious, but during days when everyone is constantly moving from one appointment to another, having the space to properly get to know the people around you makes a huge difference.
That attention to detail says a lot about Samsøe Samsøe itself. The brand has grown enormously since beginning as a small jewellery shop in Copenhagen’s Latin Quarter in 1993, yet its relationship with Danish design remains fundamental to everything it does. Good taste is not treated as something decorative here; it is the starting point. The clothes are contemporary but genuinely wearable, conceived to become part of our lives and ultimately work as a second skin through which we can express ourselves.
The clearest expression of that philosophy came during the main event of our stay, when Samsøe Samsøe brought its community together for an evening built around music. We all know by now that fashion and music are closely connected, and brands have been exploring that relationship for decades. The interesting question is what happens when that intersection is approached with enough care to actually contribute something to both sides. Here, music was not background entertainment for a fashion event; it was given the time and space to become the experience itself.
In the middle of fashion week frenzy, the sound experience created by Soooundsss gave us something particularly valuable: an opportunity to slow down for a moment, listen, and listen to each other. Founded in Copenhagen by creative producer and music curator Sara S. Frost , the project is centred around giving sound the attention it deserves, creating environments where music can be experienced without the distractions we have become so accustomed to.
Sara S. Frost opened the evening alongside British artist Sainté, leading a conversation that took us into his creative process and the ideas behind his music. The centrally positioned stage naturally brought everyone closer, creating an intimacy that immediately changed the usual dynamics of a fashion week event. Sainté was also an especially fitting choice. The Leicester-born artist has built a universe in which music and visual identity constantly feed into one another, making his relationship with fashion feel completely natural rather than strategically attached.
As the evening progressed, that initial moment of listening gradually gave way to something more energetic. Qendresa took over with a sound shaped by the musical landscape of northwest London and her own Kosovan heritage, moving comfortably through R&B and electronic soul. The singer, songwriter, producer and DJ has recently collaborated with Drake, while receiving support from figures including Lil Yachty and Daniel Kaluuya.
Then CLUB LIVE turned up the temperature. The Copenhagen-based concept approaches nightlife through improvised live sessions, with a turntablist guiding musicians who reinterpret the music in real time. After slowing down and giving ourselves the time to really listen earlier in the evening, there could hardly have been a better way to finish than by doing the exact opposite: raising the pace, reconnecting with the body through movement and giving everything on the dance floor. The energy in the room completely changed.
What makes CLUB LIVE so exciting is precisely that sense of unpredictability. Nothing is fully rehearsed, so the session takes shape in front of you, with the musicians responding to one another and the audience becoming increasingly involved in what is happening. The concept debuted at Roskilde Festival earlier this year, and seeing it here was an incredible experience and the perfect final chapter to the night.
During a week when attention on social media is fiercely contested and everyone brings out the big guns in the race for virality, Samsøe Samsøe seems more interested in quality than quantity. Real community comes before likes generated by endless scrolling, and the experience in Copenhagen made that position particularly clear. There is care for the process and an interest in creating something people can actually connect with, beyond what might perform best on a screen.
That intention is ultimately what gives the brand’s universe its relevance. Curiosity, new ideas and a genuine appreciation for design bring together a community that looks at creativity from different angles. In an industry where appearances can easily become the end goal, Samsøe Samsøe makes a case for putting care back at the centre and making sure there is something behind the image: a point of view, a message and, above all, a reason for bringing people together.
