Field Notes From Copenhagen
Field Notes From Copenhagen
The best of contemporary sneaker design and vintage grails.
ICYMI
Field Notes is a content series where we explore the luxury retail landscape in cities worldwide. They’re meant to be anecdotal; we’re sharing and observing what we see.
The idea is that we’ll take a neighbourhood or city with a strong luxury retail presence and dissect what we like about the retail establishments there.
PS – Check out our Fields Notes from Stockholm.
Got an idea? Let us know where we should visit next!
The Scandinavian region’s contributions to fashion and design is big; Denmark, in particular, plays home to some of the most exciting designs in modern history.
Between Bang & Olufsen’s famed audio equipment to Kay Bojesen’s monkey, Hans Wegner’s beloved furniture, GANNI, and Wood Wood, the nation has an amazing hit rate. Making its capital city, Copenhagen, a natural spot to indulge in the best of New Luxury.
As Distortion festival took hold of the city, filling the streets with energy as the sun shone, we took a reprieve and got a taste of what the city’s stores had to offer.
Similar to Berlin, Copenhagen served as a reminder of the sneaker industry’s cultural peak, with a tide of perfectly curated sneaker walls appearing throughout the city’s best storefronts. Showcased with effortless finesse, Danish design sensibilities shone through each store and highlighting the nation’s tasteful curation.
The city loves vintage. Across Copenhagen, Gen-Zers dressed head-to-toe in early 2000s and 90s vintage grails (peak festival looks) shows the abundance of pre-loved fashion on offer, leading to a treasure hunt to uncover the best pieces.
Whether you find yourself itching for a new pair of Kiko Kostadinov-designed ASICS, the latest pieces from Wales Bonner x adidas, a fresh pair of New Balance, or the perfect pair of vintage Oakley sunglasses, there’s no better place to start than in the heart of Copenhagen. Kom så!
Lagune
Lagune is the perfect place to start for those looking to build a new or update their existing wardrobe from the ground up. Why? Inside you’ll find the best of Carhartt WIP’s extensive everyday uniformed offering, alongside a slick selection of Fucking Awesome, Edwin, Gramicci, No Problemo, and more. Basically, this is where the best of skate and streetwear live.
While the premium line-up of footwear (that lives down a set of stairs just beyond the entrance) and the selection of accessories ranging from sunglasses to a multitude of baggage styles are certainly captivating, it’s the otherworldly decor that really brings the store to life.
On entering, you’ll be greeted by an extremely thoughtfully curated window display consisting of adidas sneakers, while a huge glossy black mushroom hangs from the ceiling and a geometric pillar draws you towards the centre of the store where friendly staff roam the central console. It’s a far more inviting take on a traditional till set-up, which keeps everyone engaged.
After my initial visit, I ended up tracking back to purchase an Oakley sling back that ended up being the perfect festival companion over the weekend.
Axel Arigato
Consistency is something that Axel Arigato mastered long ago. Sure, this applies to its sneaker and apparel offering, which very rarely (if at all) falter from the line, but it speaks best to its perfectly rendered physical storefronts.
Whether you’re in London, Stockholm, or Copenhagen, you’d do well to step into one of Axel Arigato’s stores. Immediately inviting upon catching your gaze, the Copenhagen store features sweeping windows that bring the product selection into full view, with warm strip lighting flooding the space to draw you in.
Everything within the space is textural, with the furnishings and foundations bearing beautiful contrasts. Despite this, nothing clashes; there’s a real synergy throughout the store that pulls you from the front to the back, before fueling your urge to do the same again.
Sneakers are, of course, Axel Arigato’s bread-and-butter, and here they’re giving special attention, with the newest styles thrust to the most eye-catching parts of the store, demanding you take a closer look.
Phenomenon
Scandinavian style typically shies away from the obtuse. It favours clean looks that are easy-wearing, elegant, and rooted in a palette of functional tones. More often than not, this is reflected in the footwear sported across the region, and no store speaks to this better than Phenomenon, which is stacked to the brim with staples looks from New Balance, ASICS, and PUMA.
Unlike stores like NAKED, or Berlin’s OVERKILL, the curation in Phenomenon is less about statement-making flair or highly saturated doses of colour; instead, it cherry-picks sneaker styles that can be worn with almost anything, any day of the week.
As a result, most of the sneakers within the store are either black, white, cream, or beige, with the more colourful options being pastel shades of blue, pink, or orange.
The simplicity of the store complements the simplicity of the offering; bare wooden floors and metal fixtures ensure the focus is kept solely on the footwear; no frills.
Storm
If you’re going to visit no more than one store while kicking about the street of Copenhagen, Storm is the one. From a New Luxury standpoint, you could want nothing that Storm doesn’t have.
Sitting in the same realm as Dover Street Market, London’s Liberty, and Berlin’s Voostore, Storm prides itself on its close alignment with the best of contemporary design across fashion, sneakers, accessories, beauty, and books.
At the front of the store, you’re greeted by an extensive wall of luxury perfumes and aftershaves, leaving you to indulge in a sensory experience that’ll pull you from reality before you go on to explore the remainder of the store.
Despite not being a particularly spacious store, you don’t feel cramped; instead, you feel as if you’re browsing a library of style, which eventually draws you to the rear where a broad selection of books fills the wooden display.
Quratee
Vintage and pre-loved is undoubtedly one of Copenhagen’s greatest strengths where fashion and design are concerned. All corners of the city have hidden gems to discover, and Quartee is certainly one such gem.
Despite its small size, this store makes the most of its space by offering beloved 90s-2000s grails spanning Nike, Stone Island, Diesel, CP, and plenty more. While its apparel rails boast plenty to desire, Quratee’s greatest attribute is its Oakley display cabinet which features a series of the brand’s best retro frames in a stunning array of colours, as well as a neat selection of 35mm point & shoot cameras, brick phones, and magazines.
The store’s laidback atmosphere makes its intimate size extremely welcoming, resulting in the feeling that you’re stepping into somebodies grail-laden hangout spot or bedroom rather than an imposing retail space.
NAKED
NAKED, a female sneakerhead haven. Arguably one of the best sneaker stores that Europe has to offer (regardless of it being gender-locked), NAKED continually demonstrates what impeccable curation looks like.
While there are plenty of sneaker and streetwear stores that provide a strong selection of female styles, none do it quite as well as NAKED, with some of the best female-only sneaker silhouettes and styles being pushed to the forefront of the store, with special attention given to cult classics like the Nike Air Rift.
Some of the best sneaker releases of the year find themselves comfortably nestled onto the sneaker walls and central displays, with Nike Air Jordan 4s, Air Max 1s, a host of New Balance and Kiko Kostadinov-designed ASICS, and the best of Wales Bonner x adidas snatching your attention throughout the store.
It’s not all about sneakers, though; NAKED keeps a mean selection of books, interior decorations, apparel, and accessories to compliment your sneaker purchases.
Despite most of the pieces within the store being outside of my sizes, I found myself browsing for far longer than intended.
McKorman
Pre-loved fashion and workwear are style staples of Copenhagen, particularly amongst its thriving Gen-Zers. McKorman combines both, resulting in a store that feels part thrift store, old-school skate shop, and workwear emporium.
Like most thrift or vintage stores, every space is filled; wherever your eyes scan, you’ll find brightly coloured posters or clothes and accessories lining the walls. The fullness and intensity of the arrangement feel like the antithesis of Danish design, yet feels fun and exciting.
Once inside, you’ll feel compelled to explore every corner and discover what hidden gems the store has to offer. At the very least, you’ll leave feeling like you’ve taken a trip back in time to your youth; to a time when shopping felt exciting.
Hungry for more?
If you’re keen to get familiar with some of the best spaces that the global retail scene has to offer, you won’t want to miss out on any of our Field Notes. Subscribe to Commerce Thinking below to see which city we visit next.