Everything I Wore to Copenhagen Fashion Week as a Midsize Model

Jennifer Atilémile is the definition of a woman who does it all. A true multi-hyphenate, she is a model, writer, creative, activist, and intellectual. As an editor in residence, she gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the fashion industry.

I love Denmark. Every time I go, I come home with a renewed appreciation for my own life and for the Danes themselves. There’s a reason Copenhagen was just named the world’s happiest city, topping the 2026 Happy City Index. This was my first time experiencing it in summer—10/10, would recommend.

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Naturally, I did what any curious person does and typed “Why are people in Copenhagen so happy?” into Google. What I found kept coming back to one idea: empowerment. The city consistently gets credit for how much it lets people design their own lives, and there’s a lovely line in an article about the topic from the Danish professor Christian Bjørnskov that says, “What is special about Danish society is that it allows people to choose the kind of life they want to live.”

That’s why so many people look to Copenhagen for its street style and why I feel so drawn to it. It’s a reflection of how people actually want to dress rather than how an algorithm told them to be cool or chic. They are the embodiment of taking up space.

Their concept of hygge is one I relate to. I have a Substack blog called To Life, With Love, after all. Hygge is about enjoying the simple, good parts of life together with people you care about, and that’s something I try to practise every day. It’s no wonder the fashion reflects the way people live here. Every day, people get dressed with intention, with joy, and with love, and it shows in the street style.

I stayed at Hotel Ottilia in the old Carlsberg brewery. Other than the fact that it didn’t have air conditioning (a privilege I’ve come to learn is a luxury now that I live in the U.S.), it was a perfect base. It was a little far from the centre of town for an event like fashion week, but it was a 15-minute cycle, something I ended up doing almost every day. By the end, I think I was biking for several hours a day. The hotel bikes had only three gears, and after arriving to one too many things sweaty, I switched to a LimeBike. Here’s everything I wore in Copenhagen.