Anne Sofie Madsen SS26: A Dreamlike Exploration of Identity and Transformation

For the Spring/Summer 2026 collection, Anne Sofie Madsen collaborated with Issueissue Magazine founders Freja Wewer and William Becker to craft a presentation inspired by Sofia Coppola’s cult short film Lick the Star. The film’s themes of adolescent tension—secret alliances, identity experimentation, and the fluidity of control—resonated throughout the collection. Titled Lick the Star, the runway show embodied the hazy, transformative stage of early youth, where identity was in constant flux.

A Metaphor for Becoming

The collection explored adolescence as a metaphor for self-discovery, where choices shaped identity before full awareness set in. At the center of the runway, a curated flatlay of personal items from designers Caroline Clante and Anne Sofie Madsen served as an intimate time capsule, grounding the garments in personal history.

Deconstructing Binaries

Madsen and Clante challenged traditional fashion dichotomies—masculine/feminine, tough/delicate, formal/casual—by merging them into fluid, evolving forms. Classic archetypes (the rebel, the romantic, the worker) were reimagined through subcultural and historical lenses:

The biker jacket was deconstructed and fused with fringe detailing, creating a hybrid piece that referenced subcultural roots while pushing the silhouette forward.

Tailoring was softened through unexpected interventions—structured suits gained casual hoods, while the sweeping lines of evening gowns were rendered in dense suiting wool, blurring formal boundaries.

The humble tank top was radically reimagined, transformed into a dress that played with proportion and gender codes, alternately honoring and abstracting its utilitarian origins.

Sportswear elements appeared in delicate silk, their functional straps cut on the bias to trace floral patterns across the body, juxtaposing athletic references with material fragility.

Denim was systematically dismantled and reconstructed, with each reworked piece carrying the weight of its history while forging new structural possibilities.

The Glam Rat Clutch: Beauty in the Marginal

A collaboration with artist Esben Weile Kjær, the Glam Rat Clutch reimagined the reviled rat as a sculptural accessory. Symbolizing resilience and urban contradiction, it carried only essentials (lipstick, keys, cigarettes), celebrating the beauty in what society often discarded.

Craftsmanship and Evolution

Every piece was handmade in Copenhagen, reflecting the brand’s commitment to slow, intentional design. SS26 marked the first joint collection by Madsen and Clante, blending their distinct voices into a shared language. The result was a phantasmagoric spectacle—garments that dazzled while revealing their scaffolding, illusions that invited closer inspection.

Through hybrid references and cultural remixes, Anne Sofie Madsen SS26 captured the endless process of becoming—where identity was never static, only endlessly reinterpreted.

Founded in 2025, the Copenhagen-based label was known for sculptural silhouettes and experimental tailoring. Madsen, trained under John Galliano and Alexander McQueen, partnered with co-creative director Caroline Clante to explore storytelling through fashion. SS26 continued this legacy, questioning how identity was shaped by memory, repetition, and societal structures.

See full runway here:

Anne Sofie Madsen Spring/Summer 2026