Few guests sitting next to me at Copenhagen Fashion Week's first show of the Spring 2026 season, at OpéraSport's runway on August 4, knew it would take place at an indoor pool in one of the Danish capital's semi-suburban residential neighborhoods. Yet, at least half of the editors, influencers, and style enthusiasts around me had appropriately decided that rubber flip-flops were their best bet for taking on the circuit and facing the onslaught of street style photographers.
With every passing hour at Copenhagen Fashion Week's opening days, the knee-high cowboy boots I had packed, a nod to early fall shoe trends, began feeling more out of place. I glanced to my left and saw Nordstrom associate fashion director Linda Cui Zhang wearing thong sandals with red jelly straps and black soles. Turning to my right, I spotted a row of flip-flops in magenta, azure, and marigold yellow. On the OpéraSport runway, I recognized models showcasing their ballet-flat-meets-flip-flop hybrids by Havaianas, with a few select guests in the stands matching in their own. If I closed my eyes, the sound of rubber against heels—the thwack!—would be the perfect street style soundtrack.
