Cecilie Bahnsen Spring 2026 Ready-to-Wear Collection

For several months Cecilie Bahnsen has been applying her mind to the matter of her first ten years in business. In August she staged an anniversary show in her hometown of Copenhagen, where she sent reworked archive pieces down the runway. Concurrently she was guest editing A Magazine By, a copy of which was placed on the wooden Artek stools arranged in rows in a sun-bathed room in the Palais de Tokyo. Having spent so much time on retro- and introspection, Bahnsen approached the spring line up straight-on and instinctively. “Instead of overanalyzing, just make it,” was her motto; this approach, the designer explained, was inspired by Ib Frost, her curious, towheaded son.

There was a joyous sense of playfulness and experimentation in this light-as-air collection. This season, Bahnsen replaced the romantic flutter of her signature ribbon streamers with bouncy panniers. “With the boning in it, it kind of becomes its own organism; it’s moving in its own way,” the designer enthused.

Similar to Legos, some of these appendages were modular; they could be strapped on or off, allowing the wearer to ramp up or down the hyperfeminity and magnitude of a look. “It’s a way for me to work with the linear silhouette but still have that kind of playful volume to it,” noted the designer. In other cases these frills were integrated into the garments, including the gorpy ones. Bahnsen didn’t abandon signatures like her sweet-meets-sport vibe, but it was as if she had designed with X-ray vision, so airy and or transparent (see the plastic babydoll, look three) were the pieces, some of which revealed elements of their construction.

This collection integrated lightness not only in terms of weightlessness; what looked like crystals under some models’ eyes were miniature lights, and the red glow emanating from many of the dresses were LED hearts made in collaboration with Enlightened Designs. These were programmed to beat in time with the soundtrack by August Rosenbaum. Though there is nothing futuristic about Bahnsen’s aesthetic, she often works with technical fabrics. The idea wasn’t to go high-tech, but to introduce an unexpected element.

Not only was the collection made with heart, it tended to speed up one’s pulse. After a fall collection that felt like a culmination of a decade’s work (though that was not the intention), it was exciting to see the designer move forward. “We’ve been so reflective over the last couple months, about what was next to come, and that can feel like a big pressure,” Bahnsen said. Turning away from fear she followed her instinct and the result was that she expanded her universe, thus proving the wisdom of the wise Fox of The Little Prince, who said, “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly.”