Paolina Russo’s school of misfits is in session

Twenty years of Copenhagen Fashion Week deserves an equally epic runway line-up – think Holzweiler, Anne Sofie Madsen, Mara Hoffman, OperaSport and, after two years away from the Danish fashion week, Paolina Russo. ​“Copenhagen holds a special place in our heart,” says Lucile Guilmard, French half of the London-based duo making kaleidoscopic denim and tactile, 3D knits. “.We did our debut show – SS24 – in Copenhagen.” For Lucile and Paolina Russo (the Canadian designer who founded her namesake brand), winning the €50,000 Zalando Visionary Award in 2023, along with guaranteed show slot, which allowed them to stage a production which featured rotating stones – their own ​“Neolithic-like cul-de-sac” – tooth-achingly sweet printed-adorned sets, folklore-inspired separates and upcycled corsets.

But even before they were stars in the Danish capital, they were on the radar of : Timothée Chalamet was papped in a custom Marty Supreme Russo trucker and a crotchet helmet hat during A Complete Unknown press tour (from Paolina’s personal collection). Paolina explains that Aiden Zamiri, a photographer and director and Paolina’s,partner, was on tour with the actor, ​“and Aiden wore my hat and then Timothy borrowed it from him. I was like, yes, of course he can have it! He looks really cool in it.”

Since Lucile joined the brand in 2022, they’ve perfected working together and working separately, often taking time apart to research and develop their collections. While their personalities differ – Paolina is ​“Type A” a perfectionist, and Lucile ​“Type B”, a little more easygoing – it’s a contrast that’s paid off. They’ve hosted showrooms in Paris, opened stores in South Korea, kitted out FACE cover stars NewJeans, and, alongside their main lines, crafted a sports capsule. They’ve certainly not been idle in their two-year absence on the CPHFW calendar.

P.S. the show last night was indeed the highlight of Copenhagen Fashion Week – even with the grandiose setting, you couldn’t take your eyes off Paolina Russo’s pupils rebellious students.

But after some time away from Denmark, they’re thrilled to be closing out the week, and chose a suitably grand location for their AW26 show: the French Embassy. With the ​“family vibe” of Copenhagen Fashion Week reflecting how Paolina and Lucile work together, hosting the show in a building that speaks to the latter’s heritage further underlined that feeling.

Silhouettes have a back-to-school feel, with an explosion of colour, ​“you’re going to have some ties, shirts and some pleated skirts, but obviously with a Paulina Russo touch on it,” reveals Lucile. Ella Emhoff is part of the AW26 students, with casting led by Emma Matell.

And how have they transformed the grand consular space, exactly? By turning it into a teenage girl’s fantasy room, of course. ​“You know the scene from What A Girl Wants with Amanda Bynes, and finds out she’s basically a princess and sees her room for the first time? It’s a bit like that,” Paolina explains. ​“We’re a collection of misfits, and [the collection] shines well in the space.”

Hey, Paolina and Lucile! Welcome back to CPHFW. What was on the mood board for AW26?

Paolina: It’s inspired by the feeling of a class trip – the first time that you have an away trip with your school. Maybe it’s one night and you get to see the world for the first time, and everything feels so new and hopeful and inspiring.

Lucile: Community is important to us, so we saw this season as a class – a school of Paolina Russo. It’s a bit ironic for us, because a school uniform is [by definition] the same, but we’ve made a uniform that [shows] how different everyone is.

Paolina: The Paulina Russo woman is always that suburban warrior, so this is her on her class trip. Last year, we had amazing opportunities to travel the world. We went to Complexcon in Hong Kong, we went to Seoul to visit our stores. We met so many people who love the brand and who wear the brand, so we’re paying homage to our community.

3D knits, striking colours, sustainability and clothes you can move in are all pivotal to your collections. In terms of silhouettes and detailing, what did you want to create?

Lucile: We’re super inspired by the clashing of different materials and how they answer to each other. We expanded our denim and worked with corduroy for the first time, applying laser techniques. There are also pleated skirts with knit stitches.

Paolina: There’s still that essence of this warrior princess in the Paolina Russo woman’s wardrobe, in the colours, in the motifs. There are hand-drawn motifs that she’s drawing in her notebook that then become what is drawn onto her jacket and her skirts.

If you had your own band of misfits, who would it include?

Paolina: Tavi Gevinson from the Style Rookie! Me and Lucile were revisiting blogs that we used to read a lot. We both had fashion blogs as teenagers, and that was our first idea of what fashion could be.

What were you and Lucile blogging about?

Paolina: About fashion and my outfits that I was wearing every day. The name was Calard Villard – a gibberish scramble of a thrift store village, and me and my friends scrambled the letters to make it sound more designer. But it was code for [LA neighbourhood] Valley Village. I would set up a tripod and take pictures of my outfits every day. The outfits got progressively more nuts! This was before I really knew what a fashion designer and stylist were. It was very naive. But that self-expression and hopefulness are what inspires us.

Lucile: My older cousin took pictures of me for my blog doing all these weird Vogue-esque poses. She gave me all the clothes that she didn’t want anymore – stuff with, like, the deepest V‑neck. Just cool clothes.

Does it feel full circle documenting your styles as teenagers and now creating a ​“uniform” for ​“pupils” of Paolina Russo?

Paolina: There is definitely a full circle there. That girl that we were is very much also the girl we think about.

Sustainability is a key part of the brand and how you guys create. How did you weave that into this collection?

Paolina: Knitwear is always at the sort of core of the collection – we’ve really dived into a lot of hand-crafted knits. We worked with artisans in Peru, including this woman called Alicia, who has a company named Anaychay. She’s half-Peruvian and half-French, and has built a network of artisans in Lima who do everything from knitting and crochet to beadwork and embroidery. You can really see the human touch, just because it’s not perfect and they’ve used locally sourced fibres – alpaca and wool.

Lucile: We also created recycled sporty jerseys in collaboration with a Portugal-based fabric company called Positive Materials. They’re made from scraps of luxurious wool.

What were you listening to or watching while making AW26?

Paolina: Gilmore Girls. Their outfits are so good. Also, the pilot of that show was filmed in my hometown, which I’d never knew! I’ve also been listening to The Shins’ first album for the past three months.

Lucile: I’ve been listening to Smerz.

Lastly, how are you celebrating your return to Copenhagen Fashion Week?

Lucile: The show’s the day of my birthday, so we’ll have a little celebration, a workshop with students the next day. We’re staying a few extra days.

Paolina: The official Paolina Russo Copenhagen recommendation? Try the hot dog stands! [They’re in] 7‑Eleven and there’s one with crispy onions outside the French Embassy.