A look at Copenhagen Fashion Week's street style is a look at our collective fashion future. Seemingly with as much pull as luxury brands like The Row or 'It' girls like Alexa Chung, those sitting FROW at the fashion week have predicted (or dictated) micro trends for many a year now.
The rise and rise of flip flops, knitted hoods and, of course, the voluminous dresses that have dominated fashion's recent past – all went through Copenhagen Fashion Week's pressure cooker. And we're sure this season will be no different.
So, what are the style stars wearing today, that we're sure to be wearing tomorrow? Personality hats.
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A term coined by Leandra Medine, personality hats are what they say on the tin: hats that bring a little personality to one's outfit, or that can be used to express one's own personality. Offering a wink to any ensemble, personality hats are as varied as their wearers, with pretty much any style of hat qualifying (including cowboy, boater – heck, even a bandana kind of counts). As of late, front-runners for most fantastical personality hat of 2025 are: pillbox, skull cap, sauna, cloche, bonnet and sailor styles. Fabricated in anything from straw to sequins, they can liven up even the dullest of clothing combinations, and hide a missed hair-wash day, to boot.
'I think that a personality hat quite literally makes you visible in a crowd – it’s easy to spot someone with a great hat,' Ruby Redstone, a fashion historian, founder of concept store, MESS, and personality hat-wearer, tells ELLE UK. 'But I also am very fascinated by a cultural return to hats. They haven’t been a big part of dress culture since the 1950s, and it’s very exciting to see them coming back in a formal way.
'I’m sporting a pillbox hat right now, but my eternal favourite is a sailor hat because I love anything nautical.'
And it wasn't just on editors, buyers and influencers that we saw the personality hat at the SS26 shows; the runway was also awash with examples; Caro Editions featured polkadot, wide-brimmed boaters; Iamisigo paraded a host of magical millinery wonders; MKDT channelled The Flying Nun with surreal, wind-strewn scarves; as did Rave Review.
But, how to wear a personality hat? We asked Redstone her opinion: 'I like a personality hat that works in harmony with an outfit. I prefer to have one that matches the colours of my look so that it’s not too distracting. I do still always want people to see my face before they see my hat.'
An easy way to transition your summer wardrobe into autumn, a personality hat may just be the humorous accessory your wardrobe is missing. Be brave, try one.
Le Vacances D'Irina Sailor Hat
Pardo Hats Zahi Scullcap In Red
VIntage Black Pillbox Hat
SaunaPro Traditional White Cream Sauna Hat (Wool)
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Daisy Murray is the Digital Fashion Editor at ELLE UK, spotlighting emerging designers, sustainable shopping, and celebrity style. Since joining in 2016 as an editorial intern, Daisy has run the gamut of fashion journalism - interviewing Molly Goddard backstage at London Fashion Week, investigating the power of androgynous dressing and celebrating the joys of vintage shopping.
