Last season, the Paolina Russo heroine took a school trip to Copenhagen’s French Embassy. Now, school’s out for summer, and she’s decamped to her grandma’s house. By day, she plays the doting granddaughter, surrounded by chintzy florals and patchwork ‘Lone Star’ quilts. By night, she sneaks out and parties at the local skate park, all angsty rebellion and teen spirit. “She has this secret life,” said Russo, “driven by a desire to find herself.”
As the summer rolls on, our heroine’s aesthetic melds these two worlds together. A prim pea coat with clashing ditsy floral prints is rendered in a hazy cargo green, and folksy wooden buttons are laced with psychedelic rainbow embroidery thread. The London-based brand’s signature laser print jeans have been reimagined with geometric shapes borrowed from traditional quilting patterns. “It’s a fantasy, because it’s not necessarily what we’re living today, but it’s a story we lived before, growing up in small towns,” said co-founder Lucile Guilmard. “There’s an element of nostalgia and shared memories.”
The nostalgia trickled down to the accessories too. The Japanese spinning top Beyblade toys Russo and Guilmard played with as children were reimagined as melted plastic earrings by the artist Yuma Burgess, hanging like Neolithic medallions in bubblegum pink and acid green. Jewelry designer Florence Tétier turned skateboard wheels into chunky necklaces, adorned with plastic cutlery melted into trippy neon flowers. The brand’s signature skater girl belt chains also made an appearance, jangling with keys and found objects. For the footwear, Russo and Guilmard turned to show sponsor Ecco, whose classic Joke shoes were souped up with bedazzled rhinestone laces.
Paolina Russo is nothing without its community, which is why the designers threw open the doors to their spring 2027 show and invited hundreds of fans to join the party. After the industry guests left, even more fans came in for a second showing. “Our clothes are a uniform for belonging,” said Russo. “Everyone is welcome,” added Guillard.
The party was already flowing: alongside the catwalk, the designers staged a battle of the bands. On one side: pink-haired synth-pop singer Grace Ives, who went to school with Russo and is about to open for Olivia Rodrigo. On the other: Copenhagen-based band Haloplus+, whose music they listened to while shaping their latest collection.
The show was a coup, but one of the biggest wins was behind the scenes, said Russo. Since winning the Zalando Visionary Award in 2023, Paolina Russo has adopted Copenhagen as its second home, and CPHFW’s minimum sustainability standards as its guiding principles. This season, the brand surpassed its target of at least 50% mono-material garments for the first time, coming in at around 77%. The brand’s signature lenticular knitwear—a bestseller every season—is back in optical illusion T-shirts, skirts, and capri leggings, now in 100% Oekotex-certified cotton. “We’re really proud of that,” said Russo. “We developed it with our manufacturers. They are extremely creative craftspeople who know the fibers and how to achieve the best results.”