Some are stacked on top of each other, others leaning against the space’s towering columns. Slim light bars cut across the installation, creating a scene that’s somewhere between scrapyard and sculpture. If this set design has your wheels turning, don’t worry — Danish brand Gestuz anticipated that and included a gallery-style exhibit label at the entrance to its spring-summer 2026 show at Copenhagen Fashion Week. “The world is moving fast,” it reads. “We are all moving fast […] But in that constant motion, what gets lost? We are pausing to question the speed of life. The race we all seem to be a part of.” Fittingly, the show is called “The Human Race,” and the concept of speed, literal and metaphorical, is a major through line. 

In a literal sense, creative director Sanne Sehested pulled her inspiration from motor sports — which gave her a way to talk about how women are expected to move through life: quickly and efficiently, always pushing down hard on their accelerators. But power isn’t only measured by speed; it also comes from softness and pause. The show asks what happens when we stop seeing these two modes as opposites, and instead, allow them to coexist, like different gears in the same machine. To materialize the idea, art director Sille Eyser Overgaard Hansen scavenged tires from junkyard wrecks, scrubbed them clean, and coated them in white paint. When the lights dim, the light bars flare to life, illuminating the installation. Then the first model steps onto the track. 

In designing the collection, vintage racing culture provided Sanne with a rich jumping off point. Leather, without question, is a big part of that world — think: supple car seats, racing jackets, and snug little gloves that grip on the wheel. Gestuz has always had a way with leather, and this season, its close relationship with the material is brought to the fore. On the runway, leather kicks off the show and lingers throughout, showing up in everything from a suede halterneck-and-pants combo to leather capris with side piping. Expectedly, we see plays on the racing jacket and a front-snap-buttoned leather jumpsuit borrowed from the pit lane (paired with short gloves, of course!) 

In her own, rock ‘n’ roll way, Sanne is always faithful to vintage-inspired outerwear. (The designer launched her brand in 2008, built on a foundation of edgy femininity and her love for vintage clothing.) A sporty bomber is cut in black and burgundy, and emblazoned with the words “Human Race,” and a vintage-mechanic-style jacket is reimagined in leather. A well-loved Gestuz tench silhouette is revised in denim — its light wash and structured cut makes it a lovely transitional piece. The brand’s go-to moto jacket, which the designer always brings back in various iterations every season, makes an appearance, too. 

Leather and denim aside, Sanne makes room for softer elements. Shifting to a lower gear, she also conjures up a decidedly more romantic scene. Imagine a leisurely drive: wind in hair, endless blue skies above, wheels hugging every curve of the open road. It’s that slow-down-and-smell-the-fresh-air feeling that the designer evokes through fabrics that swish and swoosh and move with the greatest of ease on the runway. A semi-sheer shirt gathers around one hip and waterfalls down the body. A cowl-neck top features an asymmetrical cape-like sleeve that flutters with a certain winged lightness. Long scarves, tossed nonchalantly around the neck, trail behind models. Imagine that drive again: top down, scarf billowing against the passing landscape. 

One of Sanne’s biggest strengths is her equally bold and sensitive knack for color. This season, there are particularly delicious hues, inspired by Formula One’s golden age: pale, dusty blues, pimento reds, soft peaches, and petroleum blacks. A special hat-tip goes to the styling here. In one uber-sophisticated look, straw yellow (just a step warmer than butter), baby blue, and red are teamed up together, and the result is absolutely striking! I’ve always thought that the best shows not only give you ideas on what to wear, but how to wear them. I think Gestuz has blessed me with enough color inspiration to carry me through the next season. 

“This collection addresses a longing for occasion wear,” Sanne says in the show notes. “A desire to go out and truly get dressed, be present and not afraid to acknowledge the importance of a moment, a celebration.” Pearls, practically shorthand for glamour and femininity, show up in the near-closing looks, covering a ladylike collarless jacket and dripping from a bra top. Even with pearls, which generally have a certain fussiness about them, Sanne manages to create looks that strike that enviable balance of dressy and dressed-down. As this collection proves, Gestuz has never let a woman down who wants to look effortlessly cool while feeling comfortable, and that alone is worth slowing down to appreciate.