As I take my seat along a winding wood-chip-lined pathway in a forested area on Refshaleøen, my senses catch something else undressing in the air — an earthy, musky blend of suede, wood, and pine. (At the entrance, the show’s signature scent was spritzed on handheld fans given out to guests.) Finding this patch of greenery on an island that’s mostly old shipping containers and gray, gray, gray everywhere feels like stumbling onto a secret hidden in plain sight. It’s an unexpected surprise — and so is this sunshine. For the past week or so, the weather in Copenhagen has been so ill-mannered. Rain would arrive unannounced. Sunshine would cancel at the last possible moment. The situation was a little touch-and-go earlier, but right now, the skies are on their best behavior. 

If you ask Rolf Ekroth, the Finnish brand’s namesake founder and designer, this wasn’t all luck. He’d been working hard at manifesting good weather for a while now, compulsively checking the forecast multiple times a week at first and then several times a day leading up to the show. He knew hosting an outdoor event would be risky, to say the least, but for the brand’s spring-summer 2026 outing at Copenhagen Fashion Week, taking some risks came with the territory. A month before the show, the designer went to see the post-apocalyptic horror film, 28 Years Later, which powerfully examines what it means to survive when the world — and the people living in it — have been pushed past the brink. 

“It sort of became the theme because it’s always a struggle to survive,” Rolf tells me during an interview a few days later. “It’s sort of a small wink of an eye to the real struggles of running this brand. So, [it] felt very apropos to do an outdoor show.” In the show’s beginning moments, the scene is set with “Promised Land” by Young Fathers, from the film’s soundtrack. It starts with a low, humming drone, which gives way to layered, chant-like vocals. Grainy synth pads and airy reverberations capture a simultaneously eerie but hopeful mood. This is the world that the first model charges into, his gait confident, his expression unwavering. 

Spot on The Mark

It’s been 189 days since Rolf’s last show and since he shared just how close he was to shuttering his brand. The time, dedication, and difficulty of fronting the costs associated with putting on a big show is no walk in the park. Despite the fact that he’s had to endure much of those same challenges this go-around, he’s come back for an encore, perhaps his final one in Copenhagen. “I just wanted to give myself a second chance — to correct all of the small mistakes or things that didn’t work,” he tells me of the show, titled “189 Days Later — Encore.” 

There are certain things that I’ve become accustomed to hearing from designers about their collections. Most are nebulous and self-congratulatory, often with good reason. But Rolf’s nakedly candid reviews of his own work are always refreshing — mainly because he reflects back in a way that looks forward rather than backward. When I ask him what exactly he’s been discontent with, he doesn’t hold back. “Maybe in some of the past collections, I didn’t feel they were cohesive enough, or I didn’t push the ideas that I had far enough,” he says. This season, he knew he needed a second set of eyes and a creative sounding board, so he turned to stylist and former Aalto University classmate, Emma Saarnio, to help better present his ideas. 

Sure enough, this paved the way for ensembles that are exciting and worth the double-take, like the first head-to-toe polka-dot look that charges down the runway. The cheery print has ebbed and flowed in many a designer’s consciousness for years, and it’s been particularly prevalent this season; everyone from models to the street style set have been wearing spots. Of course, Rolf isn’t one to get caught up in trends, so it’s no surprise that the collection’s polka-dot print came from a completely different and unexpected place. 

“I love sporting details,” he says. Drawing visual cues from sport jerseys, he was experimenting with laser-cut eye holes when he noticed a pattern. “I just looked at the laser cuts that we did, and they were polka dots,” he tells me. “Then I just became a bit obsessed with doing polka dots in the collection.” So, he leaned into the print, sending it out on the runway in various scales, colors, and techniques. 

In the aforementioned opening look, for example, Rolf achieved a polka dot effect by cutting up circles of old denim salvaged by the Lounais-Suomen Jätehuolto (LSJH), a Finnish municipal waste management company that the designer collaborated with this season. The denim pants are paired with a white perforated top that features close to 18,000 beads that took Rolf’s mother six weeks — working eight hours a day, sans breaks — to sew into the garment. Paintbrush-dipped spots appear in the next look, an armor-like hockey-inspired top and shorts — a play, or an improvement in Rolf’s words, on last season’s sporty silhouettes. On knitted tops, the brand’s round logo is repeated to create a dotted pattern. Look closer, and you will find that each logo is just a little bit different from its neighbor — another example of the designer’s remarkable level of detail.

Besides polka dots, other prints also pack a powerful visual punch. Botanical prints have been a signature of Rolf Ekroth’s collections since his first showing at fashion week, and this season, we see the familiar rose-inspired motif replaced by tulips. Created once again by Rolf’s girlfriend, artist Matilda Diletta, this bright-and-striking print — and its variations — appears in everything from a casual co-ord set with a cool mesh detail around the collar to a tubular skirt made with a lot of wit and imagination (but more on that later). Elsewhere, the designer played to his strengths by mixing and matching fabrics and patterns, particularly plaids but just as impressively, discarded knits found at LSJH. 

moving forward

Those familiar with the designer might know that before Rolf founded his namesake brand, he navigated a range of careers that ran the gamut from professional poker player to social worker. When he found his calling in fashion, he started off with a strong focus in technical sportswear before taking some steps away from that ethos and leaning more heavily on traditional Nordic influences. Last season, we saw him return to his earlier design philosophy, and this season, he’s doubled down on technical pieces that are made to move. “I felt like because it’s survival, we need to have breathing materials that function,” Rolf says. “And functionality is usually one of the core things that I try to focus on.”

Strategically placed pockets — little ones, big ones — abound. Jackets and multi-paneled anoraks are cut from fabrics like the ever-so-lightweight Japanese nylon and coated cotton. Hoodies made for rain feature waterproof materials with adjustable zippers and pull cords for a customizable fit, allowing for easy protection against the elements. Bomber jackets with shearling collars provide warmth and texture, while quilted morning robes stand out with their structured yet flexible silhouette. “I really liked the morning jackets that we did,” he says. “It’s sort of a nod to Tony Soprano and The Sopranos era.”

Revised and Reimagined

This idea of survival has been surfacing and resurfacing throughout the brand’s former collections. In past shows, Rolf has showcased outerwear with matching hydration packs and several looks that featured inflated bodices resembling life jackets. This season, in the spirit of amending his prior work, he has revisited the life vest — this time, paying sharper attention to its history. “I wanted to look a bit more into the history of life vests,” he tells me. “I really love the tubular shapes, and it sort of became also one of the obsessions.” 

He spent a great deal of time researching early iterations of life jackets and pulling inspiration from their tube-shaped chambers. Modifications also included improving comfort. Rolf and his team experimented with various stuffing materials until they found the one that sat best on the body. Tubular silhouettes are echoed in skirts, too, which give off a truly one-of-a-kind, three-dimensional pleated effect. The one rendered in Matilda’s tulip print is, without a doubt, a favorite. 

Equally striking: a pair of plaid pants that flare out mid-thigh into a dramatic pleat. Sharp pleated shorts appear in another look with a laser-cut T-shirt and a killer oversized bomber. I’d be remiss not to mention the miniature pendants that are, once again, hand-beaded by his mother this season. Exaggerated scarf collars also harken back to earlier designs and pay homage to the designer’s strong design codes. Pins, too, have made appearances in Rolf’s earlier collections, but this season, they come together in an ambitious show-ending piece: a T-shirt adorned with over 1,000 round button pins arranged to form the image of a flame. 

“I don’t quite remember how I got the idea for the pins, but it was sort of because we were playing with fire […] and I felt like I wanted to burn the whole label down,” he says, chuckling before adding: “Again.” As the last model walks down the wooden path, the pins undulate with each step, mimicking the movement of a flickering flame. If the designer’s future self ever has to mine his former work for mistakes again, I’m (not so) sorry to say he would find none in this look — and frankly, in the whole collection. But don’t just take my word for it: As Rolf and his team appear on the runway for their final bow, they are greeted with applause strong enough to (maybe, hopefully, one day) bring him back for another encore.