From Calvin Klein to Toteme, Sophia Roe’s NYFW diary is a hit-list of minimal It brands

With an aesthetic that favours sculptural black and white and hair that’s more often than not in a slicked back bun, Sophia Roe is the poster child of Scandinavian minimalism. It’s only fitting that the Danish It girl’s New York Fashion Week hit-list would be comprised of brands that embody that very to-the-point effortlessness: Calvin Klein, Khaite and, of course, Toteme.

From the moment that Roe touched down at JFK (or rather, as soon as her taxi dropped her off at her Calvin Klein fitting – her very first stop), she noticed a “culture shift” at NYFW SS26; a fresh, no-nonsense vibe that extended from the runway to the streets. “New York fashion isn’t performing for the feed anymore. It’s dressing a woman you’ll actually see on the street. Someone you might even know,” says Roe. “That’s why it lands.”

Related: Sophia Roe gives us the lowdown on her runway-inspired look for Dior Haute Couture

The New York that Roe describes is decidedly more Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy (the ultimate Calvin Klein woman) than downtown club kid. A vibe shift that’s embraced local cool girl Zoë Kravitz, with her slip dresses and just-right denim as its ultimate icon. Roe herself even took a more relaxed approach, slipping into jeans and sneakers to dash between shows. “That’s kind of unlike me,” she says with a smile.

Below, discover NYFW SS26 through Roe’s signature lens.

“I went straight from the plane to Calvin for the most professional fitting I’ve ever had,” says Roe. “I wouldn’t have chosen the look they gave me. That’s the beauty of sometimes letting go.” She slipped into her look – a structured black coat over a tailored skirt– at The Bowery Hotel before zipping over to The Brant Foundation in the East Village for the show.

While much fuss was made about creative director Veronica Leoni’s pom-poms and that gown crafted from underwear waistbands, for Roe the devil was in the details. “What stayed with me were the bags, keys sticking out as if someone had just tossed them in,” she says. “A small detail, but a way into real life from the runway.” Honourable mention, meanwhile, must be paid to the materials and silhouettes. “Veronica knows her thread-count and it showed in fabrics you wanted to touch twice,” says Roe. “And proportions so right, I looked twice!”

Related: The best front row style from New York Fashion Week

An off-schedule must for Roe is, unsurprisingly, a visit to The Row's flagship. “The staff knows me now and not sure if this is a good thing,” she says. “I bought a t shirt, sunglasses and pair of shoes – I long to dress for no one but myself I guess.”

Also on her retail hit-list: desert vintage.

Next on Roe’s NYFW agenda was Khaite, a brand she certainly knows her way around. According to Roe, for SS26, Khaite was firmly in its bag. “Khaite delivered its signature language: leather at its most refined, shoes that promised longevity, and a set design that turned into a character in its own right,” says Roe. Indeed, the plumes of smoke and stark white runway against the black box setting certainly amped up the drama, framing the collection with, as Roe puts it, “cinematic confidence”.

While the Calvin Klein look was a bit out of character, the white gown Roe wore for the occasion was very on-brand. “I am always wearing dresses,” she says. “I met Rosie Huntington – she wore leather and jeans, something I’d like to wear next time.”

Roe also notes the “really good soundtrack” and “impressive casting”. “The Khaite woman knows who she is,” she concludes.

Roe had to squeeze in a visit to the Man Ray exhibition at the Met. “May Ray is my Andy Warhol,” she says.

Another work of art she caught was Tina Chow's place setting at Mr Chow. "Just iconic," she says.

Last on Roe’s carefully curated NYFW schedule was Toteme, which staged its SS26 show at the iconic Seagram Building on Park Avenue. “The setting already set half of the tone. It made sense!” says Roe, noting that she’s eaten next door at The Grill, a restaurant that boasts the same “sharp atmosphere”. “Philip Johnson’s interiors – glass, order – make you walk straighter. I tied my hair in my bun before going in. The place asks for restraint. I like that. Just like Toteme.”

Given that Toteme hails from Stockholm and embodies an aesthetic spiritually aligned with Roe’s, (the Swedish ying to her Danish yang, perhaps) the collection’s ethos was pleasingly familiar. “The Toteme woman feels like someone I already know,” she says. “At work. On her way somewhere. At the Hamptons on the weekend. Not exactly having fun. But always looking right in every room. I want that.” As she points out, that Swedishness is emphasised in the antique embroidery decorating scarves that caught the wind.

When Roe arrived at the show, she was greeted by Vogue Scandinavia editor in chief Martina Bonnier. “I sat next to Martina, though it wasn’t my original seat,” she says. “We both wore all black. That’s what Toteme does. Clears out all the noise, pares things back until you fall in line without even noticing.”

While Roe is partial to a night out, her first night in the city was spent fighting jet lag over a movie at The Bowery. She made up for it, however, with dinner The Grill (next door to the Toteme show) and some late night conversations on The Bowery's terrace before the week came to a close.

As Roe bid the city farewell and headed to catch her flight (to Stockholm, fittingly) the shift was even more palpable than it had been on arrival. “New York Fashion Week felt different this season. Less about chasing spectacle, more about creating a wardrobe. You saw it at Calvin, where bags had keys sticking out, as if someone had just come from the subway. At Khaite, with shoes you could imagine on the pavement, not just the runway. At Toteme, in fabrics already softened, carrying the illusion of a life lived,” she says. “If Copenhagen is about pragmatism and Paris about fantasy, then New York is shaping a new kind of heroine: precise and urban – and sensual when she wants to.”