For the Danish brand’s autumn/winter ’26 collection, the unassuming frog leaps into the spotlight
A humble, often misunderstood creature has hopped back into Henrik Vibskov’s playful universe. More than two decades later, the frog returns to the heart of the Danish brand’s offering, this time for autumn/winter ‘26. The wide-eyed wetland dweller first appeared in the label’s AW04 collection, where it was explored through a humorous, cartoonish lens. This time, however, as noted by founder and creative director Henrik Vibskov, the frog takes on a “more serious” tone, referenced both literally and metaphorically throughout the AW26 collection.
“This [collection] was more like, ‘wow, we need frogs,’” he muses, pointing to their ecological importance as environmental indicators and nature’s resident pest controllers. “I think it’s the way the frog moves, how important it is for life and for nature… And also how it can camouflage – its structure and its skin – it can be ugly or beautiful. The frog has been featured in many fairy tales and horror movies; it can become a prince, but it can also be super scary.”
Entitled ‘Frog Carry Frog’, inspiration for the AW26 line-up struck when Vibskov visited the small Danish island of Avernakø, renowned for its population of rare European fire-bellied toads. A deep dive into the world of frogs followed, with the creative discovering that, outside their fictional and ecological significance, “there is a rare backpacker frog, where the female carries her mate.” This revelation led Vibskov to reflect on the concept of shared weight beyond the natural world – the emotional baggage we might carry, collective labour, the weight we bear for a better future.
Held at Copenhagen’s Østre Gasværk Theatre, the runway show – opened by Danish actor Linnea Berthelsen – had the audience gazing down at the circular stage, mimicking our usual perspective of frogs. To rainforest-reminiscent sounds, performers carried towering ladders on their backs, gently swaying them. The idea of shared weight perhaps most clearly came through in the collection’s heavy, boxy wool-blend outerwear and styling: knits layered with knits, slouchy checkered blazers on blazers.
Meanwhile, the frog both camouflaged itself and clearly made itself known, like those bright-coloured creatures in tropical locales. Silhouettes of frogs – some subtle, others pronounced – adorned graphic wool sweaters, while some peeked from beneath flowy gossamer shirts, as if submerged. Abstract prints in muted greens and blues, splashed across breezy shirts and skirts, evoked swampy sceneries and ponds at twilight (think Claude Monet’s Water Lilies, but at dusk). Quirky accessories rounded out the wetland whimsy: sleek bug-eyed sunglasses, beanies complete with frog eyes, tartan fisherman hats for rain-soaked days.
Maybe we’re more similar to frogs than we thought, Vibskov suggests: “To look at the frog is to look at ourselves – interdependent bodies in constant transition, navigating thresholds and the weight of what we carry.”
See the full Henrik Vibskov AW26 collection below
