Icelandic menswear maverick Ranra roots SS26 in nature, generosity, and unapologetic authenticity at Copenhagen Fashion Week
For Icelandic menswear brand Ranra, clothing isn’t just fabric slung over the shoulders – it’s a vessel for culture, history, and intentionality. Heritage is woven into the wool, quiet stories are stitched into every lining, and a thoughtful dialogue hums through each hem. Every piece offers not just comfort, but connection, grounding the wearer while engaging with the world around them. Nowhere is this philosophy more vividly realised than in the label’s spring/summer ’26 debut at Copenhagen Fashion Week, aptly titled 'Rhubarb'.
"In Iceland, you don't force the seasons. You wait, you observe," says designer Arnar Már Jónsson. "Rhubarb has always marked the beginning of something for me – the end of darkness, the first signs that things are growing again. That feeling is what we wanted this collection to capture – something alive, local, slow, and full of potential."
Often seen as a fruit that is forced or coaxed into growth, rhubarb becomes a quiet metaphor in the hands of Jónsson and his fellow designer Luke Stevens. Rather than lean into the artificial or the overly manicured, the duo explored its more natural, unassuming side. "We loved the idea of building a whole collection around something as modest as rhubarb," Stevens shares. "There's something really powerful in paying attention to what's right in front of you – what's seasonal, what's real."
That quiet power pulsed through every look at Monday's show. Ranra's collection moved with a sense of stillness and purpose – rooted and reflective, yet quietly radical as it challenged the notion of a traditional runway show. The label interrupted the expected divide between performer and audience by transforming the runway into a space of collective ritual. It served as a gentle but resolute reminder that strength does not need to shout; it can live in restraint.
Deep, rich, earthen tones, seen particularly in the leather jackets sent down the runway, evoked the grounding presence of the soil that houses, nourishes, and protects the rhubarb. In contrast, airy silhouettes crafted from billowing cotton-linen and silk ripstop shorts mirrored the transience of clouds and sweeping caresses of wind – ephemeral forces that, like the earth, are vital for growth. This interplay between weight and lightness, substance and softness, underscored the brand's meditative design ethos.
This sense of natural gentleness was heightened through a thoughtfully considered merging of traditional tailoring with humble, tactile fabrics. Silk-linen blends brought subtle lustre and fluidity to familiar forms. Sun-bleached marina cottons and untreated raw canvas grounded the collection in quiet authenticity. These materials didn't demand attention - they invited presence and offered a softness and ease that felt lived in.
Ranra's garments didn't simply clothe the body, they harkened a deeper connection with the environment. To wear them is an invitation: to be more observant, more attuned and more generous. To learn from the land, to move with the weather and to give back generously.
See all the looks from Ranra's SS26 collection below:
