Soft toys are everywhere at Copenhagen Fashion Week – Vogue investigates

If you need further evidence of how eclectic Copenhagen street style has become over the years, just look at the sheer amount of soft toy charms spotted on bags this season. From Hello Kitty to Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck, it’s the ultimate way to accessorise your accessories this season.

What’s behind this surge in popularity of soft toys? Well, as with many trends at the moment, all roads point to Miu Miu, which featured bag charms in its spring/summer '24 collection. As ever, Vogue’s street-style photographer Acielle Tanbetova was ahead of the curve, after purchasing her Monchhichi monkey charm, which she attached to her vintage Chloé Paddington bag, in Japan back in 2018. “They’re just so cute and also make your bag so personal,” she explains. “[My charms] all remind me of amazing memories, of a certain place.”

Many of the bag charms seen on the pavements of Copenhagen were purchased from Bag Crap, which was founded earlier this year by Amanda Marcuson and offers curated vintage keychains to its customers. “In all honesty, Bag Crap started as a joke back in March,” the luxury handbag consignment expert explains. “I saw the bag charm trend really exploding on social media and thought it was equal parts obnoxious and hilarious in the best way possible. My thought was, what is the absolute dumbest thing I could put on my Birkin... a Barbie? A hot dog? What about a Barbie and a hot dog?”

Since then, the popularity of Bag Crap has exploded – with Marcuson, a long-time collector of bag charms, seeing it as an easy way to update accessories you already have in your wardrobe. “People are looking to refresh their handbags without having to make an entirely new purchase,” she says. “Bag charms are a cost-effective way to bring a new life to a bag.”

Given the heaviness of the news cycle right now, Vogue France’s fashion editor Héloïse Salessy – who owns a Miffy bag charm – sees the popularity of soft toys as a way of adding some joy to our wardrobes. “Quiet luxury is starting to fade, and we want to go back to something a bit more playful,” she reflects. “Maybe we are all a bit nostalgic, as we go through hard times.”

Indeed, this sense of nostalgia is why (Di)vision’s Simon Wick decided to create a showstopping coat made out of soft toys, as well as a bra, for his spring/summer '25 collection. “I love toys,” the designer says. “They bring so much uniqueness and personality to a look, [and] it’s just fun.” Who couldn’t use a little more fun in their lives right now?