It’s easy to describe Cos’s relaxed and minimal aesthetic as Scandi style, but at this point that feels reductive (and a little stuck in 2010). These days, the Cos machine is a global force—you’re just as likely to brush up against someone sporting one of the label’s tasteful jackets on the tube in London as you are in Osaka, or any other city where people take a healthy interest in what they wear. It’s why over the past few years the brand has taken its traveling runway shows to Athens and Rome.
Which brings us to Seoul. On a cloudless spring afternoon in the north end of the city, Cos chose the South Korean capital as the latest place to flex its muscles (a natural choice, considering Cos’s largest flagship is here in Cheongdam). Inside a vast unused pool space, the white runway had gaps in the floor that appeared to be filled with clouds. Even though we were underground, it felt like we were high in the sky—a small box of heaven with Emma Roberts and Alexander Skarsgård looking on from the front row.
After the season of fall 2026 shows just gone, it was interesting to whiplash back into a summer collection. But the clear advantage of the see-now/buy-now model that Cos has adopted with its shows is that you could imagine any of these co-ed looks walking off the runway and onto the street, from the wide-legged shorts to the olive suede jacket, floaty ankle dusters, and trompe l’oeil denim in silk.
Speaking afterwards, design director Karin Gustaffson—a Cos OG who has been with the business since its inception in 2006—said she and the team had been looking at American Gigolo, hence the power tailoring, which they contrasted with tight bodycon dresses that nodded to the 1990s.
Gustaffson’s magic touch is that, with a few clever design tweaks, she is able to make all these references look understated. “Less fussy,” in her words. One androgynous gray suit had oversized shoulders, but it was softened up with shawl lapels, while belted coats that were presumably inspired by Richard Gere’s iconic camel trench were rendered in what looked like a breezy cotton that billowed lightly with each step. “They’re super stylish and chic in look and volume, but it’s also very effortless,” she said.
Also on the moodboard were Richard Serra’s curved metal sculptures. They lent a futuristic vibe to the funnel necklines and super-smooth shirting that Gustaffson and co. juxtaposed against tactile crinkled leathers and pleated silk blouses. All the texture made for a visual payoff. “We really like that sort of contrast of something really effortless and texture-rich, and natural beauty, but then something super clean and stark,” said Gustaffson. Taken all together, it’s evidence that even the most understated designs can still have a point of view.
