Journalism
Year /
2021
Client /
Linea Copenhagen
Country /
Denmark
Category /
Fashion & Lifestyle Photography
Kind of Work /
Brand Campaign & Seasonal Lookbook
mnts read
I
Whenever I receive an assignment from a fashion brand, I ask the same question.
"What do you want people to remember?"
Very few answer with the collection itself. Instead they describe emotions.
Freedom. Comfort. Confidence. Movement.
When Linea Copenhagen invited me to photograph their Spring/Summer collection, the creative director smiled before answering.
"I hope they don't notice the clothes first."
That response immediately convinced me this would be a very different kind of campaign.
II
Linea Copenhagen occupies a light-filled studio on Store Kongensgade, only a short walk from Kongens Nytorv. Garment racks stood beside sketches, fabric samples and coffee cups that had long gone cold. The design team wasn't talking about trends.
They were talking about routines. Cycling to work. Walking to the bakery. Meeting friends after sunset. The collection had been designed around everyday life rather than special occasions. Our photography needed to reflect exactly that. Not fashion.
Life.
Rather than renting expensive production studios, we decided to photograph across the city itself. The first morning began shortly after five-thirty. Copenhagen was almost silent. The cafés around Nyhavn hadn't opened yet. Delivery bicycles crossed empty streets. The harbour reflected soft blue morning light. There is a brief moment each morning when cities belong only to the people already awake.
That's when I love photographing them. The first images were made before anyone even noticed we were there.
The campaign featured four models. But after spending time together, the word "model" didn't really seem appropriate. One was an architect. Another studied ceramics. A third had recently opened a small flower shop in Vesterbro.
The fourth was a graphic designer who had never appeared in a commercial campaign before. During casting we weren't looking for identical faces. We were looking for people who already lived the lifestyle Linea hoped to represent.
The clothes simply became part of who they already were.
III
Traditional fashion photography often depends on carefully directed poses. This campaign depended on movement. Instead of asking people to stop, we encouraged them to keep walking.
Across Nyhavn Bridge. Through King's Garden. Along Larsbjørnsstræde. Into small cafés. Out again. Some of my favourite photographs happened while everyone believed we had already finished the shot. Someone laughing unexpectedly. A jacket catching the wind. A bicycle passing behind the frame. Those tiny imperfections reminded viewers that the people inside the photographs had real lives beyond the campaign.
By midday heavy rain arrived without warning. The original schedule suddenly became impossible. Rather than waiting for better weather, we stepped inside a small café on Larsbjørnsstræde. The owner welcomed us without hesitation. For the next hour we photographed beside rain-covered windows while customers quietly continued their conversations around us. Nothing had been planned. Nothing was reserved. The reflections on the glass softened every photograph. Steam rising from fresh coffee became part of the composition.
Those images eventually became favourites across the entire campaign. Sometimes weather doesn't interrupt production. It improves it.
Late in the afternoon one of the models borrowed an old city bicycle simply to move between locations. She wasn't wearing a helmet. She wasn't performing. She was simply riding through Christianshavn while the rest of us walked behind. The creative director looked at me.
"Should we photograph this?"
We already were. The resulting image became the cover of the printed seasonal catalogue. Not because it showcased every garment perfectly. Because it captured freedom. Sometimes campaigns discover themselves while travelling between locations.
Back in my studio, I noticed something interesting while reviewing the photographs. The strongest images weren't necessarily the sharpest. Some contained movement. Some were slightly imperfect. Others showed people looking away from the camera entirely. Yet together they created something that felt honest. Fashion doesn't always need perfection. Sometimes personality leaves a stronger impression than precision.
The final edit contained just thirty-six photographs from nearly four thousand frames. Each one earned its place.
"Fashion becomes timeless the moment it feels like everyday life."
IV
The collection launched simultaneously online and through Linea Copenhagen's flagship store. Large window displays overlooked Store Kongensgade while printed lookbooks appeared inside independent boutiques throughout Denmark.
Several months later I returned to Copenhagen after working abroad. Walking through the city, I unexpectedly saw one of the campaign photographs inside a bookstore window.
People walked past without realising who had made it. I actually preferred that.
Photography isn't always about recognition. Sometimes it's enough to quietly become part of someone's everyday surroundings.
Working with Linea Copenhagen reminded me that fashion photography doesn't need extravagant locations or complicated concepts. Sometimes all it needs is a familiar city.
Morning light. People who genuinely enjoy walking together. And enough curiosity to notice the small moments happening between the planned ones. Those moments can't be directed.
They can't be styled. They certainly can't be repeated. They're gifts. As photographers, our job is simply to recognise them before they disappear. Because in the end, the most memorable campaigns aren't remembered for the clothes alone.
They're remembered for how they made people imagine living inside the story.
Location
Linea Copenhagen Headquarters
Store Kongensgade 82
1264 Copenhagen K, Denmark
all
"The most memorable campaigns happen between the photographs you planned."
