Because tights are treated there as a garment in their own right, not as an invisible layer under a skirt. That is the difference between wearing tights and styling them. At Copenhagen Fashion Week, the leg became the place where the outfit gets decided: lace, fishnet, patterns, strong colours, knee-highs and over-the-knee stockings.
Here is what was actually shown, and how to wear it here without looking like you are in costume.
What exactly was shown in Copenhagen?
In its coverage of the autumn/winter 2026 shows, published on 3 February 2026, Who What Wear listed dressed legs among the season's defining trends under the heading Tights Appeal. The report describes classic tights, knee-highs and over-the-knee stockings, running from demi-sheer to opaque colour, with polka dots, lace and even stirrup styles.
Several Danish and British houses are named: Caro Editions with micro polka dot tights, Forza with block colour in icy blue and pillar-box red, Baum und Pferdgarten with purple tones matched to the rest of the look, Paolina Russo with patterned knee-highs layered under miniskirts.
So this is not a hunch about the season. It is a documented, dated trend, traceable to specific shows.
Does it hold up in Quebec?
Yes, for a very practical reason: we wear tights six months of the year anyway. Copenhagen is not asking us to wear more of them, only to stop defaulting to opaque black every time.
One honest caveat: what walks a runway in January and what people actually wear on the street are never quite the same thing. Take the trend as permission, not as instruction.
Which patterned tights should you choose?
The question is not which is prettiest. It is how far you want the pattern to show. Our four styles differ on exactly that.
| Style | Pattern | Visibility | Works well |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scarlett | Scalloped vertical band up the back of the leg | Subtle, shows in movement | At the office and in the evening |
| Cachemire | Plain, soft cashmere-blend knit | None, the texture does the work | Cool transitional days |
| Élégante | Openwork floral lace down the whole leg | Deliberate | When the tights should be seen |
| Fishnet Vogue | Open fishnet, foot to waist | Maximum, visible from across a room | When the tights are the look |
All four belong to the Durables range. They are more resistant than ordinary patterned tights, without carrying the tear-resistant formula of the Deluxe. They are gathered in our patterned tights collection.
What if you prefer colour to pattern?
That is the other half of the trend, and usually the easier half to wear. A plain coloured tight changes an outfit without asking anything else of it.
Our Deluxe Unbreakable come in Bourgogne Bordeaux, Cerise, Bleu Marine, Charcoal and Marron, alongside the blacks and nudes. Marron deserves its own mention: we gave it a full article, and on deeper skin tones it wears as a nude.
The simplest rule: pick up a colour already present in the outfit, in the coat or the shoe. The tights then stop being an accident and become a choice.
How do you wear knee-highs and thigh-highs?
Copenhagen put them back in the foreground, and this is the part of the trend best suited to a Quebec September, when full tights are still too much.
- Midi Prima come up to the knee and work under trousers or with a long skirt.
- Mid-Thigh Prima stop at the top of the thigh and hold themselves up on a lace band. We have explained how they stay up and which size to take.
- Mini Prima are sheer ankle socks, worn under trousers or with closed shoes.
All three lengths are in our Stockings collection.
How do you keep it from tipping into costume?
One rule, and it is enough: one strong element at a time.
If the tights are fishnet or lace, the rest of the outfit stays quiet. If the outfit is already busy with pattern, the tights go back to plain. The day the leg and the coat compete for attention, nobody wins.
And one thing that is not a trend at all but decides everything: the size. Badly fitted patterned tights distort the design, which shows immediately on lace or fishnet. Always take the size matching whichever is larger, your height or your hip measurement.
