A Photographer's Guide To Balancing Shows and Rest During Fashion Week
PC: @jonne_scholten
Words by: Jonne Scholten
If you were to take a look at my phone and open my Maps app, you’d find albums named after cities: Paris, New York, Milan, London, Amsterdam, and Copenhagen, to name a few. I like having some spots saved for when I’m God knows where in a city, desperately craving a quick lunch, a cappuccino, or a good matcha.
I often find myself disoriented in cities. My work as a fashion photographer takes me everywhere, from venues in central Paris overlooking the Arc de Triomphe to a horse stable in the outer boroughs of Copenhagen for the Baum und Pferdgarten show.
I rush in and out of Ubers, running from show to show, from cafés to edit, to the next venue. So it makes everything more manageable, knowing I have several spots saved on the map where I can rest my feet and bring some peace back to my soul, even if it’s just for ten minutes.
The Mental Essentials
One of the things I always carry in my handbag is my silk eye mask. I bought it two years ago, and I will never part with it. I mean it when I say that with this one item, I can sleep anywhere. The pressure over my eyes and head feels like a safe cranny, even when I’m in an airport during a layover.
The second is my journal. I keep mementoes of time in there, in writing and tucked into the back pages. Today, it holds a Polaroid I took in Osaka, Japan, a train ticket from when I visited NYC with my dad, boarding passes, and a little feather I found on my lucky day.
I keep it to remember and to write. Because without thought or recollection, there is no life. No nostalgia. That’s why I hoard every last memory in the den of my mind, ready to revisit on a darkened day, and it all floods back.
Setting The Scene
In the midst of the extreme highs and lows of fashion season — the glamour, the make-up, the fashion, the spectacle, the loneliness of a hotel room — I sometimes forget that great adventures are really about wit and good spirits. Because when I’m boarding an 8 AM EasyJet flight to Copenhagen, my enthusiasm can feel worlds away.
I want to keep humor and play in my travels; perhaps that should be one of my New Year’s resolutions. Actually, I’ll start now.
I’m sharing one of my most treasured keepsakes: my Google Maps “Cph recs” album. Listen closely when I say this: this map saves me in my travels across Europe. Like bright fragola gelato on an Italian beach, or heart-shaped soaps at a Milano B&B. Some things just hit right, and this map is one of those essentials.
So here’s a curated list of restaurants, cafés, and hotels I return to whenever I’m in Copenhagen. Places that bring me joy and a sense of calm, whether I have twenty spare minutes between shows or two hours of editing time.
1. Granola
Not so much a laptop spot, but perfect for lunch and people-watching. If you’re lucky enough to grab a seat by the window (or outside), order the ‘goat’s cheese and pear’ salad and a rosé and watch the city pass by: cyclists weaving through traffic, women chatting mid-shopping spree, office workers on their lunch break. It’s the perfect balance of flavour + café ambience + lovely neighbourhood, located in West Copenhagen.
2. The Roe Bar
This is possibly the most “viral” café in the city, located in the Louise Roe Gallery. Pay that no mind, just go early to secure a seat and experience it for yourself. The matcha here is rich and beautifully made, and the pastries are deeply flavourful. As is the ‘Overnight Oats’ with berry compote and saffron-infused pears. It’s a lovely place to sit down with your laptop.
3. Beau Marche
A wonderful lunch spot, whether meeting a friend or dining solo. There’s indoor seating, but on a sunny day, the terrace is the place to be. Their salads are delicious and generously green, which I personally love.
With several locations across Copenhagen, Atelier September is a reliable brunch spot for both the busy bee and the leisurely eater. It gets bonus points for having consistently kind baristas. I’ve tried the porridge with seasonal jam and the Morning Plate (Comté, sourdough, egg, butter, and jam). Both are delicious, and the ambience is soothingly homey. The egg was slightly too runny for my liking, but that’s just my two cents. The matcha here is lush and rich.
I stayed here during the last Copenhagen Fashion Week, and it was my best hotel experience in the city so far. The rooms are clean, beautifully designed, and the showers are generously sized; a cosy yet elevated stay. Next time, I’d opt for the double room rather than the small double (a lesson learned with my oversized luggage).
The restaurant and bar deserve equal praise. The staff is exceptionally warm. The ambience? Refined yet relaxed. The food, above all, is prepared with genuine attention to detail and purity of flavour. They serve breakfast and lunch from 7 AM to 2:30 PM, and honestly, you can’t go wrong with anything on the menu. While they don’t offer matcha, their cappuccinos are rich and satisfying. I’ll certainly be returning in the summer. It’s conveniently close to the city centre.
For pastries, bread, and hot beverages, visit the location on Nørrebrogade 62. Also a lovely place to sit and complete a bit of laptop work.
If you’ve read this far, thank you.
Next drink’s on me.
