Han Kjøbenhavn presents DISTRIKT 37

There’s something equally tender and obsessive about the way Han Kjøbenhavn approaches their Pre-AW26 collection. Titled DISTRIKT 37, the collection leans into the act of collecting cultural memorabilia and athletic nostalgia (a.k.a.: soccer merch). Creative director Jannik Wikkelsø Davidsen describes growing up around football culture and its “strange mythology” – football cards tucked into plastic sleeves, grown men crying over transfers, the careful preservation of objects that, to outsiders, mean… almost nothing. What is sports fandom if not a kind of socially accepted form of male-on-male devotion? It’s precious.

Central to this mythology is Danish football legend Ivan Nielsen, who most prominently played professionally for Dutch clubs Feyenoord Rotterdam and PSV Eindhoven in the 80s, even winning the European Cup with PSV. The tall central defender’s face appears across graphic tees and jerseys in washed-out, almost ghostly prints. The garments are made to feel like collectibles themselves – like they should come in a protective casing. The collection even went out of its way with a supersized collector sheet and postcard carousel to drive the point home, reinforcing the season’s connection to fandom and collectible culture. 

The pieces are deliberately lived in: they’re aimed to look like the pieces you’ve worn every day, that basically have become your uniform, the pieces that live alongside you so much that the print gets blurry and you barely notice. The collection honors Han Kjøbenhavn’s ongoing narrative: a wardrobe built for repetition, daily movement, and emotional permanence. 

The styling in the campaign images leans almost aggressively laddy: hooligan-coded boys loitering in deserted urban spaces, shaved heads, a slightly intimidating look. It’s not the first time he’s dipped his toes into this world, previously releasing polos with the word ‘Ultras’ plastered on them. Honing football fanatics known for their intense devotion, choreographed stadium displays, pyro use, and constant singing to create an intimidating or passionate atmosphere, makes you wonder – is this collection meant to showcase aggression, or affection? “I’m not interested in nostalgia that feels safe,” adds Davidsen. “I like when something feels a bit uncomfortable – when it reminds you of who you were, not who you pretend to be.”