I'm calling it now: 2026 is the year of the fun hat. Vintage-inspired styles, in particular. If 2025, with the crochet cap boom and dramatic styles at the Met Gala, taught us anything, it's that we should all be playing with headwear and tapping into the past while doing so. We all know that trends are cyclical, that anything that was once fashionable is bound to one day make its way back to the mainstream, and everything current is inspired by something from the past—hats included.
On the streets of Copenhagen, headwear was essential as showgoers braved the cold in style. We saw everything from crochet balaclavas to sporty snapbacks, but those weren’t the only styles that caught our attention. We were more intrigued by the pillbox hats, berets, and hats that didn’t necessarily protect from the chill but definitely added a vintage element and tied looks together.
Ahead, the vintage-inspired headwear trends that we can totally get behind.
Pillbox Hats
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Altuzarra Spring/Summer 2026Launchmetrics I think it's safe to say that 2026 is the year of the pillbox hat. Once a military necessity transformed into a fashion staple in the '30s-'60s—a practical thing turning into a trend, what else is new? It's widely embraced for its minimal structure, simple circular silhouette, and subtle elegance. Jackie Kennedy was a big fan which, I think, tells you everything that you need to know. The pillbox hat had a large showing amongst show goers throughout Copenhagen Fashion Week, making a case for elegant vintage-inspired accessories as everyday wear.
Altuzarra, a longtime endorser of the pillbox hat, paired the style with leather and fur for their Spring/Summer 2026 collection.
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Berets
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Wales Bonner Spring 2026Launchmetrics What is now widely considered a French symbol actually originated in the Basque region, which also includes parts of Spain. During the Bronze Age, the beret represented working class people. It ultimately evolved into a representation of military, artists (worn by the likes of Pablo Picasso and Ernest Hemingway), and revolutionists—what we would arguably deem counter-culture in the present.
On Wales Bonner's Spring 2026 runway, suede berets were paired with leather jackets and adorned with another major 2026 trend: brooches.
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Veils
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Egonlab. Spring 2026LaunchmetricsThroughout Medieval Europe, veils (and covered hair in general) were a sign of a modest woman—soon, though, it became a sign of status to the extent that the absence of one meant that the women was less respectable. The veiled hat was considered a fashion statement in the 1940s and '50s. Back then and today, veils are common for two very different events: weddings and funerals. But now, Copenhagen street-style has made a case for the veil hat as everyday wear—because why not?
Egonlab.'s Spring/Summer 2026 Menswear collection featured dramatic black hats contrasted by white crochet veils that completely covered the model's eyes.
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Ushanka & Trapper Hats
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DSquared2 Menswear Fall Winter 2026Launchmetrics 
LaunchmetricsThe ushanka, a traditional Russian hat, and the trapper hat were designed for the coldest of climates. The trapper tends to be fur-lined, while the ushanka tends to be made entirely of fur—but both are known for their distinct ear flaps. The ushanka was a Soviet military staple and the trapper, originally designed to keep North American fur trappers warm, adapted into an aviator hat used throughout World War I. Both practical hat designs ultimately made their way into the world of fashion and onto runways, with high-end designers still, to this day, embracing the style.
Dsquared2's Fall/Winter 2026-27 runway featured the most dramatic and oversized of ushanka and tapper hats in both fur and puffy materials.
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Flat Caps & Newsboy Caps
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Prada Menswear Fall/Winter 2026Launchmetrics
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The flat cap was essentially Northern England's equivalent to the beret: a staple amongst working class people. The flat cap didn't exactly make its way into the wardrobes of artists and revolutionaries, though—instead, it made its way onto the heads of farmers and laborers before entering the worlds of golf and fashion in the 20th century. The newsboy cap is part of the flat cap family—let's think of it as the flat cap's slightly elevated cousin. As the name suggests, the style was popular amongst newspaper boys as well as other working class people.
For their Fall/Winter 2026-27 Menswear collection, Prada debuted tweed newsboy caps with a big of a lopsided twist.
