I once showed Demna Gvasalia an old photo of the Queen of Denmark in a mad floral raincoat she had transformed from one of those waxy outdoor tablecloths our grandmothers had in their gardens. An eccentric at heart, she thought it would brighten the grey summer days when she’d have to disembark her royal yacht in the rain. Needless to say, the Balenciaga designer approved. At his former brand Vetements, Gvasalia made a similar raincoat so perfectly subversive it helped seal his cult stardom. As a Dane, I cannot count the times I’ve sat at the most avant-garde catwalk shows, wishing the fashion world was more familiar with the style of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.
Earlier this year, on 16 April, she turned 80. The coronavirus put a stop to the planned celebrations, but it didn’t prevent the royal families of Europe from sending Instagram video greetings to their beloved “Aunt Daisy”, as she is known to her relatives. Weeks before, the Danish queen had been the first monarch to address the pandemic on television. “Sadly, not everyone is taking this seriously. Some are still hosting celebrations and birthday gatherings. This is not acceptable behaviour,” she reprimanded the nation. “It is thoughtless, and first and foremost inconsiderate.” Unprecedented as it sounds, the Danes delight in watching their most unusual constitutional monarch balance the tightrope between parental and political guidance.