If Danish modernism was built around the perfect chair, then contemporary Copenhagen is increasingly concerned with everything that happens around it: the meal, the conversation, the atmosphere and the world a creative person builds around their work.

Louise Roe Andersen understands that instinctively. Long before lifestyle became a design buzzword, she was already bringing fashion, interiors and hospitality into the same conversation, driven by the fact that creativity rarely exists in neat categories.

We catch up as she prepares to welcome visitors into the Louise Roe Gallery during 3daysofdesign, where they will encounter furniture, art, and hospitality under one roof. The formula feels like a micro version of Copenhagen itself, where some of the city’s creative figures often move effortlessly between fashion, design, food and culture.

In many ways, Roe was one of the designers who helped pioneer that approach. While many Danish designers arrived through architecture or industrial design, her route began in fashion. She studied concept development before working briefly in the industry, an experience that continues to inform the way she thinks about objects, spaces, and the role design plays in everyday life.

“I have always been very aware of my surroundings and how spaces affect mood and feeling,” she says. “It’s much like fashion, where what we wear shapes how we present ourselves and how we feel.”

The connection between the two disciplines remains central to her thinking, and Roe sees them as sharing a common language. “Materials, proportions, technical drawings, production, and all the different details. It all comes from the same mindset somehow, and I see many similarities between creating a fashion collection and an interior collection.”

That perspective feels increasingly influential in Copenhagen, a city whose creative scene has become defined less by individual products than by carefully constructed worlds. Fashion brands open cafés, furniture companies collaborate with restaurants – the boundaries separating industries have become increasingly blurred.

For Roe, the shift from fashion to design happened naturally. Although she had long been interested in interiors and objects, her focus sharpened after becoming a mother.

“Home became even more important, and I felt strongly drawn towards creating objects and shaping the atmosphere around it,” she says.

What followed was the gradual development of a brand that extends far beyond product design. Alongside her collections, Roe established Louise Roe Gallery in 2018, creating a physical setting where furniture, art, and hospitality could coexist. But it was never part of some grand masterplan.

“To be honest, I never specifically dreamed of creating Louise Roe Gallery,” she says. “It developed naturally because, in 2018, it made sense at the time and there was an opportunity to bring it to life.”

The gallery reflects a broader evolution within Copenhagen itself. Once known primarily as a centre of furniture design, the city has increasingly become a destination for immersive creative experiences. Visitors arrive not simply to see products but to understand the lifestyles that surround them.

Roe’s work sits comfortably within that landscape, and while her aesthetic draws on Danish design heritage, she also tries to look beyond it. “I don’t really see myself as a ‘true Dane’ in a traditional design sense,” she says. “I like combining the clean lines of Danish design heritage with more warmth, emotion and atmospheres inspired by the history of Europe.”

Copenhagen nevertheless remains fundamental to her outlook. She points to the changing seasons, her connection to nature, and the freedom she feels within Danish society as important influences. “You feel the liberty to do as you dream, especially as a woman, here, you don’t really feel limitations just because of your gender.”

On the theme of eschewing limitations, rather than staging a conventional exhibition during this year’s 3daysofdesign festival, Roe will transform the gallery into an extension of The Roe Bar through an installation titled A Little Longer. Rooted in ideas of hosting, communal dining and social interaction, the project invites visitors to experience furniture through use rather than observation. “Furniture and objects are introduced through use,” she explains.

New pieces, including the Frankie Café Table and Chair, will be presented alongside The Person, a rechargeable glass lamp that Roe describes as “an extra person” at the table — quietly present, listening and contributing to the atmosphere.

The concept feels particularly reflective of Copenhagen’s wider creative culture. Increasingly, the city’s most compelling design experiences happen around a shared meal, inside a thoughtfully designed café or within a space where multiple disciplines overlap. Design isn’t treated as something separate from daily life, but woven into it.

When visitors arrive for 3daysofdesign, Roe hopes they leave with a sense of something personal rather than simply another interpretation of Scandinavian design.

“I hope they will discover and experience something unique and very personal,” she says. “A footprint of passion and personality.”