This August, fashion editors and buyers from more than 120 of the world's most influential fashion magazines and retailers flew to Denmark to voluntarily sit on wet stools in the pouring rain.
Was there a new immersive trend nicknamed “water core”? No, but never rule anything out when it comes to fashion. Painting a slightly different scene from the candlelight and tranquility that this special Midsummer event is usually associated with, they were there to enjoy the elements of Copenhagen Fashion Week (CPHFW).
No wonder, considering that these days there is hardly anything stopping the fashion industry from attending the exhibitions in the Danish capital that take place every two years in January and August.After fashion week stars New York, London, Milan and Paris, Copenhagen is now widely regarded as the “fifth city of fashion”. That applause came from Vogue Business this year, but a chorus of leading fashion critics, from i-D to the Financial Times, said hello! To High Snobiety – they also sat under those umbrellas and sang the same hymn.
Why? With its 18 sustainability criteria that every designer must meet to be invited to participate; Designers have numerous investment options open to them, allowing for a diverse range of offerings. and proven It Girl credentials thanks to global phenomenons like Ganni, Stine Goya and Saks Potts, Copenhagen Fashion Week created a showcase that resonated across the continent.
The statistics prove it. CPHFW reported that the Spring/Summer 2024 Exhibition saw a 117.5% seasonal increase in online media exposure this summer as it expanded from its usual three-day program to four days to offer 31 exhibitions. The event also received more than one million impressions on social media compared to the same period last year.
These figures are in line with the recent upward trend in Danish fashion exports, which have grown by 84% over the last 10 years (compared to an 8% domestic sales increase), according to data analysis organization StatisticsDenmark.This means that fashion now accounts for 5% of total exports of Danish products.
A commonly cited reason for this growing success is the fact that CPHFW has (and continues to) invest heavily in its emerging talent pool.
As an incubator not only for Danish fashion designers, but for all Nordic countries looking to take their first steps in a notoriously challenging industry, it promotes an unprecedented number of collaborations with independent and government-funded arts organizations to provide mentorship and investment to the designers, very important press coverage and retailer exposure to start over.
well-known Danish brands that have achieved global recognition, such as Ganni, Stine Goya and Cecilie Bahnsen, have received the support of the Copenhagen Fashion Week panel in making their businesses a success. Where they have blazed a path, the Council paves the way for others to follow.
To this end, CPHFW partners with the non-profit initiative ALPHA to support designers immediately after graduation with a panel of industry experts led by Director Ane Lynge-Jorlen. Ten brands will be selected to present their final works at the awards ceremony during Fashion Week.
This year, CPHFW, in collaboration with retailer Zalando, launched the Copenhagen Fashion Week x Zalando Visionary Award, which, in addition to a long list of mentoring opportunities, includes a prize of 50,000 euros (approximately $54,000) for business development and another 35,000 euros (US$38,000). . produce a show.
There are also other initiatives, such as a scholarship plan that allows four brands less than five years old to receive funding for up to three seasons.
complements a support network unparalleled in other fashion capitals and is invaluable to designers as they develop their businesses.
“The Danes have made a concerted effort to work closely together and work together as a unit rather than separating their plans,” says Ida Petersson, buying director for women's and men's fashion at online fashion retailer Browns.com, which continues to support Danish designers.
"The fact that Copenhagen is a fashion center means that the world's gaze is very much on Denmark," said Awa Malina Stelter in an interview with CNN. Stelter founded the Danish brand Opera Sport together with Stephanie Gundelach in 2019. “(Fashion Week) is a crucial platform as it attracts a global audience through which we gain exposure and build relationships with key players in the fashion industry. Fashion."As a result, Stelter shared that the brand has seen “significant year-over-year financial growth” of 50% to 80% per year.
“Being appointed as a new talent in the CPHFW New Talent program (assumes) has a scholarship to hold a fashion show,” agreed Nicklas Svovgaard in an interview with CNN, Svovgaard, who received the 2022 Wessel & Vett Award Foundation made its critically acclaimed debut in August with its ode to Victorian clothing made using sustainable weaving techniques. “I am very excited to announce that we will be launching with a major online retailer this fall, which is very exciting,”
added.
PL.N, a label founded in 2021 by Peter Lundvald Nielsen (which also received the New Talents Award), has had a similar experience. “The financing was a great investment to strengthen us as a brand,” says operations manager Olivia Danielsson. “We also have some great people we can turn to for advice who have a lot of experience in the industry; Making the right strategic decisions can be crucial. The wrong ones can destroy you and the right ones can transform you.”
For the Danish Arts Foundation, its investment is based not only on commercial profits, but also on facilitating creative expression.
“We see value and potential in her work and would like to see her fully develop in the future,” said Anne Damgaard, chair of the Danish Arts Council’s work grants committee, in an interview with CNN. Damgaard was a fashion designer herself and received support from the foundation in her early days.
“We believe it can enrich and challenge the field of design, craftsmanship and fashion, and we believe it can also challenge and enrich society as a whole,” he continued. “Fashion can do much more than keep us warm, decent and attractive.”
While the fashion industry awaits a new binding EU framework for sustainable practices, Copenhagen remains the only fashion week that has independently introduced strict criteria for ethical and sustainable practices.The list of designers known for using vintage, recycled and reused fabrics in their trend-setting collections is increasingly finding favor with a large target group of consumers inside and outside Denmark who hold brands accountable and are eager to wear the latest fashion trends . Trends.
“The work that Cecilie Thorsmark, CEO (of Copenhagen Fashion Week) and her team have done to establish Copenhagen Fashion Week as a leading beacon of sustainability sets them apart,” says Petersson. “In turn, it has inspired other European fashion councils to examine their practices.”
Thorsmark, who is currently on maternity leave, told Monocle magazine last year that it was the reason she took the job in the first place. “I felt like there was potential to challenge the purpose of Fashion Week in general… and see if we could… use our platform to actively accelerate change in the industry.”"
Here too, the
community is the key to success. Everyone interviewed for this article attributed the Danish sense of collaboration and camaraderie to competition as the main factor in their drive and success. Giving people opportunities to succeed is as much a hallmark of the Danish Fashion Council as Denmark's broader egalitarian social mindset.
For example, not only fashion companies invest in emerging brands, but also established designers who have the opportunity to promote their younger colleagues.
Elisabett Stamm, who won the Copenhagen Fashion Week x Zalando Visionary Award in January 2023 for her eponymous brand STAMM, found her first retailer in fellow Danish designer and long-time legend of the fashion scene in Denmark, Henrik Vibskov.
"Henrik Vibskov's (Vibskovs) boutique has represented STAMM since the first collection and it is this kind of support that an emerging brand and designer needs," Stamm said in an interview with CNN. “Sometimes it feels like everyone wants to discover something first, but who really has the courage to do it first?”
Others did it too. Stamm joins wunderkind brand (Di)vision, recently mentored by Ganni co-founder Nicolaj Reffstrup, and receives support from a fellow Danish native to create brands whose purpose is to encourage creativity as democratically as that Shopping at the point of sale.
Taken together, it means fashion that appeals to a consumer who wants to invest their money in something meaningful and be part of a club that looks good and feels good. Not to mention a feeling that has people sitting back in their fashion week seats, wet or not, to spread the word.
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