With the gloomy and freezing winter weather, one thing I can count on to warm up my mood is seeing countless designers showcase their newest collections during Fashion Week. But contrary to popular belief, the style-filled season doesn’t always centre around New York City, London and Paris.
Following this year’s Paris Haute Couture week, the last day of January kicked off Denmark’s bi-annual fashion week for Fall/Winter 2023. Over 25 designers sported Nordic fashion’s finest in the below-zero Scandinavian wind while promoting a never-before-seen sustainability plan mandatory for all production.
To ensure the entire week was as environmentally responsible as possible, all participating designers had to oblige to a minimum of 18 standards ranging from using 50% or more preferred material for garments, no furs or other animal fabrics, and accumulating zero waste at the end of each show. With some emerging designers as a part of CPHFW NEWTALENT and national staples, we saw the eclectic yet minimal mix that Copenhagen fashion has to offer.
Some trend takeaways over the course of the first week of February show stunning combinations of layered pattern textiles, ruffles galore, Y2K street-wear meets grunge business casual, chalet-inspired knitted outerwear, oversized space jackets, and subtle sequin pieces.
To see (Di)Vision, Selma-Fessahaye, Alpha and more, click here.
Copenhagen has always been a leading innovator in fashion sustainability, holding the yearly Global Fashion Summit for green and renewable changes. In 2019, the CEO of luxury group Kering, François-Henri Pinault, announced in his opening address that, with the recruitment of French President Emmanuel Macron, top luxury brands in the fashion industry would form a “coalition” to oversee his new Fashion Pact initiative.
All Kering-owned brands, which include Gucci, Alexander McQueen, Bottega Veneta and YSL, to name a few, along with the likes of Prada, Hermes, Chanel, Zara, Tapestry (owners of Kate Spade and Coach) and Capri Holdings (owners of Michael Kors, Versace and Jimmy Choo) would all switch their production standards to environmentally conscious objectives fulfilled by 2050.
It should be noted, as well, that there have been little to no releases of progress from these brands as of now. Denmark, which has a population of over 5 million people, ranks number one in the world in terms of sustainability, with Copenhagen already making immense strides to becoming completely carbon neutral by 2025. If an entire country can make these changes rapidly, why is it taking so long for the fashion industry?
A fashion show acts as a catalyst for each garment and accessory’s life cycle in the retail market. CPHFW may have the right idea in encouraging sustainable practices from the start to prove they can carry through into the manufacturing atmosphere.
However, even Vogue writer Emily Farra has questioned how much environmental impact a fashion show actually produces. She writes, “Think of a major show in New York or Paris: It’s likely a 15-minute event planned months in advance, possibly in a historic venue or with a spectacular set, and probably ending with a dumpster of plastic water bottles, press notes, invitations, flowers, and decor.”
Copenhagen designers prove the standard for a successful show should be set based on challenging earth-damaging criteria of a regular runway. In her label’s debut show in 2019, co-founder of Opera Sport Awa Malina Stelter made the collection using solely organic, GOTS-certified cotton and other fabrics made from 90% industrial waste. And did it again, plus more, in the 2023 show.
“Of course, yes, the most sustainable thing would probably be for Fashion Week to shut down,” Cecile Thorsmark, Copenhagen Fashion Week’s chief executive officer, told Harper’s Bazaar. “But that’s just not going to happen.”
With the growing publicity of sustainable events like these, hopefully it will encourage larger fashion houses with even bigger masses to make the important switch for the better.