The Future of Fashion & Sustainability | 10 The Copenhagen Model
A relatively new addition to the global fashion week scene, Copenhagen aims to differentiate itself from fashion’s other marquee events by setting its sight on sustainability. The Copenhagen Fashion Week celebrates innovative creators in Nordic fashion but also provides a glimpse into fashion’s sustainable potential. It’s a mix of couture, street style, and emerging designers together highlighting environmental responsibility.
[Source: Copenhagen Fashion Week]
Advocates of global fashion weeks applaud the innovations and creativity on display from designers, while critics point to the recurrent change in fashion trends present on the runway as promoting overconsumption. While the most sustainable act may be to shut down the extravagant display of new products, these events serve a core purpose in promoting new designers and innovative creations. The truth may lie somewhere in between, particularly in Copenhagen. Over the past few years, organizers have focused on investing in young, sustainable brands. They showcase only brands that meet a strict set of 18 minimum standards. This method adds a layer of accountability that designers must incorporate into all facets of their business.
These standards introduced in 2023 are an integral piece of the organizer’s Sustainability Action Plan, first announced in 2020 that aims to reduce the climate impact and resource consumption.[1] Brands must exhibit that they embed “sustainability and international standards” for human right,” do not destroy unsold clothes from any previous collections, and ensure that at least 50% of their collections are “either certified, made of preferred materials or new generation sustainable materials, upcycled, recycled or made of deadstock” – to name a few.[2] The shows must meet standards to reduce waste and minimize carbon footprints. Approximately 1,600 brands involved with Copenhagen Fashion Week, the Copenhagen International Fashion Fair, the Norwegian Fashion Hub, Oslo Runway, and the Icelandic Fashion Council have pledged to the circular fashion standards in the Sustainability Action Plan.
Rather than stifle innovation and the spirit of fashion week, Copenhagen Fashion Week is a beautiful display of brands utilizing the utmost creativity to center their design processes around sustainability. To the casual onlooker, each element of this season’s fashion week may look similar to other fashion, but that is the true display of the event’s ingenuity. The look of the fashion week is the same – creative sets, trendy street fashion, and creative design, but sustainability is the underlying framework.
Closing out this season’s Spring/Summer 2024 show, Scandinavian Fashion Brand Ganni incorporated a plant-based leather alternative crafted from biowaste – Oleatex - into some of its designs.[3] The brand even managed to tackle 2023’s favorite buzzword, Artificial Intelligence. Displaying remarkable creativity, Ganni incorporated AI into its show. Rather than using the technology in its creative design process, the brand partnered with the studio Artificial Mind to create an immersive experience for viewers who could ask questions into microphones rigged to living trees and receive answers generated by a ChatGPT-like AI model tailored to Gianni’s view of the world.[4]
[Photo: © James Cochrane, Source: Financial Times]
While creative textiles, patterns, and brand collaborations remained a fashion week staple, designers immersed Copenhagen culture into each show. Clothes on the runway and streets of Copenhagen strike a balance between minimalism and eccentric designs. From kids appearing on the runway with their parents to Danish designer Stine Goya’s eponymous brand presenting a collection titled ‘Homecoming,’ this iteration of the fashion week was an homage to home.[5] Stine Goya’s show on the street outside her own home plays to Copenhagen’s communal street-party dinners.[6]
[Photo: © James Cochrane, Source: TheCut]
Copenhagen Fashion Week is an experiment in adding new life and values to a project that has seen consistent success and recognition. While organizers admit that their requirements are broad, Cecile Thorsmark - the fashion week’s CEO – says “future seasons will come with new and more specific requirements.”[7] While it’s unclear whether other fashion weeks will adopt the Copenhagen model, the fashion industry’s insiders can use the model to push for positive sustainable change. Fashion’s four biggest fashion weeks – New York, London, Milan, and Paris – are dominated by well-established fashion houses, but the potential for impact is greater if organizers can create similar sustainability action plans. Ultimately, key players in the fashion industry must re-evaluate their relationship with overproduction and overconsumption to create meaningful change. At least for now, the Copenhagen model is a spot of optimism for the fashion industry.
[1] https://copenhagenfashionweek.com/sustainability-strategy-reporting
[2] https://copenhagenfashionweek.com/sustainability-requirements
[3] https://www.oleatex.com/blogdetail/at-copenhagen-fashion-week-oleatex-next-gen-materials-were-featured-in-gannis-ai-inspired-springsummer-2024-show
[4] https://www.voguebusiness.com/fashion/gannis-copenhagen-show-put-ai-on-display-but-not-in-its-collection
[5] https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/fashion/shows-trends/g28622845/copenhagen-fashion-week/
[6] https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/fashion/shows-trends/g28622845/copenhagen-fashion-week/
[7] https://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/fashion-week/a42725558/copenhagen-fashion-week-sustainability-requirements/