Innovative and democratic fashion

BY INGE KJÆRGAARD

February is cold and dark in Denmark – but there is also light and life. Fashion week lights up in Copenhagen at the beginning of February.

Photos: Scanpix

Flashlights, high heels, colours, news, long-legged girls and charismatic men. Copenhagen Fashion Week is approaching. From 5-8 February 2009, buyers from around the world visit Copenhagen and take a look at the colours, shapes and styles of the autumn/winter 2009/2010 collections.

Copenhagen’s next fashion week will fill four venues with fashion shows, established designers and up-and-coming brands.

“Copenhagen Fashion Week is developing into a very international event with a special focus on showing the best from Scandinavia. Copenhagen is a creative hub. Buyers can discover the next big thing and find new brands that can become big names,” says Eva Kruse, director of Danish Fashion Institute.

And according to Peter Sabroe, who is the exhibition manager for Copenhagen International Fashion Fair, CIFF, the world needs Scandinavian design.

“Buyers come to see strong Scandinavian brands because they are good, fashionable clothes that can be sold at sensible prices.”

FASHION FROM THE NORTH

But what is it that Danish and other Scandinavian designers can do? At Gallery, one of the fashion fairs during Copenhagen Fashion Week, they think that Scandinavian fashion has become popular because it manages to combine innovative design and saleability. The finished product is unique, with a quality and price that makes it very saleable.

Gallery will present the strongest ever line-up of Scandinavian designer fashion at the fair in 2009.

Another of the organisers of Copenhagen Fashion Week is CPH Vision. In 2009, it has two exhibition venues – so there will be even more displays of Scandinavian fashion to look at. CPH Vision is also full of optimism about the fair. Buyers expect a lot from Scandinavia – and the message is that their expectations will be fulfilled. Scandinavian fashion fits together well. The Scandinavian countries have a shared cultural background that rubs off on the design. In addition, Scandinavian fashion easily blends together with other international brands.

CPH Vision also acts as a catalyst for young designers and profiles them to foreign countries.

Danish design is known for its price level – which is not too high. But that does not mean quality is compromised.

“The shared feature is that you get a lot of brand for your money. It is democratic fashion, fashion for any purse or wallet. And it is fashion that is easy to wear. They must be clothes that can be used. Danish design has a functionalistic approach to clothes,” says Eva Kruse.

AN EVOLVING FASHION NATION

Danish fashion has seen rapid development in the last 10-15 years. But the growth stems from further back in time – at the end of the 1970s out in western Denmark.

“A lot of clothing was manufactured there, but they saw that production costs were becoming too high. So Denmark started outsourcing at an early stage. The machinists had further training so their knowledge stayed in the industry. That has become a huge success, and we now have a quite unique position. Clothing is our fourth biggest export sector, and Danish fashion has a strong position abroad,” explains Peter Sabroe.

And according to Eva Kruse, Danish companies are good at controlling the quality in production.

“Because Denmark started outsourcing early on, Danish companies are good at managing quality in relation to price. And that is an advantage right now. Despite the financial crisis, it will still be a big fashion week. Scandinavian fashion has an audience, regardless of whether economies go up or down,” says Eva Kruse.

“There is quite a big spread in Danish and Scandinavian fashion, and therein lies its strength. Our fashion week can achieve things that other fashion weeks can’t, because we combine the fair with shows. In London and Paris for example, it is mostly built around shows. Ours is both a fashion and marketing week.”

HIGH STANDARD DESPITE FINANCIAL CRISIS

Fashion has become an important export product for Denmark. In 2007 the export share for Danish fashion increased by 12.1% compared to the previous year, with 90% of production exported. The industry’s total revenues rose to DKK 35 billion in 2007 – a 10 per cent increase on the previous year. Danish fashion can compete on the global catwalk.

Lots of new brands are sprouting up, and the industry has gradually become professionalised. In fact it has found its feet so well that ’Danish fashion’, far from being the passing craze that many feared at the time, has become industrialised and acknowledged throughout the world.

Denmark is known for well-established brands such as IC Companys and Bestseller – but small brands such as Malene Birger and DAY Birger et Mikkelsen have also managed very well.

The financial crisis is a large point of focus at the moment, in the fashion world as elsewhere. But Copenhagen Fashion Week will not be marked by crisis times.

“The financial crisis will probably have an impact on the fashion world. New brands require venture capital and if that does not appear, we will probably feel it on innovation. But we will not see that in February. That is the same high standard as we have seen in the previous years,” says Peter Sabroe.

Crown Princess Mary, who is known for her extensive knowledge of fashion, is patron of Copenhagen Fashion Week and an ambassador for Danish fashion abroad. Photo: Scanpix