Here is the thing. Everybody is loving Copenhagen Fashion Week. Why? It feels like a family affair. Sweet people, smaller venues – in a city that is among the most livable cities in the world. Forbes just ranked CPH the No.1 city in the world for its good work-life balance, so, the Danes are in a good mood, and so is their fashion. 

The textile and clothing industry is Denmark’s fourth largest export business, CPHFW is establishing itself in the Top Five of international fashion weeks, and the motto community as consistency seems to be the key to success here. Not only do all parties involved (Danish Fashion Council, Copenhagen Fashion Week and CIFF Fashion Fair) pull in the same direction, there is also big enthusiasm from the Danes for their brands; they wear them and buy them – for shows, and on a daily basis. Helping people with initiatives to succeed seems to be part of the wider egalitarian societal mindset in Denmark.

Case in point, it is not just the Danish fashion institutions that invest in emerging brands (e.g., CIFF fair provides 66.000 sqm of offices and creative studios for new talents in their show space throughout the year) but established designers with the means to promote their younger counterparts, too.

Powerhouse brand Ganni passed on a show this season and instead in response to the struggles faced by young designers in the current economic climate, funded this season‘s New Talent Program, providing them with a platform with their “Fabrics of the Future” exhibit that took place during fashion week. Elisabett Stamm, designer of 2022 founded brand STAMM, found her first retailer in fellow Danish designer and long-term local legend Henrik Vibskov as she told ACHTUNG at the CPHFW NewTalent Showroom. 

Wishful thinking for Berlin where the fashion week is struggling for international recognition and the Premium fair announced its closure last November, after senselessly moving to Frankfurt and back to Berlin a few seasons ago and rendering itself irrelevant.

Plus, CPHFW did well on finding and promoting its unique selling point in sustainability early on. The Nordic fashion week is one of the most conscious showcases on the annual schedule with its reputable 18-point sustainability criteria for brands, including no single-use plastic and producing collections from at least 50 per cent certified recycled, upcycled or deadstock materials. And if we have seen a less and less diverse casting at the big fashion weeks over the last seasons, well, the Danes also took care of that, leading a way in terms of size inclusivity, even in menswear, which seems to be a novum. What’s not to love about all of that? We continue our reports from the Danish capital on Monday with a few individual reviews of standout shows by our co-editrix in chief Nicole Urbschat.