Copenhagen Fashion Week set for greener-than-ever edition under new CEO

By

Erin Floyd

Published
Jan 28, 2019

Copenhagen Fashion Week is fast approaching, and has its sights firmly set on becoming Europe’s most sustainable fashion week under the new leadership of CEO Cecilie Thorsmark.
 

 
Running Jan. 29 to Feb. 1, the first edition under Thorsmark’s aegis, and the second since the event became an entity independent of the Global Fashion Agenda (formerly the Danish Fashion Institute), will host 26 runway shows and five presentations during the four-day event, the final being dedicated to the capital’s trade shows, CIFF and Revolver.  
 
Kicking off the green proceedings on Tuesday is new addition to the Copenhagen calendar, Mother of Pearl. The British ethical luxury label will open the week with its No Frills line, a fully traceable, trans-seasonal womenswear range first launched in 2017.

The three-day event will also host its usual unique medley of established and emerging labels shows. This edition will see shows staged fashion week stalwarts Ganni, Stine Goya and By Malene Birger alongside up-and-coming labels like Cecilie Bahnsen, an ANDAM 2018 nominee; and this year’s Magasin du Nord prizewinner, Helmstedt.
 
Away from the podium, a diverse array of events is in the lineup, including showrooms; panel debates; the week’s jewellery showcase, Jewellery Room, established in 2013, and a new consumer-oriented café space, The Fashion Café.
 

 
As part of its commitment to leading sustainability, the event will also see a special sustainability board introduced for the occasion. The advisory committee, composed of international experts, will provide a sounding platform for the week’s green initiatives. Another key function will be encouraging labels towards sustainable manufacturing, the organisation said.
 
“As a trendsetting fashion week, we need to help make sustainability attractive. We have a voice and an ethical obligation to use it,” commented Thorsmark. “I believe that it’s our duty as a leading player in the fashion ecosystem to take a thorough look at how Copenhagen Fashion Week can serve to benefit the fashion industry’s sustainability agenda to the greatest extent possible.”