Danish Fashion Going Global - Spandet And Partners

DANISH FASHION GOING GLOBAL 26
7. Transformation and Globalization
Since the 1950s design has undergone a significant transformation.
Today, the word “design” encompasses many different disciplines such as
communications design, digital design, product design, interior design, fashion and
textile design, interaction design, and service design. Thus design is no longer a
closely delimited discipline, but rather an array of often interacting disciplines. The
same goes for the word “fashion.” Today fashion is in design and design is in fashion.
In the 1950s, Denmark was instrumental in setting the international design agenda.
Danish design helped pave the way for international commercial successes in,
among others, furniture, fashion, and hi-fi design.
Danish design has been an important part of the transformation of Danish fashion
and was and still is characterized by its focus on pure form-giving design and
knowledge of materials and a sense of detail and quality.
Throughout the 1960s the international fashion industry went through a significant
transformation.
The impacts of youth culture grew on the fashion trends and led to a greater
industrial production of clothes. The London youth culture initially inspired the trend,
and soon the Parisian designers followed with ready-to-wear or “prêt-à-porter.”
During the 1960s and 1970s Danish fashion went through the same transformation
and has since then developed into one of the most successful Danish export
industries.
The Danish fashion industry initially had an industrial background where the
concentration was mostly on textile and manufacturing. Only a couple of decades
ago the first Danish fashion design brands were developed, and the designers
started to design for their own labels. Later on accessories such as jewelry and
shoes followed.
Fashion retail is generally going through a structural transformation with increased
verticalization, megastores, category shifts in the distribution channels,
supermarkets, selling own labels, etc.
Fashion is no longer only clothes but accessories, jewelry, home, fur, shoes, etc.
Today Denmark is taking very strong and even leading positions within fur
(Kopenhagen Fur), shoes (ECCO), and jewelry (Pandora).