Danish Fashion Going Global - Spandet And Partners

DANISH FASHION GOING GLOBAL 37
13.2. Copenhagen is not the world’s fifth most important fashion hub
The invention of being the world’s fifth most important fashion hub after Paris, Milan,
London, and New York is wrong innovation and will never catapult Denmark into a
fashion culture nation.
The fashion industry promoting merchandise, brands, and concepts that most people
in reality do not need of course requires “hype” and “air” to make the balloon fly; this
includes Copenhagen or Denmark as a fashion brand. However, only “air” as lunch
will leave the Danish fashion industry as skinny as one of the supermodels on the
catwalks. Rather than investing most efforts and government funds into “invisible
emperor suits,” let Denmark focus on global marketing of original design of good
quality at commercial prices appealing to most international consumers.
Natalia Rachlin from New York Times explained it well on February 15, 2010:
If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be . . . Copenhagen / Women’s Fashion by Natalia Rachlin
For a while there, the Copenhagen fashion scene convinced itself (and attempted to
convince everyone else) that the city would be the fifth fashion capital. This season,
however, was as close as you’re going to get to an all-out admission that, well, it’s
just not going to happen. With a smaller-than-usual show roster and largely lackluster
runway displays, the three-and-a-half-day Copenhagen fashion “week” that wrapped
up on Saturday evening, felt like an unintentional homage to defeat. But not all was
lost—indeed, there were a few gems that made it all worthwhile. Rounding out the
talent pool is the princess, the prince and the pauper of the Danish fashion scene:
Stine Goya, Henrik Vibskov and WoodWood. Goya has an Hermès for H&M (if only!)
vibe; Vibskov is high-street meets the circus; WoodWood is utilitarianism with a
sense of humor. All three are excellent at what they do, and they have collectively
dominated the edgy side of Danish fashion, which has thereby been summed up as
young, funky, eclectic and accessible.
Now, if only all the commercial hippie-dippy nonsense could be delegated off the
runway and back to the showroom where it belongs, CFW would instantly be more
interesting—albeit tiny, but there’s nothing wrong with that. It would be a chance for
the bright, funky young things to coexist with the darker, more grown-up aesthetic
that seems to be emerging here.
Perhaps, now that Copenhagen has given up its futile pursuit of world fashion
domination, the focus can be put back where it belongs: on nurturing and developing
this handful of emerging designers. Then it’s just a matter of time before a larger
international audience will come knocking. And then, who knows, Copenhagen might
just become a mini-fashion capital after all.