When 60,000 international buyers, designers and members of the press descend on Copenhagen next week for Copenhagen Fashion Week (CPFW), it will be for an event that has a vision beyond just introducing the newest trends.
Change through fashion
Since 2007, the Danish Fashion Institute has been pushing sustainability in the fashion industry. Eva Kruse, the CEO of Danish Fashion Institute and CPFW, explains that sustainability has also become an important part of the image of the event. “It means creating fashion in a different way, having consideration for environmental issues and working conditions,” she said.
This season the organisers say there will be a greater-than-ever focus on and commitment to sustainability. Kruse has contributed to leading the Nordic fashion industry towards a focus on sustainability through her campaign ‘Changing the world through fashion’ and her work with the Nordic Fashion Association and NICE (Nordic Initiative Clean and Ethical), the sustainability project of the Danish Fashion Institute.
Kruse discloses what her focus will be for Copenhagen Fashion Week next season: “how to make great fashion and, at the same time, make it green."
Nordic representation
Coherently with this aim, the official opening show is assigned to Barbara I Gongini, a brand that for many years has been working to source the most eco-friendly materials.
Bibi Chemnitz, which has been part of Copenhagen fashion week for 8 years, is a Nordic brand that mixes Scandinavian sport and street culture with elements from Greenland and Inuit tradition.
Its sustainable contribution deals with where the clothes are produced. “We do most of our production in Europe,” said David Røgilds, graphic designer and co-owner of Bibi Chemnitz.
‘Lost in Navigation’ is the collection that will be shown by the designer at the CIFF and Gallery this season. Black, crisp white and azure blue are the key colours, inspired by mountains and ocean in Greenland. Old maps of the arctic region from the American air force have been used in several pieces of the collection.
Røgilds reveals that the most special new garment next summer will be the Basketball dress “It’s made like our basketball jersey but very long so it works as a dress,” he explained.
“We haven’t seen anybody do this before.”
(Photo: bibichemnitz.com)
FACTFILE
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