Denmark – fashion factory or mini-mart?

[Net a Nanna]

You probably all know Helena Christensen and Freja Beha, but do you see Denmark as an important contributor to the global fashion industry?

I’m curious to know how international fashion lovers – i.e. you guys – look at Denmark in the world of fashion. Have designers such as Peter Jensen, Camilla Stærk, Henrik Vibskov, and Camilla Skovgaard; models such as Agnete Hegelund and Louise P; and magazines such as DANSK and COVER, had an important influence on the industry, or has Denmark simply contributed with too few important factors to be considered one of the leading countries fashion wise?

Let me know what you think and who/what you like and dislike.

 

[fashionified]

well.. i've been planning for ages to go to denmark and work there. i view it as a potential city for fashion which is still growing. i love the understated and laid back style of the scandinavians. and denmark seems to be a lovely country.. so.. and oh, they are pretty forward with the ethical fashion, especially brands such as Noir, which is also pretty good. and annhagen! i'll have to say that there's a lot of danish designer that i like

 

[e-v-elina]

i don't necessarily think its just denmark, more scandinavia as a whole. we seem to be everywhere these days.

 

[unspoiledbird]

^ Agreed. I think outsiders tend to lump most scandinavian style into one, although I think Denmark along with Sweden are probably considered the most sophisticated and chic initiators of the bunch. According to their neighbors, at least

 

[whatever2]

I think Denmark and Sweden are miles ahead of the other Scandinavian countries! I noticed all the big bloggers went to Stockholm and Copenhagen Fashion week, but (very understandable) none of them paid Oslo a visit. The only big names from Norway who actually showed their collections at OFW are Batlag & Selvig, Fam Irvoll and Moods of Norway. They are tiny compared to Acne and Henrik Vibskov, and Oslo fashion week is a big joke, seriously. That really is too bad, because we actually have some lesser known designers with huge potential...

 

[micey]

Well from my point of view Denmark is the fashion leader in Scandinavia. Actually Denmark is very well known across the globe from designing. They have produced many classy pieces in clothing, but also in art and furniture.

There is no doubt that Denmark is at the moment the top country in fashion when talking about Scandinavia. Of course Sweden has many well known brands like H&M, Acne, Filippa K and so on, but still it cannot fight against Denmark. Copenhagen is the city where all the things happen and I know that for example many Swedish fashion mags search models for their shoots from Denmark.

Why is Denmark then so popular in fashion? It's hard to tell, but the long history in Danish fashion is of course one reason. The nation has produced some excellent designers in past years and the designers there have managed to make their personal style, with simple design lines, in most places their clothing is well known from the modest luxury what Danish designers have managed to offer. Of course there are also pieces that are shocking. But the main lines have always been simple and beautiful.

When talking about recent designers there are several good one's for sure. Some of them have managed to make green fashion to become everyday which is a good thing. But if I should say one name, so Camilla Skovgaard is "the" Danish designer at the moment. She has managed to design some uniq shoes that are widely known among fashion fans. They have also featured again and again in top fashion mags like Vogue.

And when focusing on models, Freja is the one at the moment. She's a superstar that everyone knows and she has managed to get a huge amount of fans worldwide. Helena Christensen was very popular in the past, and she has managed to show us that you don't have to be a young teen girl to be a top model. Also more mature women can work as models, so she's been one to break those old lines along with ladies like Elle MacPherson. So to make it clear Helena looks still amazing.

I know that there are a lot of good models in Denmark who are not widely known, I was looking at the supermodel competition in Denmark and I was surprised. Many very talented and beautiful girls featuring in that TV-series. And it's running at the very moment in Denmark if I got it right.

But in the end I have to say that it's useless to fight against other Scandinavian countries. So countries like Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland should work more together than to fight against each other. All the Scandinavian countries have a lot of talented people working in them, but they don't work enough together at the moment. So I wish I will see some co-operation with designers, brands and models in Scandinavia because it's good for all of us working in this area.

 

[The_Ida]

**

Copenhagen Fashion Week is an embarrassment. We will never ever have big designers showing there, and Danish journalists, who apparently think CFW is the bomb, have absolutely no clue about what is going on in the real fashion world (as in outside of DK). The only great fashion designer we've ever had is Erik Mortensen IMO (I'm not just saying that because he's from my town ).

Furniture and interior decor, on the other hand, that we can do

 

[e-v-elina]

i really dont like it how "more famous" swedish designers show at other fashion weeks rather than stockholm (im assuming its the same with danish designers, but im not 100% sure since i dont know alot of danish designers.)

micey - i never heard anything about "fighting against each other", what exactly do you mean?

​

 

[micey]

i really dont like it how "more famous" swedish designers show at other fashion weeks rather than stockholm (im assuming its the same with danish designers, but im not 100% sure since i dont know alot of danish designers.)

micey - i never heard anything about "fighting against each other", what exactly do you mean?

I agree with you in the first one

And when talking about the fight, so I didin't mean any hard fight in such. But you have to see the fact that the companies in these countries don't work together enough. They are all so close to each other and they share that same kind of design vision, so I think it would be great if they would have projects together or even brands together. So they could achieve a so called win-win situation.

Because in the end it could be more powerful to have few widely known Scandinavian brands that have a strong position in the whole area, than a bunch of small brands that cannot fight with the big one's. I lookthis from the business point of view, many customers love all the tiny brands and there is nothing bad with that.

But the thing I'm trying to say is that I think they should work more together and support each other more. The best example are the Scandinavian fashion & design stores that sell only products from local designers and companies

 

[Net a Nanna]

Thanks for the interesting responses you've posted so far guys!

I agree that Copenhagen and Stockholm are the two Scandinavian cities that you hear most about. And I totally agree that the Scandinavian countries should try to stick more together, since they're so small countries. I don't agree that they should unite many of the small companies into a big one, though.. even though it would be better financially. I love that so many small labels have their own vision, and if they do things right, they could become big without compromising with their integrity. I think that Vilsbøl de Arce could be an example of this.

But do you think that a Danish brand can ever be as big as the 'good old' fashion houses such as Burberry, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, etc. when they're so laid back? Sometimes I think that they're so laid back that they don't send out a clear message of who they are and what they stand for as a brand - besides being laid back and understated (even though I often like the style). I think that Acne might be on the way to the top. Especially after their collaboration with Lanvin - that really showed how big a brand it's become.

And to Micey: yes, Denmark's Next Topmodel is currently airing in Denmark I think that you might be able to watch episodes on this link: http://2.nutv.dk/programmer/
Although I don't know if it's possible to watch outside of Denmark.

The Ida: I don't agree that CPH Fashion Week is an embarrassment. I really think it has developed into smth good that might be on the way to smth great. It's no PFW, obviously, but, hopefully, we can draw bigger names to CPHFW soon. I agree that Erik Mortensen was great, though

 

[annelein]

...and the fact that *zero* non-scandinavians/finnish people answered in this thread (now going for almost half a year) should answer the question on Denmark's relevance and following in the global fashion world!

Nåväl.

 

[ColorScreams]

During Wednesday's opening show it was obvious that fur has become an important part of Copenhagen Fashion Week and fashion in general.

Showfoto

The fashion week set off with great success on 2 February, when Kopenhagen Fur - as one the main sponsors for the Copenhagen Fashion Week - had the pleasure of welcoming the audience at the Copenhagen City Hall. To demonstrate that Danish fur is leading in international fur fashion, Kopenhagen Fur had invited nine designers from six different countries, who individually showed the potential of fur.


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[frk-frost]

Mercedes-Benz has started sponsoring Stockholm Fashion Week. I don't know much about it, but I think it's a signal that Copenhagen Fashion Week isn't all that they want to think they are

 

[The_Ida]

^I've seen flea markets more worth noticing that CFW. It's a joke.

 

[frk-frost]

I've always had the impression that the CFW was in reality mostly about Danish buyers looking at the commercial collections from the Danish high-street brands and then also a little bit about all the cool people driving around Copenhagen looking at the cool shows while driking champagne. At least that's the impression one can get when reading (Danish) blogs and magazines

 

[ohmyy]

I agree with the fact that CFW isn't anything to cheer for. However, someone mentioned that the Denmark have stronger and better brands than the other Scandinavian countries. Think again my friend.