GROWING UP: Tuesday marks the start of Copenhagen Fashion Week and the 20th anniversary celebrations of the fashion showcase, which has bolstered Danish exports and helped launch brands including Ganni, Cecilie Bahnsen, Stine Goya and Baum und Pferdgarten.
Organizers have a year’s worth of celebrations planned, with the aim of highlighting the impact of Nordic creatives on the global stage and the Danish economy.
Over the past 20 years Denmark’s fashion exports have grown 84 percent and now account for two-thirds of the total revenue of the Danish fashion industry. Overall, the industry represents 5 percent of Denmark’s total merchandise exports, according to organizers.
In those years, Copenhagen Fashion Week has also become the greenest fashion showcase. In 2020 and 2023 it introduced a series of strict sustainability requirements for brands, which were later adopted by the British Fashion Council and a host of other industry organizations.
As reported, fashion brands need to fulfill 19 minimum standards before they can be part of the CPHFW calendar. Requirements include taking responsibility for their environmental impact by measuring and offsetting carbon emissions, and by eliminating the use of single-use plastic hangers and garment bags.
Cecilie Thorsmark
Courtesy Photo
Copenhagen Fashion Week also created the Danish Fashion Ethical Charter to safeguard the well-being of professionals across the fashion industry, especially models.
Cecilie Thorsmark, chief executive officer of Copenhagen Fashion Week, has long argued that by adopting green and DEI policies, fashion weeks, and councils have the “unique potential” to drive positive change within the industry.
Julie Gilhart, founder of Gilhart & Co., and a longtime guest in Copenhagen, said the showcase has “inspired the industry to rethink what a fashion week can be, showing how creativity and responsibility can go hand-in-hand. Copenhagen Fashion Week is a place where talent and people come first. They know these two ingredients ultimately create good business.”
Ditte Reffstrup, creative director of Ganni, said the showcase “represents everything I love about this city and its fashion community. It champions creativity and collaboration, supports new generations of talent, and reminds us that fashion is strongest when it’s built on connection, care and shared values.”
The fall 2026 showcase runs from Tuesday through Thursday with brands including Baum und Pferdgarten, Holzweiler, Paolina Russo and Nicklas Skovgaard showing. The spring 2027 shows will take place Aug. 3 to 7.
