Copenhagen's Top Talents Take Centre Stage At CIFF

It isn't difficult to understand why Copenhagen has been dubbed the fifth fashion capital after New York, London, Milan and Paris. Not only has the city long been the epicentre for Scandinavian design, but there’s also a strong international pull thanks in part to the city’s governing fashion bodies. While Copenhagen Fashion Week continues to draw in the crowds, it’s arguably the Copenhagen International Fashion Fair that works double duty in connecting northern Europe’s talent with the world.

This year CIFF hosted over a thousand brands at the city’s Bella Center across womenswear, menswear, footwear, beauty, and childrenswear. It’s a big leap from the 400 brands exhibited last year. Of course, in that time CIFF has seen rapid growth with the acquisition of former competitor Revolver. ‘Copenhagen is a city that values aesthetics and design in everything from the food scene, the architecture to the extensive legacy of interior design,’ director of CIFF Sofie Dolva tells me.

For her it’s the city’s modern approach to exhibiting fashion that separates it from the big four. ‘The way it is integrated in fashion and in the collections of the Nordic designers makes it a wonderful 360 experience, and one that is firmly forward looking and aligned with the values of where the fashion industry is going next without the challenges of having to reconcile this with inherited or outdated systems and views’.

At the Bella Center, brands big and small, showed off their latest collections to an international audience of buyers and press. Emerging talents like Finnish designer Rolf Ekroth and Copenhagen’s own Helmstedt sat next to global super brands like Alpha Industries and Juicy Couture. The power of CIFF precisely lies in its ability to network young talents with industry insiders.

When asked about the struggles these emerging names face Dolva explained, ‘Many of them display incredible creativity and vision, but lack business experience in how to scale and grow a business’. This year CIFF supported brands like TG Botanical by providing a show space (in the middle of the Bella Center), and helping curate invitations to the right buyers and press. What was presented by the Copenhagen-based, Ukrainian-born brand was a collection of contrasts, notably airy femininity with rugged utility. In lieu of a show room, audiences were invited to TG Botanical’s booth immediately after the show to see the collection up close. A privilege that should be the norm across all fashion weeks.

While growth has meant more eyes on Copenhagen, it also presented it's fair share of challenges. 'One of the primary challenges is to figure out how we make sure our guests (buyers and press) get to discover the right pool of brands for them,' says Dolva. CIFF's hands-on approach meant researching into their varied demographics and curating the exhibition space in distinct ways. While I opted to focus on the area where Scandi-provocateurs like Henrik Vibskov and Han Kjøbenhavn were set up, I admittedly found myself enjoying getting lost among the sea of brands.

This includes Swedish streetwear brand Poetic Collective who are utilising organic cotton and post-consumer recycled polyester, and Berlin-based Avenir who are similarly using fully upcycled, surplus textiles to create an ultra-modern minimalist wardrobe. Taking the eco-futurist approach to fashion a step further was Copenhagen-based brand Our Shift who had their own installation of designs created with discarded tents.

As CIFF continues to grow its unique fashion ecosystem on their own terms, what we're presented with is a visionary approach to how we engage with brands at fashion week. 'It’s about where we can foster a sense of community within the physical parameters of the show, enabling us to achieve growth, without losing the personality of the show, and spirit of what we set out to do,' says Dolva.