Leading Industry Voices Gather at Copenhagen Fashion Summit
18-05-2016
Copenhagen Fashion Summit attracted more than 1,200 people from 52 different countries, kicked off with the official welcome speech by Copenhagen Fashion Summit patron, Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mary of Denmark. This was followed by a packed eight-hour programme with 52 speakers and panellists, among them Livia Firth from Eco-Age Ltd., Renzo Rosso from OTB Group, Vanessa Friedman from the New York Times, Suzy Menkes from Vogue, Hannah Jones from Nike, Inc. and Anna Gedda from H&M.
Eva Kruse, CEO of Danish Fashion Institute that organised the summit, sums up the day:
”The turnout of people from so many different nations witnesses that the event is a big deal for the fashion industry. The global movement that we set out for back in 2009 has become a reality. A trending topic throughout the day was ‘transparency’. It seems people now dare to acknowledge that sustainability is indeed extremely complex and they are being more humble when speaking about their work with sustainability. I think this approach suits the business. Sometimes one can feel quite alone in the world dealing with all these issues, but being at the summit with fellow like-minded people serves to reassure that we are not alone and that change is possible.”
Outcomes of the summit
Among the outcomes was the launch of Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana’s ‘Chemical Substances Guidelines’, a number of guidelines aiming to gradually reduce the use of groups of chemical substances along the chain for the benefit of consumers, the environment and the community.
Additionally, summit speaker Shubhankar Ray, global brand director of G-Star, launched the Ocean Clean Wash charter in partnership with Plastic Soup Foundation, which focuses on reducing the ocean plastic pollution, especially micro plastic released into the ocean from washing clothes. The declaration was signed by Danish Fashion Institute, among others.
(Image right: Amber Valetta speaking at the Summit)
Three days prior to the summit (9-11 May), 116 students representing 40 nationalities and six continents had gathered for a Youth Fashion Summit to work on how to integrate the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals into the fashion industry. At the summit, they spoke their demands to the industry participants and following, handed them over to Mogans Lykketoft, who promised to take them to the UN.
Along with the weighty panel discussions seventeen Nordic top designers presented their work to demonstrate that sustainable fashion can be just as attractive as its counterpart. Divided into two separate challenges: The Denim Challenge and the Design Challenge, the results were shown at an exhibition during the Summit.
With the purpose to present new possibilities for sustainable stylishness with denim, nine designers including Armoire Officielle, Tome and Twins Florence, created one complete outfit each in sustainable denim supplied by ISKOTM. The remaining eight designers including Mads Nørgaard, By Malene Birger and Filippa K, were met with the challenge to curate a sustainable wardrobe using two outfits from their own back catalogues, aiming to promote sustainable wardrobes focused on longevity in terms of design and quality.
The Design Challenge designers – By Malene Birger (DK), byTimo (NO), Filippa K (SE), House of Dagmar (DK), Mads Nørgaard (DK), Marimekko (FI), Samuji (FI) and Veronica B Vallenes (NO) will showcase a wardrobe that does not compromise with either sustainability, quality, design or aesthetics.
Copenhagen Fashion Summit is a biennial non-profit event organised by Danish Fashion Institute on behalf of Nordic Fashion Association.
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