Press feature
July 2010

Danes are in Fashion

Over the last decade, the international profile of Copenhagen's fashion designers has increased dramatically. These days, Danish designers working both in Copenhagen and for world famous labels in Paris, London and Milan exert a sizeable influence over the fashion industry. Ambitions are to be Number 4 in Europe, and Copenhagen is well on the way of achieving this

The likes of Anja Vang Kragh at Galliano, Rikke Ruhwald in charge of Bazar line at Christian Lacroix and Roy Krejberg at Kenzo, have helped Danish fashion to make its mark internationally. Uffe Frank, meanwhile, has inherited the mantel of celebrated Danish designer Erik Mortensen. Frank currently works in Milan and designed the dress worn by HM Queen Margrethe II for her 60th birthday celebration in April 2000.

This creative strength, and the esteem in which Danish designers are held around the world, is also reflected in the wide range of talent on display in the city's fashion stores.

Day Birger et Mikkelsen have opened a 'flagship' store on the corner of Pilestræde and Antonigade dominated by tall windows and large glass doors. All seven lines of their design collection is gathered under one roof here: ladies' wear, men's wear, children's clothing, lingerie, jewellery, accessories and home.

Malene Biger started her own line BY MALENE BIRGER in 2003 and has a boutique in the center of Copenhagen and opened a store in London in 2010. BY MALENE BIRGER is sold in around a hundred stores world-wide

Designers Remix designed by Charlotte Eriksen has opened an outlet in the Illum Department Store and a large flagship store in Pilestræde. Not far from here, in Krystalgade is Wood Wood. Two male designers create a new sweatshirt design every month and they are selling beautifully and WoodWood also has Henrik Vibskov design for sale. The shop’s main target group is young people

Young Danish talent
Young brands like Won Hundred, Soulland, Wood Wood and Stine Goya showed their top collection to date and avantgard designer Henrik Vibskok underlined his leading position in the army of Danish designers that stand ready to defend the status of Danish design in Denmark and the world at large. Stine Goya received her education at the well known St. Martins College of art and design in England and is famous for creating complex printed patterns. Denim firm Won Hundred and the former model Stine Goya are two of the fashion industries latest success stories. Wackerhaus that was founded in 2003 appeals to fashionable woman who appreciate simplicity. That is,what is simple, sexy and cool. Designer Tine Wackerhaus from Wackerhaus has also created an almost comic series styled line for men.

OLE YDE's Copenhagen based brand YDE was first launched in 2005,
and in the same year won the Illum Design Award. Julie Fagerholt with her award-winning company Heartmade situated in idyllic circumstances, a courtyard in the heart of the city, is a name to be reckoned with among those Danish designers that create clothing for independent Danish women. Talented designers like Hübsch und ..., and Trine Kryger Simonsen have set up businesses in and around the city. Other designers up front include Peter Jensen, in demand in Paris and especially London where he is based, Baum und Pferdgarten who opened a new shop in February 2010. Zarah Voigt designs new and trendy jewellery and has been nominated as `Best Asseccorie Designer´ for Danish Fashion awards 2010. Many of the new designers are straight out of The Danish Design School.

Fashion Exports
Along with several individual designers, Danish labels have been increasingly successful in the international market. Isabell Kristensen has recently opened her third boutique in Monaco to complement her stores in London and Paris and her own brand ‘Dreams by Isabell Kristensen'. Pioneering Danish brand Bruuns Bazaar has opened a store in Paris, Stockholm, London and Oslo to compliment its four stores in Denmark, and entered the official show list at the Paris Fashion Week back in 1999. The brand is on sale in five stores in New York and 25 across the USA.

Another success story is munthe plus simonsen an award-winning design company, founded in 1994 by designers Naja Munthe and Karen Simonsen. Naja Munthe overtook the company in 2009. munthe plus simonsen, who in October 2000 debuted at the pret-à-porter fashion week in Paris, are sold in more than 200 shops in 15 different countries. Karen Simonsen formerly of munthe plus simonsen has started her own brand `Karen by Simonsen´ that was launchd under Fashion Week in August 2009. Peter Jensen is a great favorite on the London fashion scene and was the first fashion designer to win a three year art stipendium from the Danish Art Counsel in 2009

Operating on an even larger scale are successful international Danish brands like Matinique. Part Two and In-Wear, who export their stylish, casual clothing for men and women to the UK, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, and Canada among others. Carli Gry's Cottonfield and Jackpot lines are also sold throughout Scandinavia, Europe, Canada, and Japan, and the company has added a sports line to its portfolio with its take-over of Swedish brand Peak Performance (sportswear) and Tiger of Sweden, (men's wear). Other well-known names like Vero Moda, Sand and Samsøe & Samsøe have also played an important role in promoting Danish fashion abroad. 

Fabulous Furs
Fur is once again a hot fabric with designers around the world. Danish furrier Birger Christensen remains the leading fur and fashion house in Scandinavia and has a strong presence internationally with in-house fur departments and agents in the USA, Canada, Japan, and Europe. In addition, Birger Christensen designs for top international labels, including Prada, Donna Karan, Dolce & Gabbana, Kathleen Madden, and the label is also available at Chanel and Hermès boutiques around the world.

Peter Ingwersen, formerly brand director of Levi, who has created the label Noir: Sexy, stylish clothes for women filching elements from the male wardrobe and transforming them into unadulterated luxe. While prize-winning, young designer Susanne Rützou has her own brand: ‘Rützou'.

Similarly forward-looking is Kopenhagen Fur, who makes a point of encouraging fresh, new talent and appoint several new, young designers each year. This openness to innovation has already paid dividends for the company through the development of a unique form of textile produced by knitting with fur. Denmark is also the market leader in mink, and Kopenhagen Fur is the main supplier of mink and fox to fashion houses in Milan, Madrid, Tokyo, New York, and Paris.

The winner of the Danish ‘The Golden Fur Pin Award 2007' was menswear designer Hans Christian Madsen. His speciality is knitwear and that showed in his collection where one of his contributions was a sweater made of knitted mink. He is please with the prize, which besides The Golden Fur Pin itself also includes mink furs in Copenhagen Purple quality and the opportunity to co-operate with Kopenhagen Studio. Hans Christian Madsen is already selling some of his collections in London.

Another renowned fur label is Great Greenland, whose designer Bente Houmann Andersen specializes in working with sealskin.

Copenhagen ranks among the top ten fashion centres in the world
Ranking among the top ten fashion centres in the world and a cool No. 1 in Scandinavia, Denmark has gradually risen to a high level of fashion consciousness, hosting two annual fashion fairs that take place in August 2010. Running parallel with the trade-only fashion fair Copenhagen Fashion Week is the open-to-the public Copenhagen Fashion Festival where fashionistas and shoppers alike can share the fashion vibe.

Fashion Fairs
Copenhagen International Fashion Fair (trade only) has over 1000 fashion suppliers representing a total of 1700 international brand name collections in the region's largest exhibition centre, Bella Center. Here you will find the more established, larger scale traders' show.  

An exclusive, design fashion fair called Gallery, that started in 2004, is meant to entice an expected 15.000 international buyers to Copenhagen. It takes place in Forum Copenhagen and will include 125 of the leading Scandinavian design brands including Nordic names such as Mads Nørgaard, Malene Briger, Rützou, Ivan Grundahl,Samsøe&Samsøe and Designers Remix.

Every February and August, Copenhagen hosts the Copenhagen International Fashion Fair (trade only). This is the biggest event of its kind in Northern Europe with over 857 fashion suppliers representing a total of 1688 international brand name collections in the region's largest exhibition centre, Bella Center. Here you will find the more established, larger scale traders' show.

In Øksnehallen, at Vesterbro, the CPH VISION is known to be among the most trendsetting and innovative fashion fairs in Europe. With its location in central Copenhagen they present the "crème de la crème" of Scandinavian design mixed with a selection of international designers from all over the world. CPH Vision was established in 1998 and has achieved its international recognition because of its focus on the small and upcoming designers, and is therefore always an exciting and unpredictable fair to visit. CPH Vision lets the small and un-established designers take center stage, and is thereby the pivotal point for tomorrows fashion trends. CPH Vision's younger addition, Terminal-2 was launched in February 2009. Held in on, of the most impressive exhibition halls currently available, the 10,000 m2 old locomotive maintenance building from Danish Railway.

Designers Nest (patron is HRH Crown Princess Mary) is an integrated part of CPH Vision Fair, which, at no cost, gives design students and newly educated designers from Danish and Scandinavian Design Schools the possibility of showing their work and talent in a professional and international fashion forum.

Vision Lab, part of CPH Vision, is located in a building right by Øksnehallen and houses twenty small, quirky, edgy designers who have been using their resources to establish a name abroad and now have a new venue to meet their international customers.

The Danish Fashion Institute - a newly founded network organization created by and for the Danish fashion industry, organizes Copenhagen Fashion Week. The purpose is to develop an extensive network of industry professionals to promote, market and drive Danish fashion forward.

In 2002, Denmark Fashion was established in Copenhagen and is an independent organization promoting Danish fashion internationally. Denmark Fashion promotes Danish fashion companies and designers. The organization works for the Danish fashion industry, supporting the well-established leading Danish fashion companies, the new and upcoming, the talented, the unique and the creative fashion forces with Danish origin. The fashion portal denmarkfashion.com has been recognized as the leading fashion portal in Scandinavia.

Fashion designers mentioned above:

Other addresses of interest

Jewellery