The sun shone on Ciff, Revolver and Copenhagen Fashion Week as buyers and brands once again buzzed into town, Drapers reports from the Scandi style capital.
The sun was shining, and the mercury rose for the spring/summer 23 season in Copenhagen this week, as the city welcomed back the fashion industry.
Womenswear, menswear and accessory trade show CIFF was held in its usual home, the Bella Center, a short drive from the city centre, on 10-12 August.
More than 700 European and UK brands exhibited this season in the sprawling 645,000 sq ft event space, which was artfully curated into menswear, womenswear, sustainable and more commercial sections.
Footfall was reported to have risen by 50% year on year by Friday morning. At the AW22 edition of CIFF in February, held just as Covid travel restrictions were lifting in Denmark and across Europe, there were 8,000 visitors, with 500 brands exhibiting.
Christina Neustrup, outgoing director of CIFF, told Drapers: "I'm happy with the final show, I can see now that we are post-pandemic – we got people together, and you can feel that things are buzzing, it's good to hand things over when they are on the right track."
She continues that: "I'm happy with international visitors, from Asia, the US and Europe. People are returning – Copenhagen and CIFF is becoming a staple for most buyers. People are contacting us wanting to exhibit, and speak to the buyers they actually want to speak to."
Sofie Dolva former business unit manager at L’Oreal, and CCO of tech-based beauty brand Lulab, will replace Neustrup.
UK buyers in attendance at CIFF included Browns, Harrods, Selfridges, Fenwick and London premium menswear independent End.
London Fashion Week menswear designer Foday Dumbuya, creative director of menswear brand Labrum London, who was exhibiting at Ciff, told Drapers: “I’ve been coming here for a few years now [since 2017]. [The organisers] support you a lot in terms of giving you space or visibility. It's always good to be here. It's a lot smaller [this year]. It’s nicely curated at the moment – before the pandemic it was quite huge and you could easily get lost.”
Ashley Marc Hovelle founder of Berlin based menswear brand Offt, praised CIFF’s “community” spirit. He ssaid he had written orders during the show and praised the high calibre of buyers in attendance, including Italian luxury chain Julian Fashion.
Nevertheless, he told Drapers that the buying landscape had changed: “10 years ago you would just write orders [during a trade show], but it’s a different industry now, people are more cautious. Some young brands don’t have big marketing budgets, and stores sometimes won’t take a risk on a new brand.”
Sebastian Thorhaung, ecommerce manager for Copenhagen-based men’s streetwear brand BLS Hafnia, agreed. He explained that he had a good show, but that trade shows are now more a way for a brand to establish its presence, and orders are written during follow-up meetings.
“People are not that willing to take a risk. I don’t know how many stores here are looking for new brands – they know what works and it’s a big move to get a new brand in.”
Thorhaung added that “the good weather is a bit of a curse", as buyers wanted to accelerate meetings to go out and enjoy the sunshine.
Mithun Ramanandi, buying manager for Fenwick menswear, told Drapers that he had expected to see more menswear at CIFF, adding: “When we first walked in, we saw a handful of brands we wanted to buy, but there are lots more brands for the older market, and not as much as we were expecting there to be.”
Ramanandi continued that he left Revolver with a list of brands he wanted to work with. The show was held simultaneously on 10-12 August across three venues in the centre of Copenhagen. The Forum area had a menswear focus, and included established brands such as Rails, Nudie Jeans, Wood Wood and J Lindeberg. The Øksnehallen, near the city’s Meatpacking district, showed womenswear brands and accessories, while Danish fashion conglomerate Bestseller had a space dedicated to its brands at a separate space. Shuttle buses regularly took attendees between the venues.
Mackenzie Bryant, managing director EMEA at men’s and women's wear brand Rails, which had a stand at Revolver Forum, told Drapers that it was “refreshing” to be back at a trade show: “We’ve spoken to a mix of existing customers and new accounts, including buyers from Sweden, Denmark and Germany.”
Bryant added that wholesale was “really leveraging retail”, with buyers having to walk through the brand’s Covent Garden flagship store, which opened in February 2022, to access its showroom.
Martin Schoop, menswear buyer for Danish department store Magasin du Nord, told Drapers that he believed there was a “hype” around Copenhagen, and friends in the business had travelled in from Berlin. He added: “It looks like, especially for northern Europe, [trade shows] are getting bigger and bigger.”
Swedish denim brand Nudie Jeans was at Revolver Forum after a 15-year break from trade shows. Account manager Calle Hammar told Drapers that the first day was “amazing”: existing clients placed orders, but he noted there were not many from the UK, and most were from Sweden and Denmark.
Revolver's Øksnehallen had a womenswear focus, with rails of pastel and floral designs lining the space. French Connection was exhibiting after a few seasons away from the trade show circuit.
Sylvia De Silva, head of international sales, told Drapers that the show had "exceeded expectations, and the majority of buyers being from Sweden and Norway".
Director of Revolver Christian Maibom told Drapers that footfall levels across the Forum and Øksnehallen were “almost” back to 2019’s pre-pandemic levels, with 500 brands exhibiting between its venues.
“This is the last edition in the shadow of the pandemic,” Maibom told Drapers. He noted that inflation was being felt in Denmark, and pledged to keep costs low for upcoming editions of the trade show by sticking with the simple design.
Samsøe Samsøe SS23
Spirits were high at Copenhagen Fashion Week, where designers showcased, joyous, colourful looks and made full use of the city’s most scenic locations. Men’s and women's wear brand Wood Wood shut down the elegant Lille Langebro cycle and pedestrian bridge, showing distressed denim co-ords, orange camouflage prints and sportswear-inspired hoodies, and baseball shirts with splashes of neon prints.
Womenswear brand Baum und Pfardgarten threw a street party, and hosted a high-energy catwalk outside its store in the Vognmagergade area – much to the bemusement of passing locals who were stopped in their tracks. The collection consisted of leopard print dresses and jackets, candy pink twin-sets, slouchy tailoring, and lashings of black and white lace.
Ganni put on a showstopping display as the sun set on Ofelia Plads docks, with a female BMX biker opening the show by jumping a set of mini-ramps, decorated in playful pastel chalk drawings. The brand also announced a collaboration with UK brand Barbour: a set of 50 unique, upcycled pieces of outerwear that will be available from October.
Poppy Lomax, womenswear buying manager at Harrods, said that it was "refreshing to see such a full schedule", and that Norwegian men's and women's wear brand Holzweiler, Hungarian womenswear brand Aeron and Copenhagen's native Rotate were fashion week highlights, adding that:
"Ganni always steals our heart in Copenhagen. The setting and music create an atmosphere you just want to be part of. The show covered every aspect of your wardrobe with a really fresh but more grown-up colour palette.
Lomax pointed to the sheer trend, embellishments and a pink colour palette as trends that stood out at Copenhagen Fashion Week.
Stine Goya’s SS23 collection showed its signature brights, with flashes of neon citrus shades, watercolour pastels and shimmering embellishments. Backstage, the eponymous designer told Drapers that the upcoming opening of her first London store was “like a dream” and she could not wait to plant her flag in the city.
Men’s and women's wear label Samsøe Samsøe took a utilitarian approach to the season, showing oversized jackets and cargo trousers in slate grey, cream and pale yellow tones, punctuated by clashing orange and fuchsia pieces – a colourway that seems to be a firm favourite among designers in the city.
Copenhagen is bursting with energy once again, and has indeed shaken off the vestiges of the pandemic, as visitors flood back into the city. And the local fashion industry is welcoming them back with open arms.
Tags CIFF Copenhagen Copenhagen Fashion Week Revolver trade shows
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