Copenhagen Designers Seek International Growth in Hard Times for Luxury
COPENHAGEN — Times are changing for Copenhagen Fashion Week, and the buzz is fading.
Some of the city’s hottest brands, such as Cecilie Bahnsen and Ganni, have moved their shows to Paris, while others such as Another Aspect, Mfpen and Helmstedt opted to sit out the fall 2025 season. The once-hot label Saks Potts closed its doors in November last year.
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In her opening speech at Copenhagen Fashion Week, Cecilie Thorsmark, CEO of Copenhagen Fashion Week, described last year as “historically challenging for our industry.”
She emphasized “how unforgiving the business landscape has become, and it definitely served as a reminder that the urgency to adapt to shifting market demands has never been greater.”
In an interview, she was understanding of designers’ decisions to show elsewhere.
“We only wish our brands that choose to showcase abroad the best of success,” said Thorsmark, adding that the relationships remain strong.
“Since Ganni went to Paris we are delighted to have welcomed them as a valued patron for our New Talent scheme, which has only further solidified their dedication to Copenhagen Fashion Week and our talent incubator program,” she added.
The designers who did stage events put on a strong show, and it’s clear they are all looking beyond Copenhagen to grow in a difficult market for fashion and luxury.
Around the World
Pretty Danish designs have now reached well beyond Scandinavia, and the brands are pouring all of their effort into markets in Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and North America.
“We have the U.K. and U.S. as our main and most important markets and as everybody knows the U.K. has been impacted since Brexit and the inflation. We are facing softer markets and adjusting our plans and projections to adapt to the new situation,” said Stine Goya, a regular on the Copenhagen Fashion Week schedule, who staged her show at the Kunsten Museum of Modern Art in Aalborg, a town four hours north of Copenhagen.
“The Middle East performs for us, and we are investing more in developing these markets as we believe that there is further potential for us in this region,” she added.
For fall, the designer toned down her colorful floral creations and presented 15 concise looks in a sophisticated lineup that included tailoring in midnight navy; a long-sleeve striped polo shirt with voluminous arms; and florals in watercolors on dresses and separates.
Goya has onboarded Browns’ former buying director Ida Petersson to its board in order to facilitate “future development and to get international experience.”
Petersson also sits on the board of Swedish label Filippa K.
Rotate said the Middle East and southern Europe are among its best-performing markets, while Germany tops the list due to local partnerships with key retailers.
“We are building on this momentum with local collaborations and activations to connect even more with our international community,” said Denise Christensen, the CEO of Birger Christensen Collective, the parent company of Rotate and Remain.
The focus on the Middle East was evident as Rotate toned down its collection, which in the past has been synonymous with flirty party clothes. The fall outing didn’t have the spark of past collections, and the fits were off, although the faux fur coats added a much-needed dash of personality.
At Another Aspect, Japan has been a source of inspiration and profit.
Part two of the brand’s Made in Japan collection, which was released before Copenhagen Fashion Week kicked off, the range handsomely used brushed lambswool, versatile outerwear and tailoring that’s part city and part country.
“We’re stronger than ever, with a thriving physical store, a seamless online presence, and an expanding retail network. This year, our retail partnerships are set to grow by 50 percent, with the Japanese market showing particularly strong momentum,” said Daniel Brøndt, cofounder of the brand.
“We’ve been considering opening a store in New York for quite some time, as we have a strong community there [too]. As an international brand, our vision is to establish stores in major cities worldwide, and New York could very well be our first step beyond Denmark’s borders,” he added.
The Rebels of Copenhagen
Other brands with a more rebellious aesthetic are also pursuing international growth.
Han Kjøbenhavn founder Jannik Wikkelsø Davidsen said the business is “performing well in the U.K., Germany and Denmark. Germany is a key market for us. The U.K. is strong in terms of culture and the audience we naturally resonate with and the U.S. is another important market where we continue to grow.”
His next steps are to break into the Japanese and Korean markets because he’s interested in them from an “emotional perspective, as they really connect with our brand.”
The show started more than 20 minutes late — a rarity in Copenhagen — and drew in more than 2,000 guests into a cold warehouse, where some guests arrived in tank tops and sheer bodysuits in the name of fashion.
The brand’s collection used faux fur, leather, denim and knee-high boots, often playing with the shapes and expanding them so largely they could fit into the costume departments of “Dune” or “Hotel Transylvania.”
Similar to Han Kjøbenhavn, Fine Chaos is also eyeing Asia as it looks to grow.
The brand specializes in antifashion with its distressed designs and T-shirts that replicate cigarette burns.
“We’ve learned that our primary customer might not be in Copenhagen. We have seen our market expand quickly in Asia, specifically China, Japan and South Korea, so we will aim to build even more on that,” said Marc C. Møllerskov, the brand’s creative director.
The brand has accumulated a handful of stockists from Likelihood in Seattle; Road Sign in Taipei, Taiwan; Halo Hasselt in Hasselt, Belgium, to HBX by Hypebeast in Hong Kong.
“Our customers and community share this ideal of being the antithesis to luxury, so the current slowdown of luxury doesn’t really affect us negatively,” said Møllerskov.
“Our base and community is here in Copenhagen, and we will forever have them at the forefront, as they have helped us build and stay alive in the hardest times. So we will never leave Copenhagen,” he added.
Good as Gold
Jewelry brands are faring better than their fashion counterparts, as the raw materials, such as diamonds and gold, carry long-term value.
“Last year, we reached our best end-of-the-year sales with our channels up by 30 percent,” said Sophie Bille Brahe, whose new collection had a celestial theme.
The jewelry designer used 9.55-mm or 13.55-mm pearls to replicate the different phases of the moon onto necklaces, bracelets or earrings.
The brand opened a store last year on Madison Avenue, and Brahe said the U.S. is her fastest growing market.
“The U.S. is up by 35 percent year-on-year, which represents 25 percent of our total turnover,” said Brahe.
The label will be going into Bergdorf Goodman in March with a dedicated space on the fine jewelry floor.
Numbers were also high for Tom Wood too.
“The business is thriving with steady growth across our key markets. In 2024, we achieved double-digit growth in revenue, with a 32 percent increase in online sales compared to the previous year,” said creative director Mona Jensen.
“We’ve expanded our footprint in Japan with our second retail space. Both stores have performed over budget the first year of their existence,” she added.
Tom Wood has found new business in the U.K. and U.S. market, while South Korea and China are blooming.
Small and Steady
Many homegrown accessories brands in Copenhagen are finding support for their creativity and business ventures within the fashion industry and the city’s creative spaces.
“It’s one of the reasons why this city has become a creative mecca for emerging brands — there’s a genuine spirit of innovation and collaboration,” said eyewear designer Vincent Catani.
The designer has just opened his first showroom in Copenhagen and has already seen a firm influx of organic footfall.
Catani said Denmark and Finland are his best-performing markets right now, but before he expands, he wants to establish his brand as the “biggest luxury eyewear brand in Scandinavia.”
His new collection, Florio, has been a year in the making and the frames have gone into production with the manufacturer Sabae Frame in Japan using Japanese titanium.
The designer was drawn to the material’s durability and light weight. He also looked at aerodynamics, from birds to planes.
Another emerging accessories brand on the rise is Aeslin, cofounded by Philip Reisz and Gustav V. Johansson.
The pair launched the brand in September 2024 with one crossbody bag in four colorways in 100 units that sold out instantly.
The brand has seen sales across the U.S., U.K., France, Spain and Italy.
The next steps the brand is looking at is to increase its units and categories.
“We’re currently working on expanding our product line into clothing, with the long-term vision of building an all-around brand,” said Reisz.
All About the Clothes
Successful brands, such as Ganni and Cecilie Bahnsen, have always relied on commercial, versatile offers that appeal to a wide audience with separates and dresses for different shapes, sizes, and different occasions.
OpéraSport designers Awa Malina Stelter and Stephanie Gundelach took their cues from Denmark’s King Frederik X, who was coronated last year and added bold geometric shapes and rich Art Deco textures with delicate lace dresses and hard embossed leather jackets and skirts.
“One of our greatest achievements is the high rate of repeat purchases, which reflects the strong, long-term relationships we’ve built with our customers,” said Stelter.
Astrid Andersen’s sophomore collection for her new label, Stel, encapsulated the art of layering with her models ending the show holding several hangers of each item they were wearing including padded gilets, pinstriped shirts and bomber jackets.
“All the pieces I create can be blended across buying seasons, making them versatile for both customers’ wardrobes and the selling floor,” she said.
The designer said that in the five months she’s been in business she’s already witnessed “steady growth with a strong direct-to-consumer business and having secured key stockists such as Storm in Denmark and Selfridges in London.”
Turning everyday clothes on their head, Berner Kühl presented a collection of beautifully relaxed silhouettes that included a wool grey overcoat worn over a gray suit; a black trenchcoat with its collars popped up like a vampire’s and a long-sleeve white T-shirt paired with matching pants that slouched at the hem.
“I am trying to be very pure and true to what I initially wanted. It’s focusing on old virtues like craftsmanship, tailoring, fabrications. It’s walking that fine line between boring and super interesting,” said the brand’s founder, Frederik Berner Kühl.
Since the pandemic, the brand has seen significant turnover growth year-on-year and from 2023 to 2024, they recorded an 89 percent turnover.
“The aim has always been to build a sustainable business, and albeit still a very small business, we are now slowly reaching that point,” said Kühl.
Alectra Rothschild, instead, is keeping her business small, and designing for a select clientele.
Her designs and shows are politically charged and informed. Her fall 2025 collection was led by the experience of being “transgender in today’s social landscapes. Every breath a trans person takes is a revolution.”
Rothschild’s business is a rarity in Copenhagen as it caters to a small community, where she doesn’t produce in bulk and only provides a made-to-order service.
Her designs have been worn by Michèle Lamy and Arca, the Venezuelan musician and record producer.
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