Historic Copenhagen Fashion Week partnership

The partnership has culminated in the establishment of a joint body that is to manage and coordinate the marketing of Copenhagen Fashion Week, which today can boast a yearly attraction of more than 100.00 buyers and press to the fashion fairs.

One of the first decisions of the newly established partnership between these players has been to bring forward Copenhagen Fashion Week February 2011 by one week – now rescheduled from week 6 to week 5 2011. The autumn fair will follow accordingly, by rescheduling from week 32 to week 31.
 

 “The Scandinavian brands in particular have long wanted an earlier start and we are now very proud – on behalf of the industry and thanks to the new partnership – to be able to meet their wishes,”  says Peter Fenger Selchau, CEO of CPH Vision & Terminal-2.

The key players behind this initiative have invited Danish, as well as Swedish and Norwegian organisations and brands, to become part of the initiative under the same terms as its founders, with the goal of placing Copenhagen on the top of the fashion agenda and developing the city into the ‘fashion capital of Scandinavia’. The founders having fruitful discussions with the Danish Fashion Institute with the aim of incorporating the organisation into the newly established partnership.
 

 “Copenhagen Fashion Week is not only a Danish industry event. It is also a networking venue and above all an order platform for most of the Scandinavian fashion brands. The success of Copenhagen Fashion Week so far is a direct result of many years’ continuous work and dedication by the original fair organisers and trade organisations and recently, of course, the efforts of the Danish Fashion Institute to contribute to the professionalism of Copenhagen Fashion Week,” says Christian Gregersen of Gallery.

All the founders of the new partnership are unanimous in their understanding of the challenges that Copenhagen faces as a fashion and trade destination as a result of international recession and competition from the Berlin Fashion Week in particular. To maintain and further develop Copenhagen’s status and legitimacy, it is very important to pool resources and focus on fellowship, shared values, and highlight the Scandinavian element.
 

In line with the new initiative the partnership will also be presenting a fashion week stand at Copenhagen Airport and, for the first time ever, a shuttle service for press and buyers will be up and running between all fairs this coming August.

Through an already existing collaboration between the fashion fairs of Copenhagen, Dansk Mode& Textil and Danish Fashion Institute, preparations are already underway to invite and fly in international press and buyers, establish a joint website and work on a common marketing plan – all due to the immediate efforts of the partnership and to resources provided by M-Fonden, the Danish Finance Ministry’s commercial fund, to promote and market Danish fashion internationally.
 

This is the first time a partnership of this magnitude has been set up between the key players of Copenhagen Fashion Week and it has so far had been extremely positive. In collaboration they will be responsible for general commercial activities during fashion week, including advertising, website, liaison with buyers, travel and accommodation services, shuttle services, airport stand, joint ticket services for all fairs, etc
 

 “It is time for us to admit that we’ve reached a point where we need to develop the success Copenhagen has experienced for the past 10 years even further, and this is only possible through commitment and collaboration between the main forces in Scandinavia,” says Peter Fenger Selchau, CEO of CPH Vision and Terminal-2. He continues: “Unlike Paris Fashion Week, the success of Copenhagen – the number of visiting buyers and press – is based on its commercial platform from the Scandinavian brands and the fairs in Copenhagen. Without this aspect we would have a fashion week resembling Oslo or Stockholm.”
 

The new partnership is non-profit. This means that any profit will not be shared by the participating organisations, but be dedicated exclusively to the onward development of Copenhagen Fashion Week.
 

 “We need to focus on and nurture the unique advantages and differences that Copenhagen and Copenhagen Fashion Week have instead of putting so much effort into constantly comparing ourselves to Paris or London”, says  Sales- and marketing director Jesper Åndahl from Bella Center/CIFF. He adds:
 

“I am very proud of this newly established partnership and the opportunities it will bring.” 
 “The primary area we need to focus on in this partnership is how to bring more buyers to Copenhagen Fashion Week – and to ensure that they have a professional and memorable experience here. The international buyer should not only be subject to greater marketing pressures, but should also have a user-friendly website at their disposal to guide and support them in their decision about whether to go to Copenhagen – and which brands to visit. Finally, buyers should be ensured the best possible support and service in Denmark during Copenhagen Fashion Week so that time at the fairs is spent productively – and so buyers go home and recommend Copenhagen Fashion Week to their colleagues," states Executive Director Kasper Eis of Dansk Mode & Textil.
 

For further information please contact:
Jesper Åndahl, Sales- and Marketing Director, Bella Center (CIFF), jesper.andahl@bellacenter.dk Ph: +45 32472101
Christian Gregersen, CEO, Gallery, christian@gregersen.cc Ph: +45 40330930
Peter Fenger, CEO, CPH Vision/Terminal -2, pfs@cphvision.dk Ph: +45 39648586
Kasper Eis, Executive Director, Dansk Mode & Textil, ke@danskmodeogtextil.dk Ph: +45 22220400