Two decades of celebrating Nordic fashion

Across 2026, Copenhagen Fashion Week will mark its 20-year anniversary, recognising both the evolution of the Nordic fashion industry over the past two decades and Copenhagen Fashion Week’s role in strengthening its international position.

Since 2006, the fashion industry has grown steadily, with total revenue increasing by 24%*, becoming Denmark’s third biggest export commodity. Driven by strong international demand, fashion exports have grown by 84%** and now account for two thirds of the total revenue created by the Danish fashion industry. Fashion today represents 5%*** of Denmark’s total merchandise exports, placing Danish and Nordic fashion at large as a valued region for global tastemakers, retailers and press alike. Copenhagen Fashion Week’s impact into this growth has resulted in a collaborative spirit fostered within the Nordics, building together a global spotlight to create the economic growth the territory experiences today.

The 20-year anniversary will be an opportunity to not only recognise these achievements, but to chart Copenhagen Fashion Week’s positive impact on the future.

*Danmarks Statistik , © www.statistikbanken.dk/VARER3), Courtesy of Creative Denmark
**Danmarks Statistik , © www.statistikbanken.dk/UHV7), Courtesy of Creative Denmark
***Dansk modeeksport når nyt højt niveau i 2025, Courtesy of Creative Denmark

What to expect in 2026

The 2026 editions (both AW26 and SS27) will be complemented by a series of international events, partnerships and projects that activate the global network that Copenhagen Fashion Week has built, as both a leading fashion organization and event as well as a catalyst for change within the fashion industry at large. These activations will be announced throughout the year, with the AW26 and SS27 editions as pivotal focus points.

Copenhagen Fashion Week will expect to welcome its highest record of visitors to Copenhagen during the January and August edition, with a series of shows, presentations, events, installations and exhibitions to present the best in Nordic talent.

The year will culminate in a unique activation highlighting the impact of Nordic creatives on a global scale, as well as a comprehensive book documenting the last 20 years of Copenhagen Fashion Week and what the future of fashion holds for the Nordics and beyond.

“Marking 20 years is first and foremost a moment to recognise the strength of the Nordic fashion community. Copenhagen Fashion Week has grown alongside the industry, and our role has always been to create a platform that brings people together, supports new voices and helps position Nordic fashion within a global context. As we look ahead, our focus remains on how fashion can continue to develop responsibly, creatively and collaboratively.”
- Cecilie Thorsmark, CEO of Copenhagen Fashion Week

Fostering and driving positive change

The introduction and subsequent implementation of the Sustainability Requirements in 2020 and 2023 respectively cemented Copenhagen Fashion Week’s role as the first fashion week organisation to introduce binding minimum standards, placing responsibility and long-term thinking at the centre of the fashion system. Supported by knowledge partners and an advisory board comprising leading industry experts, the Sustainability Requirements framework has not only been celebrated by the likes of the New York Times, The Guardian, BBC, Fast Company, Vogue, Vogue Business, Business of Fashion and Vogue Scandinavia amongst others, it has been adopted by the British Fashion Council, Fashion Council Germany, Oslo Runway, Norwegian Fashion Hub and Amsterdam Fashion Week. These collaborations mark a first for a major fashion week, establishing a shared approach to sustainability across fashion councils and representative bodies internationally. In 2026, the first updated set of Sustainability Requirements has been fully implemented, accompanied by the announcement of additional global partnerships throughout the year.

Building a climate of responsibility and respect

The Danish Fashion Ethical Charter continues to stand as an agenda-setting agreement built by a leading fashion week dedicated to safeguarding the wellbeing of professionals across the fashion industry, especially models. play a role in establishing beauty and body ideals. The Charter aims to protect models’ rights while raising awareness and influencing attitudes within the fashion industry, the media and society at large, particularly in relation to beauty standards and body ideals. Today, the ongoing work of the Charter is a central pillar of Copenhagen Fashion Week, ensuring that the rights and responsibilities of the fashion community remain a core focus to ensure a fair and just industry. By introducing mandatory health checks for models in collaboration with The Danish National Association for Eating Disorders and Self-Harm, the Charter has become the first of its kind to do so. By prioritizing models’ health and challenging conventional beauty standards, the Charter continues to evolve and set new benchmarks for the industry.

Supporting the next generation of Nordic talent

Copenhagen Fashion Week has continued to evolve throughout the years, carrying both a keen focus on representing the best of Nordic design, and with a keen dedication to support the next generation of Nordic talent. Since the inception of CPHFW NEWTALENT in 2022, Copenhagen Fashion Week’s talent incubator program, CPHFW NEWTALENT has come to act as a foundational support for brands in their early stages of their business, supporting across financial bursaries, mentoring and showcasing opportunities. In the four years since its creation, CPHFW NEWTALENT has supported a multitude of brands from across the Nordic region, has been recognized in leading and reputational publications and newspapers worldwide, continues to act as a valued resource for global talent competitions and recruiters, support, and has ensured a new ecosystem of emerging voices across the Nordics. Furthermore, the scheme has successfully constructed a patronage program within its foundation structure, allowing global leaders such as Pandora, CIFF, Ganni, Birger Christensen Collective, Vanguards Group, and ESPRIT to become vital supporters, investing in financial bursaries and aligning their own values of emerging design support with CPHFW NEWTALENT.

A global community

“In just two decades this young and ambitious platform has become a beacon of sustainability and thoughtful, progressive fashion. It has inspired the industry to rethink what a fashion week can be, showing how creativity and responsibility can go hand in hand. Copenhagen Fashion Week is a place where talent and people come first. They know these two ingredients ultimately create good business. It is a privilege to celebrate this milestone and to look forward to the next chapter of growth in bold and conscious fashion!”
- Julie Gilhart, Founder, Gilhart & Co.

“CPHFW has played a crucial role in putting Scandinavian and Danish fashion on the world stage, helping drive exports and establishing Copenhagen as an inevitable event in the global fashion calendar. At the same time, it has shown that a fashion week can inspire, drive and support positive changes for an entire industry, thereby setting a whole new standard.”
- Thomas Klausen, CEO Dansk Fashion & Textile and CPHFW Chairman

“As Copenhagen Fashion Week approaches its 20th anniversary, I am proud to see how the platform has evolved from a Nordic industry moment into a global catalyst for change. When we founded CPHFW, the ambition was to put Copenhagen and Nordic talent firmly on the global fashion map - and to earn Copenhagen a place alongside Paris, Milan, New York and London. Today, Copenhagen is widely recognised as the fifth fashion capital, despite the doubts we faced at the outset, even within Scandinavia. From there, we set out to build Global Fashion Agenda and the Global Fashion Summit - to put sustainability on the industry’s agenda and make it impossible to ignore. Under Cecilie Thorsmark’s leadership, CPHFW has reimagined what a fashion week can be, embedding ambitious sustainability requirements into the format itself and using the power of the platform to help drive the industry toward net positive impact. At a time when fashion remains one of the world’s most resource-intensive sectors, that kind of leadership - practical, measurable and collaborative - is exactly what progress looks like and how Copenhagen continues to set the pace - and raise the bar for the industry worldwide.”
- Eva Kruse, Co-Founder, Bee-Wild, Board Member & Founder Global Fashion Agenda, Advisor, Renoon, Founder of Copenhagen Fashion Week

“As an expat Scandi it has made me immensely proud to, under the leadership of Cecilie Torsmark and Isabella Rose Davey, witness the evolution of CPHFW from an amazing platform for Scandinavian talent to a change maker in the industry and a must stop on the fashion calendar. Outside of nurturing the new talents, many who have gone on to show on the international circuit and build multi million dollar businesses, the framework the CPHFW team have developed for sustainability has gone on to be adopted by other fashion cities, leading the way for change but always with heart. There is no place like Copenhagen and nowhere I rather be in January and August each year!”
- Ida Petersson, Co-Founder, Good Eggs

“Copenhagen Fashion Week represents everything I love about this city and its fashion community. It champions creativity and collaboration, supports new generations of talent, and reminds us that fashion is strongest when it’s built on connection, care and shared values.”
- Ditte Reffstrup, Creative Director, GANNI

“I have been admiring Copenhagen Fashion Week from afar and I cannot wait to go this coming January! To me, important and groundbreaking as the sustainability framework is, that’s not the main thing. It’s the atmosphere I am after, the sense of fun and purpose, admiring beautiful clothes while thinking intelligently about the how and why: how were they made and by whom, why will they be bought. Fashion is nothing without those stories, without the people who asks those questions, without the initiatives that encourage those questions being asked in the first place. Creativity is questioning the status quo; honesty and transparency is showing where we are at.”
- Orsola de Castro, Co-Founder, Fashion Revolution

“CPHFW is not only a leader in sustainable fashion but is one of the most fun and visually stimulating events in my fashion year!”
- Arizona Muse, Founder, DIRT