Small talks – big conversations: SS24 Talk Progam with Vogue Business

Our SS24 talk series with Vogue Business as media partner make up a vital element of the official schedule each season, representing an opportunity to dig deeper into wider issues facing fashion.

For the first time this SS24, Copenhagen Fashion Week will bring the talk program to a live audience, with a dedicated talk being held each day during the SS24 edition in the Copenhagen Fashion Week Talk hub hosted in the Polestar Space, right in the center of the city. The talks will be open to the public and will cover a range of subjects including Cultivating Digital Communities in Fashion, Changing the Perception of Beauty, Leading the Future: The Role of the Emerging Designer, Copenhagen Fashion Week x Pandora Talk: The Value of Craft in Fashion’s Future of Transparency and Methods & Materials: Innovations in Fashion.

The talk will activate the global network of Copenhagen Fashion Week, inviting industry leaders from a variety of organizations and practices to speak across the topics at hand.

Furthermore, Copenhagen Fashion Week is excited to announce Vogue Business as an official media partner, who will use their global audience to amplify the reach of the talks that will be launched as podcasts post release.

Attendance to the talk program is open to the public and will be on a first come first served basis and will include a 30 minute panel talk followed by a 15 minute Q&A.

Vogue Business — Exclusive CPHFW discount

Vogue Business offers a truly global perspective on the fashion industry, exploring how cultural trends and global patterns will impact luxury and creative businesses. Harnessing insights from technologists, trend forecasters, futurists, and innovators, Vogue Business goes beyond the headlines to connect you with the fast-moving fashion and beauty industries. Become a Member today and save 20% on the usual rate with the promo code CPHFW20.

Changing the Perception of Beauty

What obstacles and opportunities are facing modern definitions of beauty in an increasingly fractured society

7 August / 12:30 – 13:15 CEST / Polestar Space, Kristen Bernikows Gade 3, Copenhagen K

Moderator:

Lucy Maguire, Senior Trends Editor, Vogue Business

Lucy Maguire is senior trends editor at Vogue Business. Alongside her focus on fashion consumer trends, digital strategies, and youth culture, Lucy leads the Vogue Business Next-Gen Edit, spotlighting emerging brands and startups across the fashion and beauty industries. She has previously worked with the Vogue Global Network, Suzy Menkes and British Vogue.


Panelists:

Imane Asry, Creative & Diversity Consultant and Digital Content Creator

Imane Asry, known as @fashionwithfaith on Instagram, is a fashion influencer from Stockholm now based in Copenhagen, creative & diversity consultant , and digital content creator. With her unique style and Scandinavian modest fashion approach, she inspires women worldwide. Imane's fashion expertise and commitment to diversity and inclusion earned her the "Look of the Year 2020" award at the Swedish Elle Gala. She has been featured in several media outlets such as Vogue, Elle, and has collaborated with brands like Cos, Arket, and Valentino. Imane Asry has collaborated with Swedish retailer NA-KD on a successful design collection and was recognized as one of Sweden's top inclusive co-creation collaborators through her impactful campaign with Swedish interior design company Jotex. Imane's influence and impact in the fashion industry are undeniable, making her a true icon in the world of modest fashion.

Jackie Kankam, Senior Director, Sustainability and Social Impact, Deciem

In 2020 Jackie joined Deciem and The Ordinary as Senior Director of Sustainability and Social Impact at Deciem. Jackie leads the overarching company initiatives towards doing good to our people, planet, and animals. Jackie’s role develops, communicate, and execute the sustainability strategy across internal departments and external stakeholders, collaborating on all facets of the business and needs. Their work has been recognized by industry leaders, winning The Best Ethical Initiative for the Community and Family Funds, as well as the voting and protesting days available to the Deciem family in the Marie Claire Sustainability Awards 2021. Jackie also won the Meaningful Business 100 Award in 2022, joining a community of individuals recognized for their work combining profit and purpose to help achieve the United Nations Global Goals.

Osama Al Naser, Content Creator & Model

Model and influencer Osama will be joining the panel to talk about his experiences and learnings from the fashion industry. Osama has worked with several fashion brands, and have the recent years participated in numerous panel talks teaching the youth and politicians about digital violations.

Methods & Materials: Innovation in Fashion

How are designers, manufacturers, supppliers and educators exploring new fabrication frontiers in fashion?

8 August / 14:00 – 14:45 CEST / Polestar Space, Kristen Bernikows Gade 3, Copenhagen K

Moderator:

Emily Chan, Senior Sustainability & Features Editor, British Vogue

Emily Chan is the Senior Sustainability & Features Editor at British Vogue and covers all things related to sustainability in fashion and beyond, from the designers pushing for change to the climate activists we should be paying attention to.


Panelists:

Alec Leach

Alec Leach is the author of The World Is On Fire But We're Still Buying Shoes. He has been profiled in the New York Times, GQ, Harper's Bazaar and Dazed, and published opinion pieces in Business of Fashion, i-D and The Guardian. Previously, he was Digital Fashion Editor at Highsnobiety.

Jenny Fredricsdotter, Sales Manager & Circular Business Manager, Renewcell

Jenny Fredricsdotter has been working with sustainability in fashion for more than 10 years and joined Renewcell in 2017. In Renewcell she is working with textile brand partners and textile producers towards closing the loop in fashion industry. Jenny has over twenty years of experience from the fashion industry working with buying, production and sourcing in Europe and Asia for companies like H&M and Gina Tricot. She studied Textile Economics at the Textile College of Fashion in Borås, Sweden and has thereafter continued to study fashion sustainability, circular economy and mindful consumption. Jenny lives in Stockholm, Sweden.

Paul Dillinger, VP & Head of Global Design Innovation, Levi Strauss & Co.

Paul Dillinger is the Vice President of Global Design Innovation at LS&Co. Following his passion for sustainability, Dillinger has been an integral partner with the company’s Social and Environmental Sustainability group to develop front-end methods for applied sustainability in the design process. Dillinger led the design team that created the Wellthread collection, a result of a fellowship with the Aspen Institute. He is the first fashion designer to earn a First Movers Fellowship with the renowned organization. Before joining LS&Co., Dillinger worked as a fashion designer and brand development specialist for 16 years at a variety of fashion houses in New York, including Calvin Klein and DKNY. He has held faculty appointments at California College of the Arts and Washington University in St. Louis, and has also served as a designer-in-residence at the Rhode Island School of Design through a program sponsored by Levi Strauss & Co. Dillinger received his BFA in fashion design from Washington University in St. Louis. After graduation, he moved to Milan as the first Fulbright Scholar in the field of fashion design, researching the influence of emerging luxury markets on high-fashion design direction and commercialization strategies. Concurrent with this research, he earned a Master of Fine Arts from the Domus Academy in 1995.

Rebekka Bay, Creative Director, Marimekko

Rebekka Bay was appointed Marimekko’s Creative Director in September 2020. In her role, she leads Marimekko’s design team and is responsible for the company’s design strategy for fashion, bags and accessories as well as home products. Bay moved to Marimekko from the position of Creative Director of Uniqlo Global Innovation Center in which she has split her time between New York and Tokyo. She has previously worked as Head of Design and Product of Everlane in New York and San Francisco (2015–2017) as well as Creative Director EVP of Gap Global Design in New York (2012–2015), Creative Director of Bruuns Bazaar in Copenhagen (2011–2012) and Creative Director of COS in London (2006–2011). Bay was a member of Marimekko’s Board of Directors from April 2017 until June 2020. Rebekka has graduated in fashion design from Designskolen Kolding from Copenhagen, Denmark.

Cultivating Digital Communities within Fashion

How can digital platforms and metaverses connect, inspire and educate within fashion?

9 August / 14:00 – 14:45 CEST / Polestar Space, Kristen Bernikows Gade 3, Copenhagen K

Moderator:

Charlene Prempeh, Founder of A Vibe Called Tech

Charlene Prempeh is the founder of A Vibe Called Tech, a Black-owned creative agency that is dedicated to approaching creativity through an intersectional lens. Charlene is also a Financial Times HTSI columnist and contributing editor who writes about design, travel, and culture. After studying PPE at Oxford University, she began a career in marketing and worked at some of the UK’s most prominent media platforms and art institutions including the BBC, The Guardian, and Frieze. More recently, she launched A Vibe Called Tech to encourage a culturally diverse lens in design, technology, arts, and culture by spearheading partnerships, events, research, and workshops across London and through her journalism and consultancy work. Since its establishment in 2018, A Vibe Called Tech has worked with brands including Gucci, Stine Goya, Faber, Frieze and institutions like Whitechapel Gallery, White Cube, RA and V&A East to deliver ambitious creative output that nourishes communities. In 2022, the agency launched Turned A, a cultural merchandising project which seeks to amplify key messages of the creative agency’s projects and its Art Consultancy arm, established to help clients connect seamlessly with artists. Charlene currently consults for the Royal Academy of Arts on partnerships and development, is on the editorial board of the Tate Magazine, a Dezeen Awards 2022 judge and is Chair of the Frieze 91 committee. Charlene’s debut book, Now You See Me: An Introduction to 100 Years of Black Design, will be published by Prestel in October 2023.

Panelists:

Benjamin Wymer, Director, Global Brand Experience, Snap Inc

Ben joined Snap, Inc. in 2021 as the Director of Global Brand Experience (GBX) for International Markets overseeing the creative direction and execution of Snap’s physical, virtual and hybrid experiential activations and events. He is based in London with a team covering EMEA and APAC. Previous to joining Snap Ben was the Marketing and Communications Director for designer Jonathan Anderson’s eponymous brand, JW Anderson. He has also held roles in Paris for Louis Vuitton and New York for Tommy Hilfiger.

Jennifer Dickinson, VP Brand & Content, Drest

Jennifier Dickinson is the VP Brand & Content at Drest, the gaming company that merges the creative worlds of luxury fashion, beauty and lifestyle with the infinite possibilities of the metaverse. In her role, she leads areas such as Creative, Editorial, Communications, Talent Partnerships and Brand Management. Jennifer began her career in publishing, working on multiple B2B and consumer titles. She spent five years at Elle UK, holding titles such as Beauty Director, Deputy Editor and eventually Acting Editor in Chief, before taking on the same role at Harper’s Bazaar UK. From there, she moved on to focus on digital, becoming Content Director at Net-A-Porter for 7 years, launching and looking after all digital editorial content for the leading retailer. After a period of consulting for various luxury and direct-to-consumer brands with a focus on responsible retailing, she joined Drest in 2020.

Lucy Maguire, Senior Trends Editor, Vogue Business

Lucy Maguire is senior trends editor at Vogue Business. Alongside her focus on fashion consumer trends, digital strategies and youth culture, Lucy leads the Vogue Business Next-Gen Edit, spotlighting emerging brands and startups across the fashion and beauty industries. She has previously worked with the Vogue Global Network, Suzy Menkes and British Vogue.

Copenhagen Fashion Week x Pandora

The Value of Craft in Fashion's Future of Transparency

How important is the role of craft in fashion's future and how can its value be enhanced amidst new regulations and evolving customer education and expectations?

10 August / 14:00 – 14:45 CEST / Polestar Space, Kristen Bernikows Gade 3, Copenhagen K

Moderator:

Sophia Li, Journalist

Sophia Li is an award-winning journalist, climate advocate and public speaker. Her life’s work is to make talking about issues such as climate justice, human rights and web3 more accessible, more digestible, and more human— redefining how information is communicated in the 21st century while cutting through the content pollution. Harvard named her one of the top climate communicators of 2022 and she was awarded Refinery29’s Sustainable Innovator Award. She is the host of Meta’s podcast, Climate Talks. Sophia's journalistic reporting has appeared in CNN, Earthshot Prize and the United Nations with bylines in Vogue, New York Magazine, Washington Post, and Atmos. She is the co-founder of Steward, serving as the co-chair of the World Economic Forum’s Web3 Sustainability Coalition. Sophia is also the sustainability advisor to skincare brand Cocokind and an official United Nations Human Rights Champion. Sophia was previously the Entertainment Media Editor at American Vogue helping to create Vogue’s digital and social voice.

Panelists:

Marissa Saretsky, Global VP of Sustainability, Pandora

Marissa Saretsky is a seasoned corporate sustainability leader working to improve social and environmental performance through policy and strategy development, operations, stakeholder engagement and advocacy, performance tracking, communications and reporting. At Pandora, she is responsible for driving the development and implementation of Pandora’s global sustainability strategy, covering the company’s full value chain. This includes setting ambitious climate and energy, human rights, responsible sourcing, and product circularity targets and overseeing the programs, projects and relevant teams designed to achieve them. Previously, she held roles at Article One, Gap Inc., and Ernst & Young. She was also a lecturer on sustainability at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business before moving to Copenhagen. Marissa has a Master’s degree in Sustainable Development from the Institut d’études politiques de Paris (Sciences Po), and a BA in International Relations and French from New York University.

Julie Gilhart, Chief Development Officer & President, Tomorrow Ltd & Tomorrow Projects

Fashion industry veteran Julie Gilhart is Chief Development Officer of Tomorrow and President of Tomorrow Consulting where she champions and fosters the power of entrepreneurial creativity within the global fashion industry. Ms. Gilhart’s deep knowledge and experience enable her to identify opportunities with established brands who desire to reposition themselves through entry into new markets, launch creative collaborations, and develop progressive business initiatives, especially as they pertain to sustainability, circular fashion and corporate social responsibility. She is known for her ability to spot and develop talent, recognizing potential in new, emerging designers and business platforms, and helping to integrate them into the community.

Paolina Russo & Lucile Guilmard, Founders & Creative Directors, Paolina Russo

Paolina Russo merges futurism and nostalgia through community-driven craft and innovation. From their London-based studio, Alex Russo and Lucile Guilmard bring together artisanal methods and industrial production, seamlessly connecting heritage craftsmanship and modern technology. By distilling the essence of craftsmanship to its core, the designers push it to new, modern directions. Traditional crafts such as knitwear, natural dyeing, and wood carving are modernized and challenged, resulting in a unique aesthetic blend of folkloric tradition and futuristic innovation. Paolina Russo thrives on a collaborative ethos, working hand-in-hand with the makers in factories. This unique approach enables the brand to continuously challenge and expand design boundaries. In addition to winning the Zalando Visionary Award, Paolina Russo is a finalist of the LVMH Prize 2023, as well as of the International Woolmark Prize 2023. The brand is part of 1 Granary's support and mentorship programme.

Leading the Future: The role of the emerging designer

Within a constantly shifting climate, what have emerging designers come to represent and symbolise to the global fashion industry?

11 August / 14:00 – 14:45 CEST / Polestar Space, Kristen Bernikows Gade 3, Copenhagen K

Moderator:

Lakeisha Goedluck, Freelance Journalist

Lakeisha Goedluck is a freelance writer from London who specialises in fashion and has written for a number of publications including Dazed Magazine, Vogue Scandinavia and Hero Magazine.

Panelists:

Ane Lynge-Jorlén, Director, Alpha

Alpha is helmed by Ane Lynge-Jorlén. Since becoming director in 2019, Ane has made significant changes in terms of the overall creative direction, selection process and she has secured partnerships with Browns Fashion, Bottega Veneta, Trussardi, MM6 Margiela, Magasin and CIFF, alongside collaboration with Nordic museums and funding from The Danish Arts Foundation, The Nordic Culture Foundation and The National Bank of Denmark. Ane holds a PhD in Fashion Studies and she has been a lecturer of Fashion Studies at University of Arts London, Parsons Paris and Lund University and has published books and research articles on fashion internationally. She was previously editor of Vestoj and a fashion critic for the Danish broadsheet Weekendavisen. Ane has curated exhibitions on contemporary fashion across in Scandinavia, and she is a member of the editorial board of International Journal of Fashion Studies. Ane is Deputy Chairwoman of Textilskolen (DK) and is a member of the Copenhagen Fashion Week show committee and is Special Advisor to Copenhagen Fashion Week’s CPHFW NEWTALENT Scheme. In 2020, Ane received an Elle Style Award for her work with Alpha.

Cengiz Güdücu, Founder, Cengiz Güdücu

Designer and Multi-artist Cengiz Güdücü established his namesake brand from a basement in Copenhagen in 2022, after graduating from The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Art, School of Design in 2021. Born and raised in the Sydhavn neighborhood of Copenhagen, Designer and Multi-Artist Cengiz Güdücü draws inspiration from his adolescent surroundings and his Kurdish heritage.

Elisabet Stamm, Founder, Stamm

Stamm was founded and launched in 2022 by the Danish designer Elisabet Stamm. Stamm is a Scandinavian brand with an international outlook. The brand was announced as winner of the ZSA Zalando Sustainability Award upon showing its debut FW23 runways show during Copenhagen Fashion Week. Elisabet describes her approach to the creations as ‘truck poetry’. With a globetrotter family background, bright personality and a dreamy, visionary mind - Stamm's main characteristic is the dualism that can be found in different forms, such as strong vs sensitive, high fashion with a low-key approach, truck vs couture, calm vs dynamic. Diverse meetings, conversations are key to the brand, which is why ‘exchange’ has become an extension to the brand name.