Small talks – big conversations: SS27 Talk Program supported by Mercedes-Benz
Our SS27 Talk Program, supported by Mercedes-Benz, makes up a vital element of the official Copenhagen Fashion Week schedule each season, representing an opportunity to explore the ideas, challenges, and opportunities shaping the future of fashion.
Copenhagen Fashion Week will bring the SS27 Talk Program to a live audience, with a dedicated session taking place each day at the Copenhagen Fashion Week Talk Hub, hosted in the Mercedes-Benz Studio in the heart of the city.
The Talk Program is open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis. Each session will feature a 30-minute panel discussion followed by a 15-minute Q&A. Drawing on Copenhagen Fashion Week’s global network, the program will bring together industry leaders from across a range of organisations and disciplines to share insights and perspectives on the topics shaping fashion today.
Designing the Future of Fashion: Collaboration, Innovation, and The Climate Pledge
Join The Climate Pledge and signatories Collina Strada and Circ for a conversation with Sophia Li exploring how The Climate Pledge is supporting the fashion and wider creative industry in its transition to net zero carbon by 2040.
Monday, 3 August / 10:00 - 10:45 CEST / Mercedes-Benz Studio, Købmagergade 3, 1150 Copenhagen K
Moderator:
Sophia Li — Award-Winning Journalist & UN Human Rights Champion
Sophia Li is an award-winning journalist and founder of STEWARD Media, using storytelling to drive systemic change in media and sustainability. She is the global correspondent for Prince William's Earthshot Prize, Impact Editor at Family Style, and sustainability advisor to Cocokind and Saie's Climate Board — with reporting for CNN, Vogue, Washington Post, and Atmos. Named one of Harper's Bazaar's 36 Voices Shaping Culture, Porter's 12 Incredible Women Defining 2024, and a Country & Townhouse Future Icon, she's also a United Nations Human Rights Champion. Sophia has interviewed notables from HRH Prince William to Nobel Laureates and Academy Award-winning actors, and has spoken at the UN, TED Climate, and the World Economic Forum.
Panelists:
Hillary Taymour — Founder & Creative Director, Collina Strada
Hillary Taymour is the founder and Creative Director of Collina Strada, a fashion brand she launched in New York in 2009. Taymour has built a distinct visual language that blends fantasy, activism, and craftsmanship. Her work challenges traditional beauty standards through inclusive casting, experimental silhouettes, and unexpected storytelling. She is known for integrating environmental considerations into the brand's design and production processes, including the use of deadstock fabrics and alternative materials. Today, she continues to lead the creative direction and growth of the company while advocating for greater accountability within the fashion industry.
Sally Fouts — Global Director, The Climate Pledge
Sally Fouts is Global Director of The Climate Pledge at Amazon. Under her leadership, more than 650 companies from around the world have joined the Pledge, with the bold goal of reaching net-zero carbon by 2040. More than 100 new companies signed in 2025 alone – a 62% increase over the number that joined in 2024, showing unprecedented momentum. Many are now collaborating on climate solutions for crucial sectors like transportation, clean energy, materials, and circular economy innovations.
With over 20 years of experience building and scaling programs at Amazon, Sally brings a unique perspective on how to align sustainability initiatives with business strategy to deliver measurable impact. Since joining Amazon in 2007, she has led communications and business development across some of the company's most high-profile areas, including serving as Communications Director for Music and Video and Director of Retail Communications. Sally has overseen The Climate Pledge's strategic direction since 2020, working with businesses of all sizes - from startups to multinational corporations - to help them set and achieve ambitious decarbonization goals.
Fouts holds a degree from the University of Oregon and is based in Seattle.
Emily Long — Brand Collaborations Lead, Circ
Emily Long is a seasoned expert in sustainability and business development with expertise in turning circular innovation into real-world brand adoption. As Sr. Business Development Manager at Circ, she partners with global brands to advance their responsible material journeys — supporting strategy and guiding product integration, and supply-chain execution to bring next-generation recycled fibers to market at scale.
Drawing on deep expertise in responsible sourcing, circularity, product development, and strategic partnerships, Emily helps organizations move from ambition to implementation. Prior to Circ, Emily led sustainability strategy on the brand side, where she embedded environmental and social responsibility into core business operations and product creation, developing forward-thinking initiatives that aligned commercial success with measurable impact.
Fashion as a vehicle for change
How makers, activists, and journalists are transforming one of the world's most powerful industries — and what it will take to go further.
Monday, 3 August / 14:00 – 14:45 CEST / Mercedes-Benz Studio, Købmagergade 3, 1150 Copenhagen K
Moderator:
Naima Yasin — Head of Secretariat at SAGA
Naima Yasin is a host, moderator and conversation-maker who creates inclusive forums that spark meaningful change. As Head of Secretariat at SAGA, she focuses on democracy, youth engagement and social justice, creating spaces where overlooked voices are heard and complex questions are explored with rigour and care. Across festivals, cultural institutions, media and civil society, Naima guides audiences from passive observers to active participants, leaving them with fresh perspectives long after the conversation ends.
Panelists:
Daphne Chouliaraki Milner — Features Director at Atmos
Daphne Chouliaraki Milner is a London-based writer and editor. She is Features Director at Atmos, a nonprofit publication exploring the intersection of climate and culture, where she oversees editorial content across print and digital platforms. Previously, she was a reporter at The Business of Fashion, covering independent designers and emerging creative talent. Her work has appeared in The Business of Fashion, Vogue Business, The Financial Times, i-D, Dazed, AnOther, System, GQ and other leading publications.
Emma Håkansson — Founding Director of Collective Fashion Justice
Emma Håkansson is the Founding Director of Collective Fashion Justice, a charity working to create a fashion system that protects people, animals and the planet ahead of profit. Through research, creative projects and industry consulting, CFJ helps brands, retailers and fashion councils improve their policies and material sourcing strategies. The organisation has supported major global fashion weeks to ban wildlife materials and worked with companies including Kering and GANNI. Emma is also the author of Total Ethics Fashion and an award-winning film director focused on stories of responsible fashion.
Bubu Ogisi — Founder & Creative Director of IAMISIGO
Bubu Ogisi is the Founder and Creative Director of IAMISIGO, a contemporary wearable art practice based in Lagos, Nairobi and Accra. Using fashion and textiles to tell stories, IAMISIGO treats the human body as a canvas for memory, movement and meaning. Working closely with artisans and communities across Africa, the brand transforms heritage textile techniques and unconventional materials into sculptural garments and installations. Rooted in research and craftsmanship, its work combines ancestral knowledge, experimental approaches and recycled materials to explore the intersections of identity, environment and material culture.
Veronica D'Souza — Artist, Founder, Sustainability Leader
Veronica D'Souza is an award-winning social entrepreneur, advisor, speaker and artist working at the intersection of fashion, design, technology and systems change. She is the founder of CARCEL, the internationally acclaimed fashion label creating dignified employment and living wages for women in prison in Peru and Thailand. Over the past 15 years, she has built ventures, advised organisations and led conversations on sustainability, inclusion and new economic models. Veronica serves on the boards of the Danish Design Council and The Soulfuls, co-curated the official symposium for 3 Days of Design, and hosts the podcasts AI & Os and What Shapes Us. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Vogue, Business of Fashion, Forbes and The Wall Street Journal.
Designing Tomorrow: Fashion, Foresight, and the Futures We Choose
A strategic foresight conversation exploring the external forces reshaping fashion, and the capabilities needed to anticipate and design multiple futures to navigate complexity.
Tuesday, 4 August / 14:00 - 14:45 CEST / Mercedes-Benz Studio, Købmagergade 3, 1150 Copenhagen K
Moderator:
Eva Zimmerman — Supervisor Business Department, Polimoda
Eva works at the intersection of fashion education and industry. Alongside her role in higher education, she collaborates with fashion brands on brand development and wholesale strategy. As Supervisor of the Business Department at Polimoda, one of the world's leading fashion schools based in Italy, Eva shapes the next generation of fashion business professionals while fostering strategic collaborations with global brands and academic partners, bringing a practical, industry-driven perspective to education.
Panelists:
Tamira Vámosi-Snell — Director & Futurist, Head of Behaviour, Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies
With a foundation in cultural sociology, Tamira's work focuses on deciphering the nuances of human behaviour, societal shifts, and the cultural underpinnings that shape our lives and choices. Tamira advises organizations on how to explore complex dynamics and uncover the signals that shape plausible futures. Her strategic experience spans industries, sectors and geographies, enabling her to always connect the dots and reveal how trends cross-fertilize and influence one another.
Rebekka Bay — Chief 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.
Fashion and Technology
How can technology disrupt the fashion industry, from helping to create a more sustainable future to promoting creativity?
Wednesday, 5 August / 11:00 - 11:45 CEST / Mercedes-Benz Studio, Købmagergade 3, 1150 Copenhagen K
Moderator:
Emily Chan — Contributing Sustainability Editor, British Vogue
Emily Chan is a sustainability editor, writer and consultant, and Contributing Sustainability Editor at British Vogue. She was previously the Senior Sustainability & Features Editor at British Vogue, where she led on sustainability coverage and special initiatives, including launching the Closet Digest podcast and Fashion is for Everyone campaign. As a leading voice in the sustainable fashion space, Emily regularly speaks at industry-wide events, including moderating discussions at the Global Fashion Summit, UN Climate Conference, and Copenhagen Fashion Week.
Panelists:
Filipe Mulonde — GPU Modelling Engineer
Filipe Mulonde is an Angolan GPU modelling engineer with a background in software engineering and artificial intelligence. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Software Engineering and a master’s degree in Artificial Intelligence. He also spent a year conducting scientific research at ETH Zurich, one of the world’s leading computer science institutions. Filipe currently works at Arm Holdings, a world-leading technology company shaping the future of AI compute. His work contributes to technologies used by billions of people, helping power everyday digital experiences. Beyond engineering, he is passionate about fashion, dance, education, and exploring the intersection of fashion, technology, and AI.
Graysha Audren — Founder & CEO, Weffan
Graysha Audren is a textile engineer and 3D weaving pioneer. She founded Weffan in 2020 on a simple conviction: that waste is a design flaw, not an inevitability. With over six years of experience developing 3D weaving technology, she industrialised the world’s first 3D-woven tailored suit, which was launched globally by Balenciaga for its SS26 collection. Today, she leads textile engineering and manufacturing at Weffan, reframing how garments can be made by engineering out waste at the point of creation rather than managing it after the fact.
Iris Skrami — Co-Founder & CEO, Renoon
Iris Skrami is the Co-Founder and CEO of Renoon, where she builds the infrastructure for Digital Product Passports using AI. Her earlier work at Nike and PVH placed her inside the machinery of global supply chains and consumer decision-making, giving her a clear view of how information moves and where it breaks. Those gaps became the foundation for Renoon, designed to give products a digital identity that persists beyond their first sale. She was recognised by Forbes Under 30 for her contribution to the intersection of technology, traceability, and fashion. Today, Iris focuses on shaping an industry where every product carries its own record, accessible, enduring, and accountable.
Tina Wetshi — Global Head of Events, Nothing
Tina Wetshi is Global Head of Events at Nothing. She joined Nothing from Dazed, where she produced events across fashion, lifestyle and culture. Previously, Tina worked in fashion PR, both agency side and inhouse, with brands including Bottega Veneta and Karla Otto. Alongside her role at Nothing, she co-founded Colèchi, a platform and collective exploring sustainability and systems change in fashion, creating spaces for people to learn, collaborate and reimagine the relationship between fashion, people and nature.
Craft and Culture
How does craft shape fashion and culture, and how can we modernise craftsmanship while preserving traditions?
Wednesday, 5 August / 14:00 - 14:45 CEST / Mercedes-Benz Studio, Købmagergade 3, 1150 Copenhagen K
Moderator:
Christina Cacouris — Writer, Consultant and Speaker
Christina Cacouris is a writer, speaker, and consultant based between Paris and Copenhagen. She contributes to The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Aperture on fashion, art, and culture. She also hosts an interview series at Nick Knight’s SHOWstudio focused on fashion photography, and has lectured at institutions including the National Arts Club in New York, Savannah College of Art and Design, and Karl Lagerfeld’s private library in Paris.
Panelists:
Omoyemi Akerele — Founder & Executive Director, Lagos Fashion Week
Omoyemi Akerele is the Founder and Executive Director of Style House Files and Lagos Fashion Week, working across Africa’s creative ecosystem to build sustainable fashion infrastructure and support emerging designers. She leads initiatives including Green Access, Woven Threads, and Irapada, focused on circularity and innovation. She is a BOF 500, Yale Climate Fellow, and TIME100 Climate honouree, and in 2025 Lagos Fashion Week received The Earthshot Prize for its work in sustainable fashion.
Madhu Vaishnav — Founder & Director, Saheli Women
Madhu Vaishnav is the Founder of Saheli Women and the Institute for Philanthropy and Humanitarian Development, established in 2015 to create opportunities for women in rural Rajasthan. The organisation has trained more than 800 women and employs over 200 across the sustainable textile value chain. She serves on the UN Conscious Fashion and Lifestyle Network advisory committee and has received international recognition including the CNMI Sustainable Fashion Award.
Ruby Redstone — Founder, Mess; Fashion Historian and Writer
Ruby Redstone is the founder of Mess, a New York City concept store, as well as a fashion historian and contemporary fashion writer. Her work has been featured in Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and New York Magazine. She holds an MA in Fashion History from the Courtauld Institute of Art.
The Rise of Modest Fashion
Why the industry can no longer afford to ignore Modest Fashion?
Thursday, 6 August / 11:00 - 11:45 CEST / Mercedes-Benz Studio, Købmagergade 3, 1150 Copenhagen K
Moderator:
Julie Lou — Host of The Female Effect Podcast
Julie Lou is the host of The Female Effect, a podcast dedicated to amplifying women’s stories through honest conversations, challenging established narratives, and connecting women across professions and backgrounds. Previous guests include world-renowned artist MØ, Holzweiler founder Susanne Holzweiler, and feminist debater and author Emma Holten.
Panelists:
Imane Asry — Creative Consultant & Modest Fashion Influencer
Imane Asry is a Copenhagen-based creative consultant and modest fashion influencer known for blending Scandinavian minimalism with modest fashion. Since launching her first blog in 2011, she has become a recognised voice in the global modest fashion space, shaping conversations around representation, inclusion, and contemporary dressing. Her work has been featured in Vogue, ELLE, and COSTUME, and she has collaborated with brands including COS, ARKET, and Valentino. Imane also serves on the advisory board of Copenhagen Fashion Week.
Nada Merrachi — Founder & Chief Creative Officer, Merrachi
Nada Merrachi is the founder and Chief Creative Officer of MERRACHI, a global modest fashion brand redefining contemporary dressing for women worldwide. Drawing on Moroccan craftsmanship and self-taught design, Nada has built a brand that bridges contemporary fashion with cultural identity and personal expression. Through her work, she continues to shape conversations around representation, inclusivity, entrepreneurship, and the future of fashion.
Samet Akti — Senior D&I Manager, Zalando
Samet Akti is a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion leader enabling global organisations through strategic culture transformation. As Senior Expert DEI at Zalando, he leads the direction of the “Inclusive by design” strategy, embedding inclusion across the organisation and making Zalando’s assortment more accessible for a diverse customer base across 29 markets. Previously, Samet worked across DEI, employee experience, and communications at IBM, Google, and Coca-Cola. He is also the founder of AKTIVISM, a DEI consultancy supporting organisations to translate inclusion strategies into practical action for leaders and teams.
Rawdah Mohamed — Model & Entrepreneur, RÅDA
Rawdah Mohamed is a Norwegian-Somali model, founder of RÅDA, and one of fashion’s most impactful hijabi voices, recognised for her Vogue covers, collaborations with leading high fashion partners, and her former role as Fashion Editor at Vogue Scandinavia. In 2021, she launched the viral #HandsOffMyHijab campaign, becoming a leading advocate for Muslim women’s representation, with appearances on HARDtalk and at Forbes panels.
CPHFW x The Soulfuls: Creative Pathways
Exploring the many pathways into fashion through creativity, collaboration and community.
To explore the topic, moderator Aram Ostadian-Binai, Founder & CEO of The Soulfuls, sits down with Eva Kruse, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Bee:wild and former Founder & CEO of Global Fashion Agenda and Copenhagen Fashion Week, for a conversation on the experiences, relationships and opportunities that have shaped their careers.
Thursday, 6 August / 14:00 - 14:45 CEST / Mercedes-Benz Studio, Købmagergade 3, 1150 Copenhagen K
Moderator:
Aram Ostadian-Binai — Founder & CEO, The Soulfuls
Aram Ostadian-Binai is Founder & CEO of the award-winning NGO The Soulfuls — a 4,000+ member community connecting women with mentorship, networks and opportunities, with a focus on supporting women from underrepresented backgrounds. Aram is a recognised leader in fashion, culture and inclusion, with more than 13 years of experience building global brands and creating cultural impact.
Panelist:
Eva Kruse — Eva Kruse — Founder & former CEO CPHFW
Eva Kruse is a pioneering sustainability leader, internationally recognised as the “mother of sustainable fashion” for her role in transforming environmental and social responsibility within the global fashion industry. In 2006, Kruse founded Copenhagen Fashion Week and the Danish Fashion Institute, serving as Founder and CEO until 2016. During her decade-long leadership, she helped establish Copenhagen as an internationally influential fashion capital while using the position to place sustainability on the industry’s agenda.
Today, Kruse is Co-founder and Executive Director of Bee:wild, a science-led civic engagement initiative launched at COP28 in Dubai and powered by Re:wild, the global nature conservation organisation co-founded by Leonardo DiCaprio. Bee:wild mobilises governments, businesses, scientists, citizens and cultural leaders to protect pollinators, restore urban biodiversity and nature corridors for healthier, more nature-rich people and planet. The initiative is already building an influential international coalition with support from heaviweights like of Heartland by Anders Holch Povlsen, Susan Rockefeller, BAMM Foundation by Melony and Adfam Lewis, The Fabel Fund by Akash Mehha.
The evolving role of media in fashion
Is media in a state of flux, or is it evolving into new formats, with fresh values and outlooks? How is fashion media in today's age advancing the industry, or is it crippling the creative landscape?
Friday, 7 August / 11:00 - 11:45 CEST / Mercedes-Benz Studio, Købmagergade 3, 1150 Copenhagen K
Moderator:
Dal Chodha — Editor-in-chief of Archivist Addendum
Dal Chodha is a London-based writer, consultant, and Editor-in-Chief of Archivist Addendum, a publishing project exploring the space between fashion editorial and academia. He is a Contributing Editor at Wallpaper* and Pathway Leader of the BA Fashion Communication: Image & Promotion course at Central Saint Martins. Dal is also the author of SHOW NOTES and You Gotta Keep Your Head Straight About Clothes.
Panelists:
Jeppe Ugelvig — Editor-in-chief of Viscose Journal
Jeppe Ugelvig is a curator, historian, and cultural critic based in New York City. He specialises in the intersection of art and fashion and is the author of Fashion Work and Commodity Ecumene, along with numerous essays and articles. He has taught and lectured internationally at institutions including NYU, Parsons School of Design, Goldsmiths, and the University of Copenhagen, covering topics in art criticism, fashion theory, and curatorial studies. Jeppe is also the founding Editor-in-Chief of Viscose, a journal for fashion criticism and analysis that collaborates with leading art institutions worldwide.
Navi Ahluwalia — Managing Editor of Hypebae
Navi Ahluwalia is a journalist, mentor, and Managing Editor at Hypebae. She covers fashion and culture, with a particular focus on inclusivity and representation. A regular attendee at fashion weeks across Europe, she has become a prominent voice in the global fashion industry.
