CPHFW Official Talk Program: CPHFW x The Soulfuls: Creative Pathways

The official SS27 Talk Program, supported by Mercedes Benz, is a vital part of the Copenhagen Fashion Week schedule, exploring 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 Showroom 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.

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.

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 — Co-founder & Executive Director, Bee:wild

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.

In 2009, in conjunction with the UN Climate Change Conference COP15 in Copenhagen, Kruse founded Global Fashion Summit – now the world’s leading forum for sustainability in fashion. She subsequently established and led Global Fashion Agenda, the acclaimed thought-leadership organisation behind the Summit, working with many of the world’s most influential business leaders and global brands, including for eksample Kering, Nike, PVH, Target, H&M and Bestseller.

Under Kruse’s leadership, Global Fashion Agenda developed a series of landmark initiatives and publications that helped accelerate the industry’s shift towards more responsible practices. These included the 2020 Circular Fashion Commitment, the Pulse of the Fashion Industry reports in partnership with Boston Consulting Group, the annual Fashion CEO Agenda, and Fashion on Climate in partnership with McKinsey. Together, these tools established essential industry benchmarks and encouraged companies and policymakers to pursue bolder and more urgent sustainability action.

Kruse has collaborated extensively with organisations including the United Nations, the European Commission and leading global foundations, using her ability to engage business, government and civil society to advance systemic change. From 2021 to 2024, she served as Group SVP and Chief Global Engagement Officer at PANGAIA, the materials science company developing breakthrough innovations for everyday lifestyle products.

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.

Early years Kruse was educated at the alternative business school The Kaospilots and built a successful career in media as editor-in-chief of Eurowoman and VIVA and as a television presenter for Danish TV2, TV3 and ZTV. This background, combined with her experience convening leaders and driving complex agendas, has made her a formidable communicator and a sought-after international keynote speaker, including at TEDx. 
Her honours include a Human Rights Prize from France and a Royal Order of Chivalry from the Danish Monarchy. 

Across fashion, business, media and nature conservation, Eva Kruse’s career has been defined by her ability to turn ideas into movements, bring unlikely partners together and place sustainability at the heart of cultural and commercial change. 
Kruse is Danish, currently based in the UAE, and is married with three children.