Reading Review: Danish Fashion

by Marie Reigels Melchoir

March 9th, 2010

Denmark’s designers are best known for their chairs. However, this article focused on how fashion is becoming a rising player in the country’s design arena. Although I have to say it seems as though there hasn’t been much development in the furniture area since the ‘golden age,’ I have trouble considering Copenhagen as a fashion design capital of the world. The article doesn’t try to articulate the city as a shining star yet, but from an outsiders perspective, I don’t believe the profession is quite as revolutionary as it was talked up to be.

Copenhagen's fashion week.

[http://girldir.com/news-events/]

Since living abroad people have asked me how people in Denmark differ from those in the United States. When speaking about a particular look or visual identity I have trouble expressing to people the uniqueness of their style. Do the men dress better? Certainly. In the States it’s nearly impossible to find a male over the age of 30 with product in his hair. However, there isn’t per say a distinct style or fashionable mark that stands out to me.

There are definitely products that are more common for Danes to wear or carry. For example, I found fur coats are much more popular here than in the United States. Additionally, Fjällräven packpacks are also a staple in the young Dane’s look. However, neither fur coats or these Swedish backpacks are uniquely Danish. In some senses I believe it is hard to separate Denmark’s style from the rest of Scandinavia. Having traveled to all four countries, there was no remarkable difference in the appearance of everyday people in any particular place.

[http://www.sayyestohoboken.com/2009/12/fjallraven-backpacks.html]

With this in mind, why is it important for Danish fashion to stand alone? Is there any reason it can’t be considered part of a Scandinavian look? The article makes it clear that the industry has come a long way and there certainly are elements that could be considered uniquely Danish, but I don’t see the need to force something that isn’t there.

Swedish fashion giant, H&M.

[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:H_und_M_Logo_in_Hamburg.jpg]