“Copenhagen Fashion Week, otherwise known as Fashion Month’s cool little sister, offers a first glimpse at the trends spring/summer 2025 has to offer, before New York, London, Milan, and Paris take over your Instagram feed. After all, Scandi style tends to remain one step ahead of the curve, so it’s always a good indicator of what’s coming to our closets, regardless of the season.
If the uncharacteristically pleasant weather in the Danish capital was any hint, next spring will be all about joy: the joy of clothes, the joy of the outdoors, the joy of expression, and the joy of living life. “We design dresses that you can walk fast in,” Marimekko creative director Rebekka Bay tells ELLE. “You can take ownership, you decide how you want to wear it, but you can also get on with your life.”
Another important factor that sets Copenhagen Fashion Week apart from its fashionable peers? A focus on sustainability. In order to participate, designers must meet a minimum standard for eco-friendly practices, including using at least 60 percent certified, made-of-preferred, or deadstock materials. This is the fourth season the requirements have been in place, and others, like Berlin Fashion Week, are planning to follow suit.” (Rexroat 2024)
Trends are pointing to the outdoors, recreation, and ease of comfort; I’d say this is pretty favorable for ODNR. There’s plenty to be said about the harm of trend cycles on the environment and attention spans of consumers. However, with this criticism perhaps a new trend is born: slower living and going back to basics.
Both implicitly and explicitly, fashion seems to be progressing towards the standardization of sustainability. ODNR has identified Gen Z as a generation that is concerned with environmentalism. How can ODNR tap into the momentum of upcoming trends in order to appeal to it’s Gen Z visitors?
An obvious and direct translation of the upcoming trend cycles could be reflected in ODNR merchandise, but I think a bigger oppurtunity presents itself. Because Gen Z is concerned with trasnparency and digital social engagement alongside sustainability, perhaps a shift in how ODNR communicates with their audience is necessary for appealing to the attention of Gen Z and subsequent visitors. In other words, how is Gen Z receptive of sustainability messages? Are the marketing methods used by the fashion industry applicable to ODNR?
Rexroat, M. (2024, August 13). 12 Trends to Know From Copenhagen Fashion Week. ELLE; ELLE. https://www.elle.com/fashion/trend-reports/a61711816/copenhagen-fashion-week-spring-2025-trends/
