Scandinavian fashion through my eyes!

AW14/ Benedikte Utzon Photo by Inez Dawczyk

I feel really lucky that I’ve been living in Copenhagen for 1,5 years now. My coming here was the first step in "living my dream" (cheesy, isn’t it? well, what can you do…); I started studying fashion design. For the first couple of months I felt like I died and landed in fashion heaven: every single person was wearing insanely trendy clothes with an ’I just threw on what I found first thing in the morning’ air. Since then the excitement if not died but definitely calmed down and I decided that I would like to investigate what does Scandinavian style means for me as a foreigner in Denmark who craves to work in the fashion industry.

I did my research on the Internet and asked my friends; the results were not surprising. Everyone who considers themselves a real fashionista knows the basic tenets of Scandinavian style: neutral colors and natural materials, clean cuts, functionality meets aesthetics, great for everyday wear, minimalistic, sophisticated, cool…I think everyone has a picture by now. When I first think about it, these attributives come to my mind instantly but after the 1,5 years, the whole notion became more interesting for me since it means so much more.

I was fortunate enough to participate in the Copenhagen Fashion Week (AW14). I divided the shows into two categories: the expected styles with the minimalistic touch and the kind of crazy ones. I’m not going to lie, as an aspiring stylist, I found the latter way more interesting to work with but that’s not the topic of this post. The designers who dared to differ from the Scandinavian mainstream showed me that there is this other path going on with so many talents bursting from creativity that should not be overlooked. During those 3 days it became clear for me that there is such a big potential in Scandinavia when it comes to fashion that I have never dreamed of.

In my opinion we cannot really talk about the Scandinavian style strictly in terms of Scandinavia anymore. All the trends established here are on the catwalks everywhere  else as well, so I wouldn’t say that’s what could highlight the area if it wants to be in the front row of the fashion industry. I would find it more striking to talk about a Scandinavian style where minimalism mixes with provocative ideas; I think it would give a fresh and edgy feel to it and this marriage could produce something more 21th century than the “just” plain beautiful monochromism. I’m, of course, not talking about something completely new because there is a reason why and how this taste became associated with this area of Europe - I’m sure that the analyzation of these factors could take up several pages. The goal should be to familiarize people with something that already exists but not the most well-known.

Sustainability also became inseparable with Scandinavian fashion for me. I come from a country that has initiatives like recycling the trash for creating a better environment but we don’t have an environmentally-friendly culture (yet). I deeply respect the society’s attitude towards the whole idea of sustainability because regardless the fact that I don’t consider myself an eco-warrior, I think it’s our responsibility to create a livable planet. Even though it’s a cliché, I believe that every small action counts and turning off the lights or buying organic materials is not a big sacrifice for anyone. 

This is how I see Scandinavian fashion at the moment; I am curious what another 1,5 years could do to change this. 

Juli Gyertyános