Copenhagen Fashion Week 2013

This past week has been full of runways, beautiful clothes, beautiful people and quite a few free drinks. Copenhagen Fashion Week was amazing. The whole city was buzzing, especially on Strøget, Europe’s longest shopping street which is entirely pedestrianized.

 

The street begins at Rådhuspladsen, which is where my bus drops me off at every morning for class. DIS must want me to go totally broke because they are right next to this store called Company. Company is celebrating its 10th anniversary and had the most beautiful store front I have ever seen. The main feature is a table all decked out with candies, pastries and mannequins dressed in gorgeous clothes. They even designed custom birthday cards. I could have spent all day in there.

As you continue down Strøget things become expensive pretty quick. While there are many H&Ms (there are four- a huge store, one dedicated to men, one to kids, and a smaller store) and other little shops the expensive stores like Burberry and Louis Vuitton are nearby at Kongens Nytorv. Eventually you run into Illum, which is Copenhagen’s version of Saks. The store doesn’t seem that large from the outside, but once you go in there are five floors worth.

 

The first floor is a Sephora, jewelry and accessories, the second is men’s and the third is women’s. I didn’t even make it up to the top floor. The bottom floor has a cafe, bagel place, chocolate shop and even a grocery store. When I went with Haley, I got a focaccia and and giant cinnamon roll. Both were delicious and the perfect way to end a long day of shopping. We ended up staying until they were closing down. Apparently all of those announcements were not about a sale or lost child, but we figured it out and got out of there before getting locked in, though I wouldn’t have minded being locked in with all those beautiful clothes too much.

Illum was the most beautiful store I’ve ever been in and my first time was most certainly not my last time there, but more on that later.

On Wednesday I got to go to an actual fashion show. I simply emailed a woman and she put me on the list. I felt so important being “on the list,” but my friend Jenny and I soon found out that it didn’t actually matter. They checked off buyers and press and everyone else just got to go in regardless of the list. Despite not being able to see my name checked off an almighty list, I still had a great time. We walked into City Hall, where the show was being held, and were immediately handed a glass of champagne each. The line we saw is called SAND and is by a Danish designing couple named Søren and Lene Sand. I could actually see myself wearing all of the pieces they showed.

My favorite was the finale piece, which was a black blazer over a beautiful flowing white skirt. The piece is sewn in such a way that when you walk, it opens up and looks like a grown up version of the popular waterfall skirt. I will definitely have to get one of my own.

As you can see from the finale walk, there was a lot of black and neutral colors. The Danes wear so much black, but like my class coordinator said, “They always look like they’re going to a super trendy funeral.” The black never looks drab or boring. While it may look a bit somber, they mix textures and wear beautiful simple pieces to have a very clean look. Of course, the fact that most of them are tall beautiful blondes who are able to throw their hair up in a messy bun and still look gorgeous helps a bit.

Here’s Jenny and I after the show.

We even got to get our toes in the SAND (ok fake snow, but still) on the runway after the show.

Since I was freaking out about what to wear here’s a quick rundown of the appropriate attire should you ever get the chance to go to a fashion show in Copenhagen. As I said before, black. You can never have enough black. Don’t wear black in a gothic, grunge way, but a sophisticated way. Black silks and leather pants are a great option. If you’re like me and can’t do the whole black outfit, throw in a statement necklace for that pop of color. I’ll admit, I was probably the most colorful person there, but I didn’t feel too out of place. Since it’s Fashion Week, anything goes. Just feel good and wear it confidently. Oh, and a nice fur coat doesn’t hurt.

Friday was Fashion’s Night Out so a lot of the stores were having huge sales and events. I went shopping with my friends Claire and Maggie, two girls who live in Keops with me and are in my Meaning of Style class. We headed back to Illum which was not only having sales of most of the lines, but offered champagne and snacks at just about every store. Looking at beautiful clothes and sipping on free drinks was not a bad way to spend our Friday at all.

   

The sales had me believing I could afford the clothes, but luckily I got out of there unscathed. Copenhagen definitely has me wanting a fur coat even though it’s something I would never buy (or need) at home.

In one of the shoe departments there was a man with the cutest poodle I have ever seen. Those puppy dog eyes made me think that she couldn’t afford any of the clothes in that place either.

I especially wanted these shoes. I couldn’t even make myself look at the price tag because I knew I’d be heartbroken.

After our wonderful shopping day, we headed to another fashion show. This time we went to see Ready to Fish, which is another Scandinavian brand out of Sweden.

This show was held in Bella Center rather than City Hall, but was just as beautiful of a space. I love how they use the old buildings because it gives you a chance to see the inside of them.

This show was much more popular, but even though we weren’t on the list we still got in. Copenhagen Fashion Week is fairly laid back and is a great way to see shows without having to be put on a special guest list months in advance. When we walked into this show we had the choice of beer, sparkling water, gin and tonic, or vodka and ginger ale. The amount that is spent on drinks and snacks during Fashion Week must be outrageous.

 

Soon the show started. This show had a bit more color, but not much. Forest green, cream and dark blues made many appearances alongside the beloved black.

 

I was happy to see that across from me in the crowd was a man dressed in the most color I have seen in a long time. He wore a teal blazer, bright pink pants, a teal and pink pocket square, and a pair of fabulous pink leather gloves. He definitely stood out amongst the crowd of black.

 

Claire, Maggie and I ventured out again on Saturday to do some more shopping. This time I actually bought some things. I’ve been wanting earmuffs so I can wear my hair up and stay warm. I heard that Urban Outfitters had some, but when I got there they were sold out. I did, however, get a great knitted headband to keep my ears warm. Yes, you may be thinking, really you went all the way to Copenhagen to shop at Urban? But the Danish Urban and our Urban are a bit different. First of all there’s a 10% student discount. I wasn’t going to pass that up. Second, they feature a lot of Danish brands in their store. There’s one section where I saw a few pieces that I had seen in Illum the day before. Third, the clothes just seem to have a different twist to them. They look Danish. The styling of the mannequins and pieces chosen for the store are slightly different from at home. In addition to my headband, I got a great new pair of big sunglasses. Many of the looks on the SAND runway had the models in round sunglasses and while I’m not a big fan of small round lenses, I’m a big fan of these. The sides are a subtle black snakeskin. They’re big, but the Danes love big sunglasses.

I’m on my way to being totally incognito. All it takes is black on black on black and a big pair of sunglasses. Oh yeah and don’t speak. Not only will they not be able to pick out your accent, but the Danes don’t talk much anyways. Small talk is not a thing here. Don’t even try to talk on the bus unless you want to be pegged as an American.

After another long day of shopping we headed to the Studenterhuset for some yummy hot chocolate and croissants.

On Friday night we ventured out looking for a fun Fashion Week party to go to. We soon realized that all the lines would probably take an hour to get in unless you had a table, which we didn’t. Where did we end up? The Happy Pig, naturally. Every weekend I have gone out I have ended up at Happy Pig and I’m totally okay with that. There’s live music, Danes dancing like crazy, and a few Americans to talk to. I ended up talking about politics with a Danish guy studying sociology for a good half hour. Talking political views in a bar. Doesn’t get more Danish than that. And the other thing that doesn’t get much more Danish? My footwear for the night. I wore my knockoff Keds out and I swear I was mistaken for a Dane. They all wear their Converse and Keds and combat boots out. No heels to be seen. Of course they are all six feet tall so heels aren’t really an issue. Still I’m loving the casual footwear.

 I’m starting to get a hang of this place and it’s starting to feel more like home. Fashion Week was perfect. I got to go to two fashion shows and see so many beautiful outfits while getting a few free drinks. What more can a girl ask for? Okay, I would have liked to have won a shopping spree in Illum, but we can’t have everything.