CFS 2019 launches Design Studio to provide sustainable solutions for creative directors

Last year the Summit introduced Innovation Forum, a sustainable solutions platform devised to accelerate the implementation of sustainability in fashion companies. This year the platform expands with Design Studio, a format targeting creative directors and designers.

© Copenhagen Fashion Summit

Copenhagen Fashion Summit, the world’s leading business event on sustainability in fashion, has announced the launch of Design Studio presented by Avery Dennison. Design Studio will exhibit a unique curation of solutions specifically tailored to the needs of creative directors and designers, equipping them with the necessary tools to translate words into action.

The Innovation Forum exhibition area unveiled last year will be expanded to incorporate Design Studio, enabling small and large fashion companies to meet with more than 40 of today’s most noteworthy supply chain providers, including ISKOTM and bluesign, covering everything from innovative materials to responsible packaging solutions and from disruptive new ideas to tried and tested, large-scale solutions. Innovation Forum and Design Studio will be open to Summit guests for the entire two-day event.

Creative directors can be change agents

Recognising the influence of the decisions creative directors make on design, materials and the environmental impact of products, Design Studio will display a responsible supply chain from a designer’s perspective and present sustainable solutions across various key, creative challenges.

Some of the industry’s leading creative minds: Prabal Gurung, designer, Prabal Gurung; Matthew Williams, Creative Director, 1017 ALYX 9SM; Peter Copping, independent fashion professional and former Creative Director, Oscar de la Renta; and Charlotte Eskildsen, Creative Director, Designers Remix are on the advisory board to help develop Design Studio.

Eva Kruse, CEO and President of Global Fashion Agenda, which organises the Summit, comments, “Creative directors have the power to make sustainable choices that will impact the entire manufacturing process. Through the launch of Design Studio, we hope to educate and inspire creative directors and their design teams with the tools to make tangible changes. Their decisions are essential in transforming fashion into a more responsible industry and to making sustainability sexy and attractive to their audiences.”

Leading creative minds weigh in

Matthew Williams, Creative Director, 1017 ALYX 9SM, says: “The designer is the connector between production, sales and marketing. Their choice to use a sustainable material has to come on the very first day – right at the beginning of the process. Designers can link systems so that the whole supply chain can be onboard with sustainability.”

Charlotte Eskildsen, Creative Director, Designers Remix, says: “With sustainability, the whole brand universe will change eventually – but we start with design. The most challenging part is the availability. What is possible? This research and these decisions have to be held in the designer’s power.”

Peter Copping, independent fashion professional and former Creative Director, Oscar de la Renta, says: “After attending Copenhagen Fashion Summit, I always return to the studio and brief my design team in sustainability. Ironically, I discovered when I reviewed the fabric section that several qualities, I constantly used were already sustainable. Unfortunately, it wasn’t something the fabric manufacturer had promoted. They have to understand how important it is and enable the designer to make informed decisions.”

Prabal Gurung, Designer, Prabal Gurung, says: “I hope to see sustainability become a more mainstream conversation over the next ten years. Designers and the media need to understand that any type of progress in reducing waste is good progress and that we should be open about the steps we take – regardless of if they are baby steps or leaps.”