Fashion weeks are no longer just about clothes – they’re becoming cities’ biggest branding billboards
In the right hands, fashion weeks can be much more for host cities than a showcase for seasonal collections.
Fashion weeks are increasingly becoming entertainment events, with attendees including not only buyers and magazine editors but also actors and sportspeople. Off the runway, such occasions are big business: Paris Fashion Week – one of the French capital’s busiest trading periods for hotels, shops, chauffeur services and restaurants – now generates an estimated €400m every year for the local hospitality sector according to the French Fashion Federation.
In smaller urban centres, the financial boost is less substantial but the buzz that surrounds fashion week can help to affirm a city’s cultural relevance for years to come. Copenhagen, foe example, has been working particularly hard over the past decade to become the “fifth fashion capital” by highlighting local brands’ environmental agendas and luring designers to the city with the promise of river swims and dinners by star chef Frederik Bille Brahe.
Amsterdam is the latest to claim a place on the circuit. Under Danie Bles, a former stylist and creative agency owner, Amsterdam Fashion Week relaunched in 2018 as a yearly gathering that includes as many panel discussions and street parties as runway shows. Brands don’t have to focus on the ready-to-wear category as per tradition. Denim, couture and streetwear are also welcome, while the guest list skews towards Dutch designers and museum directors.
“The goal is curation – the days when fashion week was about a new collection are gone,” says Bles, adding that she’s far more interested in highlighting “people with stories to tell” and communicating Amsterdam’s free spirit and high-low approach. “It’s about a certain vibe, about the Dutch culture and community. I want people to have time to discover the city, to have a full 360-degree experience and leave inspired, rather than exhausted from having to attend 100 events in one day.”
The latest edition, in September, opened with a dinner by designer Sabine Marcelis and stone supplier Solid Nature. A canalside gathering by knitwear specialist Extreme Cashmere followed, before a show at a supermarket by emerging designer Camiel Fortgens. “Brands should have the opportunity to show in their home country,” adds Bles. With a relaxed take on an industry staple, Bles has shown how cities can use fashion weeks to tell local stories about hospitality and creative exchange.
