Danish fashion show CIFF confirms Paris plans

By

Olivier Guyot

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Jun 26, 2018

Danish trade show CIFF will stage a session in Paris next January, according to the event’s boss Kristian Andersen, a leading figure in the Scandinavian and European fashion scene. CIFF made its Parisian plans clear last winter, when the organisers envisaged holding a first event in the month of June.

During the last Paris Fashion Week Men, CIFF staged a dinner and a gala evening, inviting fashion brands, buyers and partner organisations. It was the opportunity to outline the details of CIFF’s Parisian project. “We are not about to produce a mega trade show. We will rely on the experience of the North Wind project, which we set up a few years ago as a road show,” said Kristian Andersen. “Specifically, as a way of presenting 90 labels in various market segments at [UK department store] Harvey Nichols. I visit Paris regularly, and I always attend the Fashion Week. And I think it’s time to be part of it.”

What CIFF doesn’t want to do is set up a Scandinavian show in Paris. Its priority is instead to bring together and energise its community, as Andersen explained: “There are many showrooms and venues [in Paris], but I’m taking my time to pick a place where I can bring between 25 and 50 designers. We will of course team up with showrooms with which we already collaborate. It’s a start. We aren’t planning a traditional trade show or a showroom. There will be special designs tailor-made for our event. I dislike the idea of something fixed, unchanging. There are very few people who like to stay in the same venue for four days. In Denmark, we also work with hotels and restaurants. Ideally, we would like to set up in a creative venue with a restaurant, and hold our show there. Cuisine is very important in France, and in Denmark too. I think that good, healthy food is consistent with what is happening in fashion in the field of sustainability.”

Exhibitor-wise, Andersen doesn't envisage bringing over the 2,000 brands that show in Copenhagen. The plan is to be selective, with a specific theme in mind, and with brands that are capable of staging a proper event. “They could be Japanese, Danish or French, it doesn’t matter. Both in Denmark and Japan, minimalist fashion is doing well. Thinking about Paris, there will be a combination of Japan, Scandinavia and Italy. We would really like to invite some of our French and US friends too,” added Kristian Andersen.

He said that approximately one hundred labels have expressed interest in the concept, about thirty of them from France. CIFF is planning to hold two sessions each year, before launching a project for January/February 2020 in London and later another one in the USA.

Before the Paris event in January, CIFF will be busy with its August session, when Copenhagen will be awash with African sounds. Kristian Andersen is working with London-based colleague Stavros Karelis, and they announced a partnership with Homecoming Project, an arts, fashion and music website from Nigeria. Another way of travelling around the world.