So far, the fashion industry in Denmark has not had a strong national sense of identity. But according to Marie Riegels Melchior, who recently defended her Ph.D. dissertation about Danish fashion, by strengthening the academic profile of the education programmes, the design schools would enable future fashion designers to articulate the unique character of Danish fashion.

By Hans Emborg Bünemann

Danish fashion companies actively create their own individual versions of the story about Danish fashion design. In other words, the Danish fashion industry does not have a historically anchored identity based on a unique national tradition. That is one of the points in Marie Riegels Melchior’s Ph.D. dissertation Dansk på mode! En undersøgelse af design, identitet og historie i dansk modeindustri (Danish in fashion! An examination of design, identity and the history of the Danish fashion industry). The dissertation, which she defended at The Danish Design School on 3 February 2009, offers a thorough documentation of the fashion field in a cultural history perspective, which includes a look at the issue of the identity of the Danish fashion industry. 

"The weak national identity in the fashion industry is in contrast to, for example, the very historically conscious Danish furniture industry," says Marie Riegels Melchior.



Unique Danish Qualities

Nevertheless, according to Marie Riegels Melchior, Danish fashion does have something special to offer. She points out that since 2005, the network organisation the Danish Fashion Institute has helped articulate the unique qualities of Danish fashion in order to enable a branding of the fashion industry on a national level: That it is functional, accessible and democratic. To illustrate the point that it is quite possible to create fashionable clothes that are also practical in everyday use, she mentions a comment by Eva Kruse, the director of the Danish Fashion Institute, who says that Danish fashion is designed to be worn while bicycling.

Munthe plus Simonsen presents examples of fashion clothes that can be used in everyday life. From the spring/summer collection 2007 at Cph Vision fashion fair during the Copenhagen Fashion Week, 10-13 August 2006. Photo: Marie Riegels Melchior

During her Ph.D. studies, Marie Riegels Melchior carried out field studies at Mads Nørgaard-Copenhagen. She says that this company unlike many others places a strong and deliberate emphasis on everyday aesthetics as a particular characteristic of Danish fashion:

"When working on new collections, Mads Nørgaard is very aware of the Danish design tradition. He says that he aims for the simple everyday aesthetic that is expressed, for example, in the PH Lamp, designed by the Danish architect and author Poul Henningsen."

Marie Riegels Melchior adds that the fashion store Nørgaard paa Strøget’s cotton T-shirt with the product name "Rip 101" and the shirt’s designer, Jørgen Nørgaard, were awarded the Danish Design Council’s Annual Prize in 2007. That is the first time this prize has been awarded to a person and a product in the field of fashion design. The T-shirt has also been included in the permanent collection of the Danish Museum of Art & Design. 

"This marks a beginning historicization and a growing awareness of Danish fashion as an important national design area," she says.

The Potential of the Design Education Programmes

Marie Riegels Melchior points out that the very idea that Danish fashion actually has unique and marketable qualities is a sign that the fashion industry has a potential which the design education programmes can help realise.

The design studio at Mads Nørgaard-Copenhagen, where fashion designers turn ideas into reality. According to Marie Riegels Melchior, it is essential for the designers to possess in-depth knowledge of culture and aesthetics and a strong awareness of the history of the fashion trade. Photo: Marie Riegels Melchior

"New generations of fashion designers should have a greater awareness of the history and values of the Danish fashion industry. This will help them articulate what sort of industry they are joining and strengthen their ability to describe their own work in a reflected manner," she says, pointing out that the story itself provides added product value for the consumer.

"The educational programmes are becoming more academic and, for example, increasing their emphasis on design theory, and these are steps in the right direction. It is also essential, however, for the fashion design students to learn about their specific field of design. This involves the national history and conditions of the industry as well as theories in the field, whether it relates to the understanding of fashion as a cultural, aesthetic or industrial phenomenon," says Marie Riegels Melchior.

Facts about Danish in Fashion! An examination of design, identity and the history of the Danish fashion industry Marie Riegels Melchior’s Ph.D. dissertation is the result of a Ph.D. scholarship at The Danish Design School / The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture under the auspices of the Danish Centre for Design Research and the Danish Museum of Art & Design. The Ph.D. scholarship was funded by the Research Committee of the Danish Ministry of Culture and the foundation "Manufakturhandlerforeningen for Kjøbenhavns Almene Fond". The dissertation is available from the web site of The Danish Design School.(English summary: pp. 225-226). Evaluation Committee Orvar Löfgren, professor, The University of Lund Lise Skov, associate professor, Copenhagen Business School Julie Sommerlund, associate professor, The Danish Design School (chairman) Supervisors Karen Lisa Salamon, M.Sc. (research degree) in anthropology, Ph.D. in management, independent researcher and advisor Tine Damsholt, associate professor at the SAXO Institute, Department of European Ethnology, University of Copenhagen

Cover photo: Models presenting Mads Nørgaard-Copenhagen's autumn and winter collection 2007 on the catwalk.
Photo: Marie Riegels Melchior

Mind Design #17, 2009