While Copenhagen kicked us off in early August, climbing the ranks as the fifth fashion week to know, Fashion Month has finally arrived. Fashion editors, buyers and content creators will first descend onto New York before making their way to London, Milan and Paris for ‘the big four’. And, alongside the heavy hitters – think Saint Laurent, Loewe, Prada and Khaite, to name but a few – there’s a hefty handful of new talent determined to crack into the ever-evolving industry. Yet, in a space that seeks continual newness, starting out is far from easy.
Sól Hansdóttir, a Copenhagen Fashion Week NEWTALENT designer, knows this all too well. “The fashion industry is really difficult to break into, and I think a lot of people believe they can do it with pure talent, but the truth is I think talent is maybe 15 per cent of what it takes. The rest is who you know, being financially clever, which means having an understanding of the industry, having funding so you can have (some) time to grow and make mistakes, having mentoring/support and then being consistent,” she says. And luckily, there are a handful of organisations providing just that.
