For the 10th consecutive year, ISKO sponsors the Copenhagen Fashion Summit showcasing the future of responsible denim. Our Global Field Marketing Manager Elena Faleschini answers to 10 questions about ISKO’s history at the Summit and what we can expect this May.

What first drew ISKO to getting involved with Copenhagen Fashion Summit?
EF: ISKO and Copenhagen Fashion Summit have, since the start, shared the same vision and forward commitment to make the fashion industry a better place while pursuing the same aims and goals.

Copenhagen Fashion Summit has been on quite a journey over the past 10 years, expanding the Summit to two days and introducing Innovation Forum. How has ISKO grown and changed over the past 10 years?
EF: ISKO has always been responsible from its inception, but it’s true that in the past 10 years, things speeded up quite incredibly. We have also undergone a lot of changes in terms of vision, responsibility and the approach to a more demanding market. We have been working to build a solid foundation over the past 20 years, and this has made us able to respond rapidly to the market’s new needs. Our staple technologies are being used, while we are constantly innovating, looking to the future and creating new technologies.

What have been ISKO’s most important steps towards sustainability?
EF: Most recently, in November 2018, we helped pave the way to transparency by establishing Environmental Product Declarations, known as EPDs, and made them available to the entire denim industry. In the past years we have worked with certifications such as Nordic Swan, EU Ecolabel and the HIGG Index, allowing us to help the industry create globally acknowledged certifications, which is one the industry challenges today.

The ISKO Earth Fit™ collection has several environmental certifications. Why is it important to use certification, standards and labelling schemes?
EF: This is fundamental in setting new global standards in the denim industry. Pioneering certifications (such as the EU Ecolabel and Nordic Swan Ecolabel) in the denim market simply did not exist previously. Likewise, patents and trademarks are an important part of our DNA and something that ISKO has pioneered.

How has being part of the Summit supported ISKO in taking those steps?
EF: By being part of the Summit, we have been expanding our leadership and talking to brands and industry partners about the importance of certifications and responsibility in denim. This creates healthy and positive competition, which promotes transparency.

ISKO has provided many fashionable moments, from runway shows to ISKOOLTM presentations. What it is your favourite ISKO fashion moment?
EF: One of my favourite moments is the formal denim activation with brands and celebrities which took place at the Green Carpet Fashion Awards in Milan (September 2018), with unexpected creative outfits made of ISKO denim worn by international celebrities. Moreover, the ISKOOL Finale Fashion Show, which is becoming more and more interesting each year and is always extremely inspiring as well as fun!

Copenhagen Fashion Summit’s Innovation Forum allows Summit participants to meet sustainable solutions for the fashion industry. How important is this in actioning change?
EF: It’s fundamental: it allows smaller players in the industry to meet the big players because we know change happens from the bottom as well, so it’s crucial that we involve them. It’s a great platform.

Can you reveal what ISKO will be showcasing at this year’s Innovation Forum?
EF: Not yet, but I can say it will be an unexpected, multi-sensorial experience, something you would not associate with denim at first! But as we know, ISKO stands for innovation and creativity, and the main ingredient will be just that.

Where do you see ISKO in 10 years?
EF: ISKO is already 10 years ahead: our R&D department and our amazing PhD lab are constantly working on things that are designed for the future. Sustainability wise, I see us creating new technologies that will help maintain and grow our message of responsibility and set even newer standards, never stopping.

What are your hopes for our planet in the next 10 years?
EF: I prefer not to talk about hopes, but to talk about actions: we must collectively take more sustainable actions. This is also why we’re here today and why we’ve been close partners of Copenhagen Fashion Summit on its journey.