6 June 2025: From 3-5 June, Global Fashion Summit: Copenhagen Edition 2025 convened over 1000 influential leaders from brands, retailers, NGOs, policymakers, manufacturers, innovators, and adjacent industries to advance collective action on fashion’s sustainability challenges and opportunities. Presented by the Global Fashion Agenda (GFA), a non-profit organization accelerating the transition to a net-positive fashion industry, the forum was held at the iconic Copenhagen Concert Hall, with side events hosted at prestigious cultural venues throughout the city.
Building on 16 years of industry leadership, this year’s Summit explored the theme ‘Barriers and Bridges’, shining a spotlight on the current obstacles holding the industry back and the collaborative solutions to mobilize action. The content addressed five key forces shaping fashion’s future: Innovation, Capital, Courage, Incentives and Regulation. Her Majesty The Queen of Denmark, a long-standing patron of GFA, attended the opening sessions and visited the Innovation Forum.
Attendees were inspired by over 100 speakers, including representatives from Kering, RE&UP, eBay, VEJA, the European Commission, GANNI, The Lycra Company, Bangladesh Centre for Worker Solidarity, H&M Group, ExpectAI, Visa Europe, UN Environment Programme, Zalando, United Repair Centre, Target, and Artistic Milliners.
With even more focus on innovation this year, the Innovation Forum returned with a dynamic showcase of 30 solution providers spanning the value chain, from next-generation materials to cutting-edge end-of-use technologies. Through guided tours and a tailored Matchmaking program, more than 400 introductions were facilitated between relevant stakeholders and innovators.
During the opening of the Summit, Federica Marchionni, CEO, Global Fashion Agenda, urged: “The only certainty in this uncertain world is climate change. Leadership is needed most in times of adversity. Now is the time for leadership to step up, assert your vision and courageously drive action on sustainability. Now is the moment to support tenacious leadership that breaks barriers and shows what’s possible - remembering that true transformation comes from collaboration and collective courage.
Global Fashion Summit: Copenhagen Edition 2025 key facts:
- 104 speakers representing 26 countries, with 64% of speakers identifying as She/Her, 35% as He/Him, and 1% They/Them
- 1000+ attendees
- 30 solution exhibitors
- 400+ introductions and meetings between solution providers and relevant stakeholders
- 32 content sessions across 3 stages, 19 hours of content
- 18 leadership roundtable meetings
The Summit also facilitated 18 strategic roundtable meetings that brought together curated groups of executives, policy makers, leading industry voices, and sustainability experts from across the value chain and different markets for fruitful dialogues on how to address pressing sustainability issues and act accordingly. Topics included: Bridging Bangladesh’s Path to Circularity, co-hosted by United Nations Industrial Development Organisation; Local Shifts: Western Hermisphere, co-hosted by Target; A People-Centric Transition, co-hosted by Kering; Decoding Size: Shaping the Revision of the Textile Labelling Regulation, co-hosted by Zalando; Apparel and Footwear Circularity System Map, co-hosted by NIKE; Acceleration Circular Models with Logistics, co-hosted by Bleckmann; Local Solutions to a Global Problem, co-hosted by H&M Group; Driving Decarbonisation: Corporate Financial Engagement, co-hosted by The Fashion Pact and many more.
