Discover 11 Lesser-Known Fashion Weeks Worldwide
Explore fashion week past the big four: New York, London, Milan, and Paris.
We all know the major fashion week cities: New York, Paris, Milan, and London. Your calendars have probably been marked since last season for these shows, but did you know how many other fashion weeks take place around the world? From the Dominican Republic to Copenhagen, L'OFFICIEL has you covered with all the information about fashion weeks globally — so fashion week will (almost) never end!
Australia Fashion Week hosted events this past May to showcase Cruise 2024 collections from an array of designers from Acler to Nicol & Ford. After the show, AAFW released the Power of Fashion Week Report which proved the events help small and established designers grow their brands. AAFW takes place once per year and showcases Cruise collections, hosts panels, and combines physical and digital exhibitions.
Over 20,000 people attended Berlin's growing bi-annual Fashion Week values "creativity, freedom, and inclusion," according to their website. Designers can participate in a "Concept Competition," encouraging designers to think innovatively and push to make a change in the fashion world. This budding fashion week is next scheduled for February 4-7, 2024 and July 8-12, 2024.
Copenhagen Fashion Week kicked off their fashion week in the heat of August, featuring brands including Ganni, Latimmier, and Stamm. Copenhagen places a heavy focus on sustainability during fashion weeks and through their three-year Sustainability Action Plan, CPHFW has pushed brands to prioritize sustainability. In order for brands to showcase their collections, they must adhere to a baseline of sustainability, equity, inclusion, and working condition requirements. This year, Ganni did something new when taking inspiration from AI to create their collection this season. CPHFW's Fall/Winter 2024 season will take place January 29-February 2, 2024.
Tokyo Fashion Week wrapped up at the beginning of this month and many looks were ones to remember. Brands including Kanako Sakai, Rainmaker, Harunobumurata, and Seven by Seven presented their collections for the Spring/Summer 2024 season. FWT's slogan encourages brands to "become the starting point for cooperation between designers, manufacturers, and apparel retailers," according to their website. Tokyo Fashion Week will return from March 11-16, 2024 for their Autumn/Winter 2024 collection.
Slightly overlapping with NYFW and Seoul's own Frieze international art show, Seoul Fashion Week showcased art on the runway. The shows did not used to take place in September but they were moved in an effort to mobilize creatives in the art and fashion world together. Seokwoon Yoon, Vegan Tiger, and BLR hit the runway with imaginative looks for the Spring/Summer 2024 season that are sure to make an impact worldwide. In addition to their influential shows, Seoul Fashion Week created a training program called "Generation Next," which breeds new designers into successful ones. Seoul Fashion Week takes place bi-annually but does not have solidified dates for the Autumn/Winter 2024 season just yet.
Madrid Fashion Week finished its Spring/Summer 2024 season, where many Spanish designers displayed their collections. This season, brands like SKFK, Paloma Suárez, and Emeerree, proved Madrid Fashion Week to be "Spain's major fashion event," as they describe on their website. MBFW aims to give Spanish designers a platform to display their collections and prove their status in the fashion world.
In just 21 days, the biggest fashion event of the year in the Caribbean will begin. RD Fashion Week includes accomplished designers from the Dominican Republic as well as international designers. Designers from Giannina Azar to Jorge Duque to Carolina Almonte are scheduled to participate. As a whole, the looks at RDFW are distinctive, stunning, and something you'll likely never find in the States.
October 8-15: Shanghai Fashion Week is set to take place in the thick of fall weather. In their promotion of the events, they highlighted words like "real," "future," "act," and "recovery," proving Shanghai Fashion Week might be an inventive week for fashion.
Formerly known as Arab Fashion Week, this year the Arab Fashion Council officially changed AFW to Dubai Fashion Week. AFW has been around since 2015, but with this new development, Dubai will make history this fall by celebrating its first official fashion week. The new DFW is set to take place twice per year with upcoming dates from March 10-15, 2024 and October 10-15, 2024 already scheduled.
Since 2001, Vancouver Fashion Week has highlighted different designers from all over the world twice per year. VFW was so dedicated to making a global impact that it used to be marketed as International Fashion Week. But VFW does highlight British Colombia's own designers through their yearly Nancy Mak Award. This award is given to one exceptional, rising BC designer each year. VFW provides winners with guidance and tools to help them grow further into the fashion world. VFW also introduced the "Global Fashion Collective," which allows designers to showcase their work at other fashion weeks globally.
Taking place in London, celebrate India Fashion Week with shows from established and up-and-coming Indian designers. In an effort to celebrate "the dynamic creativity of innovative world-class designers," as they describe on their website, India Fashion Week will keep you engaged in fashion well into November. Indian designers like Samant Chauman and Kalon took over the stage last season but designers have yet to be announced for this year.
