It was a home run for sustainable fashion at Copenhagen Fashion Week AW22

In the era of circularity, it's no surprise that this season's Copenhagen Fashion Week showcased the diligence of many Scandinavian brands reducing their carbon footprint, regenerating materials and starting the larger conversation on emotional sustainability. From the catwalks to the deep-dive panel discussions this week, designers took bold swings — and hit a home run — in an evolving holistic fashion.

Here are some must-know (sustainability) moments that came to life in Copenhagen on this very fashionable first week of February.

Related: Copenhagen Fashion Week's CEO Cecilie Thorsmark is a sustainability superhero

Tobias Birk Nielsen, creative director of Iso.Poetism pleaded a strong case for emotional sustainability. As the winner of the Zalando Sustainability Award, Iso.Poetism opened the week with an extra-meaningful collection called 'The Echoes Which We Remain'. Having recently lost his wife, Nielsen confronted the emotions of his grief through each garment and the deeper story behind this collection.

He beautifully created a parallel between emotion and sustainability in what felt like a tribute to humanity, mortality and the many other cyclical forces in nature. "The holistic perspective of emotional sustainability is carefully conversed season after season, leaving the individual empowered to make a difference for the health of the people and the planet."

Related: Iso.Poetism wins Zalando Sustainability Award at CPHFW AW22

In the panel discuss 'Small talks, Big conversations', Sandra Gonza from the Global Fashion Agenda virtually chatted with three leaders in the business of sustainable fashion. Together, they unpacked the role that circular practices can play in solving related industry challenges. Emily Chan, sustainability editor at Vogue, gave valuable insight on regeneration and the complexities of committing to long-term solutions.

Lauren Bartley, head of responsibility, spoke about Ganni's approach to sourcing, designing, and innovating a garment's use phase. And Lauren Coppen, head of circularity at Zalando, expanded on the fine line between partaking in circularly and actually just consuming less. Additionally, she spoke about Zalando's commitment to the Ellen MacArthur Design Principles, embracing a products lifecycle in its entirety. It was an overall educational and engaging panel.

Watch the whole conversation here:

Holzweiler put on a stand-out show with their earth-toned collection, 'Weathering', where sustainability practices went beyond fabric selection. With a long-lived dedication to sustainability, this Norwegian fashion house gave a whole new meaning to the term "let me upgrade you". Breathing new life into past creations, Holzweiler upgraded by upcycling, using old garments to make a completely new collection. And in Holzweiler’s continued effort to extend their product life cycle, all showpieces will be available for rent.

See the full Holzweiler AW collection here

Another pro of circularity is that it presents new opportunities for creativity and collaboration. Although Søren Le Schmidt is in no way "new" to the chain of circularity, he always keeps it fresh. Le Schmidt partnered with the Danish Red Cross to transform old clothes into more than 600 unique pieces in previous seasons, and now, he is stepping into the furniture world. With a mission to design beautiful limited-edition capsule collections out of old furniture, Søren Le Schmidt is clearly not intimidated by the idea of innovating on something that already exists. His mindset is that most things are just in need of a little R&R.

See the full Søren Le Schmidt AW22 collection here

The Danish powerhouse of colours and patterns, Stine Goya, has always been outspoken about the industry's responsibility to treat "Product, Planet & People" with respect and care. In this week's presentation, Stine Goya paid even closer attention to the details than usual. Showcasing their AW22 collection 'Inside Out', House of Goya shared their joyful approach to circularity through their quintessential "Goya-ness" (stand-out colours and patterns) with the added sustainable twist, like biodegradable rubber and recycled sequins.

See the full Stine Goya AW22 collection here

Fassbender is a big believer in technology as an enabler for conscious practices, especially in the fashion world. They are forward-thinking innovators, and many of their embraced innovations were visible in this season's collection. Using technologies such as "3D printed manufacturing, microbial dyeing, and technologically enhanced fabrics". Fassbender proved a point: it is possible to re-engineer and innovate on luxury and elegance whilst protecting the planet.

See the full Fassbender AW22 collection here

Tomorrow Denim is the first-ever denim brand to be certified by the Nordic Swan Ecolabel as well as the EU Ecolabel, which is the highest possible honour within sustainability. As a Zalando Sustainability Award finalist, it's safe to say they hold themselves to the highest possible standards. This week, their voice was heard. With a powerful, recognisable speech of Great Thunberg’s playing loudly as the show began, Tomorrow Denim defined themselves as both sayers and doers — a brand of their word. It's shows like this that get you thinking about your own responsibility in taking climate action and holding the industry accountable to practice what they preach.

See the full Tomorrow Denim AW22 collection here