COO of Copenhagen Fashion Week Isabella Davey discusses capsule wardrobes, fashion pet peeves and the designers exciting her now …
Raised in Dolphin’s Barn and living in Copenhagen, Isabella Davey is the Chief Operating Officer of Copenhagen Fashion Week. Davey’s honed experience and rich industry know-how means she has collaborated with some of the fashion industry’s biggest names and brightest lights. However, it’s her grounded presence and contagious passion for championing new talent that sets her apart from her peers. To Davey, the coolest thing you can wear on the front row is a smile, while good manners supersede any viral trend. Here, Davey shares everything that’s on her radar now.
The definition of good style is: manners and a smile. They are a universal language!
The thing that’s inspiring me now is a good book. I have started a book collective Conch Books, which has allowed me to indulge in the luxury of dreaming up projects and collaborations, and how to bring them to life. Conch Books is about celebrating the everyday reader and cultivating clusters and clubs that are dedicated to literature and printed matter. This has been filling my evenings and weekends, with a host of activities planned for the second half of the year and an audiobook app being released next year.
Capsule wardrobes are a thing for me. I have a substantial wardrobe and – whether it is a deep understanding of myself or sheer laziness I don’t know – but I have a set amount of pieces that are in constant rotation. I love a skirt, slim-fit jeans (my favourite pair has been patched four times now), a denim shirt (they never crease), a navy V-neck knit which was a menswear one that I shrunk and now it fits perfectly and, ideally, a pair of flip-flops, if weather permits. My bags rotate between the labels Venczel and Kalda. I pair all of this with no make-up, as I am hopeless at it, and frazzled hair!
The item I just bought to wear for summer is: less something I have bought and more something I have made, which is a special Anne Sofie Madsen x Conch Books tee for an intimate event we are hosting with Nike this Copenhagen Fashion Week. This will be what I plan to wear for the rest of the summer.
Currently in my basket is: anything the brand Kalda has in its online shop. Reykjavik designer Katrín Alda makes the sexiest shoes that are the most comfortable, to boot.
The one thing I always repurchase is: the Daily Hydra Cream for sensitive skin by Woods Copenhagen. I absolutely love it.
The beauty buy that’s changed my life is: sunscreen! The simplest, safest and most effective thing you can do for your skin. That and anything by Rowse. The founder Nuria Val is a beloved friend of mine.
If money were no object, this season I’d buy: so much from the incredible generation of emerging designers. This is where our money should be going: support the next generation.
I always bring booze or flowers as a hostess gift. I wish I was the kind of chick that makes her own chutney, or something. Maybe one day in my future Martha Stewart era.
The least stylish thing I own that I wear all the time is: anxiety. I am someone riddled with the curse of overthinking. If I could rid myself of this negative cloak I would.
When my creative well is running low I do this to fill up my cup: reading a book is both restorative as much as inspiring. I have had some of my best ideas when I am deep in a novel, and it is also the place I love to escape to.
The coolest thing someone can wear on the front row is a smile. We are so lucky to do what we do, to see such hard work and incredible talent. A pet peeve is people wearing a scowl and sunglasses inside.
My top tip for surviving fashion week in style is not to sweat the small stuff. Also, everything is fixable. That and comfortable shoes. There’s nothing chic about blisters.
Where should we go to shop/refuel/relax when in Copenhagen? Shop at Tekla, Sabine Poupinel, mfpen, Simone Book Services, Kirkegaards Antikvariat, Le Petit Voyeur. Refuel with a glass of wine at Rosforth & Rosforth, a fishcake from Torvehallerne, dinner on a Friday night at Bevi Bevi or Barr, an ice cream from Alice. Relax with a facial at Ara’kai, a trip to Louisiana Museum of Modern Art and a visit to Opera Park.
Collage credits (clockwise from top left): Instagram @cphfw; Instagram @isabella_rose_celeste; Regenerate Night Serum with Bakuchiol, €66; www.rowse.co; Instagram @isabella_rose_celeste, image: Tine Bek; black Aera leather shoulder bag, €780; www.venzcel.co; Daily Hydra Cream, €50; www.woodscopenhagen.dk.
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