Goya has a track record of hosting shows that hold meaning for her personally. For SS24, she invited guests to come to the street where she and Hertz live in Copenhagen. “All the neighbours were hanging out of the windows,” recalls Hertz. “It was a way to bring people a bit closer to what it is to live in Copenhagen.” The season before, the show was held in the brand’s atelier, accompanied by portraits of its team. These smaller-scale, more intimate shows can have “huge impact”, Goya says.
She does not rule out a move to the Milan or Paris schedule at some point, following in the footsteps of other Scandi brands like Ganni and Cecilie Bahnsen, but for now, her sights remain set on Copenhagen. “We love to show where the brand was founded to the audience that comes from abroad,” she says. Hertz adds: “With the size we are, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to change. If we were opening new markets or stepping up substantially in volume, it could be relevant. But at the moment, I think it fits perfectly that we can support Copenhagen Fashion Week and show in our own backyard.”
Moving production closer to home
Like many brands, Stine Goya makes a proportion of its collections in Asia and has been hit by disruptions to shipping through the Suez Canal due to the threat of Houthi militant attacks. It also cannot transport goods via train through Russia amid the ongoing war with Ukraine. Meanwhile, it has internal targets to use air freight as little as possible for sustainability reasons.
All of this is reshaping its sourcing strategy. “We have always had production in Europe, but we also had a lot in Asia. Now, we have a new strategy to make more of our products [closer to home],” says Hertz. In the past, such a move was unrealistic given the much higher labour costs in Europe. “We think it might actually level out, which is new,” he says. “We couldn’t have done this a few years ago. But transportation costs are rising. And the delays are a huge problem.”
Sourcing closer to home opens up new possibilities. “It’s exciting for me as a designer because there is amazing workmanship in Europe, and I want to also build more quality into the collection,” says Goya. “Being closer to [how the product is made] is something I’m extremely excited about.”