Copenhagen fashion week closed earlier this month with more designers offering up clean shapes and uncluttered silhouettes hoping to rival their contemporaries Stine Goya, Bruuns Bazaar, Margit Brandt and Marlene Birger.
Since the economic recession of 2008, both the fashion and design worlds have embraced austerity, and the modernist, often minimalist, elegance espoused by the Danes is gaining momentum globally, including in Asia.
As those jaded by Italian extravagance or the mass appeal of French design turn to Scandinavian countries for inspiration, design-savvy Danish jewellery and watch brands are capitalising on their roots to grow globally.
'The ability to produce conceptual brands and collections, coupled with sound business sense and some of the world's most stringent rules regarding quality, creates the perfect breeding ground for international success,' says Christoffer Ritzau, director of Denmark's National Council of the Jewellery & Watch Trade.
Georg Jensen, a heritage brand that dates back more than a century, has been building in Asia for 35 years. With six stores in China at present that follow the Scandinavian Luxury Lifestyle Home concept, Georg Jensen will open a new retail area this year in conjunction with the upcoming Royal Cafe in Beijing, and next year will open its Asian headquarters on the mainland.
With its rich history and clear strategy for the future, it's little wonder Georg Jensen considers China a significant growth engine. 'With our track record in the East it would be a shame not to enter China,' says Georg Jensen's chief executive, Ulrik Garde Due.