Berlin is Germany’s fashion capital and the region with the highest concentration of fashion firms, with roughly 4,800 companies and 25,500 employees. They made about 5 billion euros in sales. Fashion enthusiasts and tourists from all over the world are attracted by the city’s extensive shopping areas and international brands’ flagship stores. Berlin Fashion Week hosts numerous other fashion tradeshows and fairs in addition to Mercedes-Benz-sponsored catwalk shows twice a year. On the catwalk, primarily Berlin-based designers and well-known German brands like Marc by Marc Jacobs and Lauren present their latest collections, but an increasing number of international labels are also highlighted as up-and-coming talents. The most significant fairs are Premium and Panorama, which are primarily focused on womenswear. Premium’s Seek and Bright, on the other hand, are becoming more well-liked and are more focused on menswear and sportswear. Another important area is “grüne mode,” which is represented by the Green Showroom, the Ethical Fashion Show, and other showrooms and smaller fairs that round out the portfolio of trade shows.
The history of Berlin’s fashion industry has been arduous and protracted. The majority of the businesses were either destroyed by the war or disowned by the Nazis. Germany was once the epicentre of fashion from the turn of the century through the Roaring Twenties. Fashion Week temporarily relocated to other German cities due to the Berlin Wall dividing the city for decades after that, but it never had a significant impact on the fashion industry. However, this has changed since the 1990s, and Berlin is now making a comeback.
Berlin has added a dash of global money and global elegance to its already outstanding cultural veneer since becoming the capital of a unified Germany. It was once a haven for monarchs, dictators, peddlers, and spies, but now it’s a hotspot for young, fashionable people. This compelling history follows Berlin fashion trends through a variety of historical eras and events, including the destruction by the Nazis of the predominately Jewish ready-to-wear industry, the confusion surrounding the division and reunification of the East and West, an unsuccessful attempt to open a fashion museum, and the introduction of Berlin Fashion Week in 2007.
Every year, Berlin Fashion Week is held twice, once in January and once at the start of July. The Premium Fair, which made its debut in 2003, is its oldest institution. In 2007, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week debuted its catwalk presentation, and in 2013, the Panorama trade expo was established, where popular mid-range brands typically present their most recent collections. The first time the trade shows Seek and Bright were held together at Arena Toronto was in the summer of 2015, giving the menswear and sportswear sectors a boost. The same was true for Fair Selvedge Run, a specialised denim and accessory label that debuted in 2015. The once-significant expo for jeans and streetwear, Bread & Butter by Zalando, will take place atTreptower Arena for multiple editions, where German fashion e-tailer Zalando runs the fair with a completely new concept.
The eWerk in Berlin has served as the main venue for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week for multiple iterations. During previous seasons, a long tent was set up in various locations throughout the city, including the Brandenburg Gate square. Nevertheless, many designers typically like to choose unique, frequently extremely evocative sites for their displays throughout the city. Der Berliner Salon, a showroom for upscale German labels frequently held in the Kronprinzenpalais, is taking place concurrently. While Panorama has frequently been held at the exposition centre at Funkturm Berlin, the old broadcasting tower in Charlottenburg, the Premium fair utilises the halls of “Station,” a former postal freight railway station adjacent to Potsdamer Platz, as well as other industrial buildings. The Treptow event space Arena, which has become known for hosting fairs like Seek and Bright in the past year, is another Fashion Week hub. Shuttle services are offered during Fashion Week between all significant locations.
Berlin Fashion Week, which is run by IMG and supported by Mercedes Benz, may not yet be as significant as fashion weeks in Paris, London, or New York, but it is on its way there. Since the major trade fairs Bread & Butter and Premium established locations in Berlin, the city has recognised the potential of the fashion industry.New awards are now supported by the senate, German department stores, and the trade fairs themselves, inspiring and introducing new designers to pursue their artistic goals. In Germany, well-known designers tend to be those who have been in business for a while. Examples include Lala Berlin, a former MTV editor famous for her knits and cashmere, Michael Michalsky, a former creative director for Adidas, and, of course, Escada and Hugo Boss. However, even the majority of Germans have never heard of the truly innovative and avant-garde fashion designers.
Berlin Fashion Week is a platform for emerging, controversial, and creative designers. The focus of Germany’s fashion week has shifted from well-known brands to up-and-coming fresh talent, despite the fact that some of the greatest fashion labels in the world, including Jil Sander, Hugo Boss, and Adidas, have their roots there. For instance, the StyleNite by fashion designer Michael Michalsky received widespread media attention for its novel performances fusing several artistic mediums with fashion. At StyleNites, well-known singers including Lady Gaga and Hurts performed. Michalsky also takes a fairly open-minded stance while selecting models for his presentation. Designers in Berlin who cannot afford the official fashion week tent’s prices frequently host their own events or open pop-up shops throughout the city. The fashion crowd and local city nightlife enthusiasts are drawn to parties associated with the fashion industry, after-show parties, and notably those sponsored by brands. For the next few days, Berlin, with all of its laid-back hipsters and a never-ending party crowd, will be on fire-all in the name of fashion.
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