Berlin Fashion Week: focused and innovative in 2018

Berlin is and always will be in fashion. At the Berlin Fashion Week 2018, from the 15^th to the 19^th of January designers, visitors and media representatives meet up, to learn about the trends of the upcoming Fall/Winter-Season. The Mercedes Benz Fashion Week is the MBFW and presents itself with a new concept, some trade shows entertain new locations and the FashionTech -conference gains another format with the focus point “Sustainable Fashion”. Around 100.000 visitors are expected for this season.

Since 2007 the Berlin Fashion Week is growing, changing and developing to a more and more important Event, which combines over 10 trade shows, conferences and fashion show formats, and also almost all fashion genres and innovation topics. Not least because of the Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises which supports and develops different formats and platforms with a yearly budget of up to a million euros since the beginning. More than 100 fashion shows and presentations by local fashion brands are sponsored within the Berlin Fashion Week ever since.

Overview of the Berlin Fashion Week from the 15^th to the 19^th January 2018

Important stops of the Berlin Fashion Week are still the fashion trade shows by the Premium Group in THE STATION Berlin at Gleisdreieck including the #FASHIONTECH, the Panorama Berlin in the ExpoCenter on the grounds of the exhibition centre Berlin, which from season to season attracts more than 50.000 visitor from 96 nations, die fashion trade show Seek and Bright at the Arena Berlin, in Berlin Treptow, the Show & Order, which for the first time is located in the Kühlhaus Berlin, the Selvedge Run for menswear, shoes and accessories in the Marshall-Haus on the grounds of the exhibition centre Berlin and of course, the Greenshowroom and the Ethical Fashion Show in their new location, the Kraftwerk Berlin. 

On time for the fashion week in January 2018, Synergies are created where once energy was produced: where Greenshowroom and the Ethical Fashion Show Berlin present sustainable fashion design, topics about the future of fashion are being discussed. The #FASHIONTECH BERLIN is held parallel at the Kraftwerk on the 16^th January. The conference about the digitalisation of fashion is complemented by the focal point Future of Retail, Digital Marketing & Communications through the new conference-format of the “Messe Frankfurt”, the FashionSustain. Focal points are sustainability and the future of textiles.

Die Show & Order is relocating and moves into the direct neighbourhood of the Premium exhibitions. That’s how potential is combined and the path for the press and buyers shortened. Spread over five floors Show & Order presents five different topics, inspired by the fashion metropolises in the world: New York, Copenhagen, Milan, Paris, London and Berlin, of course.

A solid format and another highlight of the fashion week is the group presentation by German designer as part of the BERLINER SALON, which will be held in the “Konprinzenpalais”.

For the first time under the signet of the umbrella brand, fashion, photography and design will be bundled: „Thanks to the connection of these creative fields, the event will be a place of inspiration for the buyers of upper concept stores.”, according to a spokesman of the BERLINER SALON.

The BERLINER SALON was founded in 2015 and has been developed each season and is the first source for national and international spokesmen and buyers regarding German fashion design or for “Fashion Made in Berlin” ever since. The Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises sees a lot of potential in the BERLINER SALON and supports it since 2015. The resulting development is noticeable from season to season. 

“The participants of the group presentation held by the Berliner Salon grew from 18 brands to over 40 labels; the catwalks and presentations grew from three to eight show slots. The format also obtained other locations in Berlin’s historical centre, alongside the “Kronprinzenpalais” there are for example the Humboldt-Forum in the Berlin Palace, the former state council building or the imperial guard telegraph office. Alongside the close relationship to the Condé Nast, we also welcomed many important titles by Axel Springer, Burda and the “Deutschen Fachverlag”.

We appreciate these synergies as part of the BERLINER SALON because we can only push realignments and German design together.“ according to a spokesman of the Berliner Mode Salon.

Something else is also changing: The Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week presents a new concept, including ten 30 Runway Shows and enough room for additional brand- and collection-staging. From the 15^th to the 17^th of January the new format shows the newest collections by the international designers at the E-werk Berlin-Mitte.

The Fashion Week is an important economic factor for Germany. The numerous visitors make for around 120 million euros additional economic output for hotels, catering, contractor, agencies and cab trade and affect the development of the fashion location Berlin positively: there are around 2.700 Berlin-based companies working within the fashion industry. This makes Berlin the city with the highest concentration of fashion businesses Germany-wide. 

Over ten fashion schools provide education for the growing number of designer talents and fashion labels. These can exchange views with agencies, textile craftsmen, suppliers and contractors because almost no other city is as lively and changeable and constantly sets new trends in art, fashion, film and music.