Review: Berlin Fashion Week January 2017

During the successful summer season in June 2016, around 200,000 visitors had already attended 150 events, 70 of which were fashion shows. With an additional economic output of 120 million euros generated by Fashion Week every season, Berlin, in a flash, has managed to put itself on the fashion map as one of the highest-grossing fashion locations in the world, putting it among the top 5 global fashion locations with the most collections presented in the course of four days.

In addition to established platforms such as fashion shows Premium Exhibitions, Show & Order, Bright and Seek – which are now part of the portfolio of Premium Group – Panorama Berlin, Greenshowroom and Ethical Fashion Show as well as Selvedge Run, Berliner Modesalon and Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin, there is a never-ending supply of new concepts serving to round off the exquisite programme of Berlin Fashion Week.

The fashion spectrum offered in Berlin ranges from expensive couture, eco-fashion and streetwear through to individual fashion items and collections. Niche markets such as “sustainable fashion” and “smart wearables”, in particular, help Berlin tap into relevant fashion markets. As part of this development, Green Fashion and Upcycling are gaining importance: More and more Berlin-based fashion brands, including Schmidttakahashi, Ica Watermelon and Ewa Herzog, make a point of adhering to ecological production standards. Greenshowroom and Ethical Fashion Show, along with the larger trade shows, now include numerous eco-brands in their portfolios.

Fashion tech combines creativity and innovative wearables. IDZ Berlin (International Design Centre) or platforms such as Sourcebook offer various services to fashion brands, giving designers, textile artisans, suppliers and service providers in the fashion industry a chance to share production know-how across the entire value chain, from the initial idea through to series production. This simplifies communication among the various actors in the textiles sector and helps fashion companies tap into new markets.

A regular feature at Berlin Fashion Week is Berliner Mode Salon which is supported by the Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises/ Projekt Zukunft. Every season, selected up-and-coming designers from Germany can take advantage of the opportunity to present their collections as part of défilés, presentations and curated group exhibitions on a floor space of over 2,000 square metres in Berlin's Kronzprinzenpalais. As was the case in previous seasons, the highlight of the Berliner Mode Salon remains its group exhibition featuring more than 40 designers.

Every season, in order to support talented youngsters, the Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises/ Projekt Zukunft offers slots for fashion shows and presentations to up-and-coming designers. In January 2017, a number of projects were supported, including the joint exhibition at Berliner Modesalon and the fashion shows by Antonia Goy and Malaika Raiss as well the showroom at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. There are plans to continue the mentoring programme that has been organised in cooperation with the Fashion Council Germany. 

Since 2007, the Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises has been providing annual funding of 1 million euros for individual projects as well as infrastructure projects in the fashion industry.

Through the Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises/ Projekt Zukunft, the federal state of Berlin has contributed more than 10 million euros in the form of knock-on financing, grants and investments (excluding IBB funding programmes and investment subsidies) as well as lent a helping hand in order to promote the successful development of Berlin Fashion Week and the fashion scene as a whole.

All information, an uncluttered calender with over 200 events and daily news updates on the fashion location Berlin and Berlin Fashion Week are available at <link http://www.fashion-week-berlin.de/>www.fashion-week-berlin.de</link>, where more than 500,000 users get their information every season.