Review Berlin Fashion Week January 2016

The "Mode & Stil" conference, organised by ZEIT magazine, marked the beginning of the Fashion Week in Berlin. Under the motto of "Fashion Reloaded" more than 350 fashion experts discussed current topics, successful approaches and the requirements of the fashion industry in Germany. Tillmann Prüfer, Style Director at ZEIT magazine, kicked off the conference with the following quote: "There is a language in fashion that can't be misunderstood. Fashion is a fabric that has dreams woven into it." Christiane Arp, Chief Editor of Vogue Germany and designer Dorothee Schumacher argued that Berlin as a fashion location and haven for creatives should believe in itself more. Marina Hoermannseder also expressed her gratitude for the support she received as a designer both from the city of Berlin and the German Fashion Council.

The trade fairs that formed part of the Berlin Fashion Week – in particular the leading trade fairs Premium Exhibitions and Panorama Berlin - registered substantial grow, not only in terms of size but also in terms of visitors. Compared to the previous year, a plus of around 10% in terms of trade fair visitors is expected. Organisers and exhibitors expressed their satisfaction with the event. Both leading trade fairs, Premium and Panorama, consequently invest into the future, Premium with its #FASHIONTECH Berlin conference and Panorama fair with "Panorama Digitial", a virtual fashion trade fair that from now on facilitates the viewing and ordering of collections all year round. During the Fashion Week around 3,500 brands and collections, ranging from clothing suited for everyday use to avantgarde, streetwear and eco fashion, were presented to professional visitors and journalists, offering a variety that is unmatched by any other fashion week in Europe or even in the world.

All in all 38 designers presented their collections as part of the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin, nine of which had their debut in Berlin this year. Baldessarini as an international brand presented its men's collection, for the first time in Berlin, under the creative supervision of Holger Mitterhusen.

Other new brands represented at this year’s Fashion Week include fashion brands Filippa K, Joop, Napapijri, 11Paris, Cinque, Comma, Denham, Lee, Sportalm and Reebok. Among others, the highlights of the week were the shows by up-and-coming fashion labels Marina Hörmanseder, Louise Friedländer, Wiliam Fan and Maisonee. Along with the shows by Baldessarini and Rene Storck, both of which presented their collections at the Berlin Fashion Week for the first time, the shows by Dawid Tomaszewski, Esther Perbandt, Malaika Raiss, Perret Schaad, Sadak and Ivanman were very well received.

Berliner Modesalon presented over 40 fashion labels from Germany as well as avantgarde fashion at the highest level and had a record attendance with nearly 3,300 industry visitors and journalists. Apart from the parades, the curated group presentations form the core piece of the Berliner Modesalon, which showed key pieces from the autumn/winter collections by 40 designers and registered nearly a thousand visitors during only a few hours.

This year, the Senate Department for Economics provided financial support to the fashion shows of Berlin-based fashion labels Ivanman, Brachmann, Steinrohner and Maisonnoée as well as two additional fashion shows and the group exhibition at the Berliner Modesalon. In addition, the Senate Department supported Marina Hoermanseder and Nobi Talai as part the mentoring programme provided by Fashion Council Germany. The collections by the Berlin-based design talents clearly show that this cooperation has been fruitful. Nobi Talai presented a collection that combined timeless elegance and everyday suitability at the highest design level.

During the past week, both journalists and purchasers were able to gain an overview over upcoming trends, high-revenue brands and creative newcomers. Berlin Fashion Week has become an important event in the fashion calendar and as one of the leading events in Berlin generates an additional economic output of approximately 120 million euro per season.

The next Berlin Fashion Week will take place from 28 June to 1 July 2016.