Berlin Fashion Week had already conquered first rank as fashion metropolis in Germany last summer with the return of the main fashion fair Bread&Butter and was able to confirm this status impressively with the latest edition that ended last Saturday. According to estimates from various organisers, more than 100,000 international suppliers, dealers and journalists flocked to the capital again between 20 and 24 January to obtain information about the latest autumn/winter trends during shows, exhibitions, in showrooms and at parties.
Bread&Butter hosted in the buildings of the former Tempelhof airport was once again the most popular event. Indeed, the official visitor numbers are still outstanding, but the halls were packed on all three event days and the involved exhibitors such as jeans brand Levi’s were “very happy” with the realised result.
The mood was equally high at Premium, where the organisers reported one of the best days in the history of the order platform at the rail triangle on the first day of the fair. As well, all shows were sold out at the central fashion week location, the tent of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week at Bebelplatz. It was irrelevant whether established labels such as Custo Barcelona or Strenesse Blue were staged or whether young designers such as Frida Weyer, Sam Frentzel or Patrick Mohr presented their designs. In spite of the large media contingency and sold-out catwalk shows, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week is expected to set up its tents somewhere else in the future. The current location at Avenue Unter den Linden carries its share of historic baggage and has been associated with a dark stain since the 1930s. National socialists used to burn books of Jewish authors and scholars, oppositionists and socialists here. Therefore, civil-rights activists together with various political representatives staged daily protests in front of the catwalk tent, requesting the relocation of the fashion week site. The organisation of the international fashion agency IMG then announced that it will be looking for a new location for the event next summer.
Denim fair Jam which recently relocated to Berlin might also be well advised to look for a different location. Indeed, the visitor flow was respectable here as well, but many shoppers decided that the location at the eastern border of the city was too far from the remaining action, especially in view of the record low temperatures dipping to 15 degrees below zero.
People looking for truly creative approaches and innovative designs found them away from the large events held during the Berlin Fashion Week. For example, at HBC, a slightly run down location close to Alexander Square. Among other things, it featured the mini festival “Designer Scouts”, a vanguard anarchic evening during which the three new labels Starstyling, A.D.Deertz, Don’t shoot the Messengers and Juliaandben tried to show the established brands that the courage to experiment must not be lost even in difficult economic times.
By and large, all fairs, shows, presentations and events of the Berlin Fashion Show were well attended. Although the official numbers are still outstanding, especially the exhibitors, brands and suppliers were very happy with the progress of the four days in the capital. As a result, Berlin likely inched a step closer to its ambition to become part of the major fashion metropolises in the world in the near future.
Foto: A.D.Deertz