Behind the Scenes: The best moments of Berlin Fashion Week

KELLY NIESEN 

Freelance fashion editor and publisher of Is It Just Me, Or ...? 

I was particularly impressed by the different show locations this season, which emphasised Berlin's multifaceted nature once again. From the Intervention shows in the Tempodrom and Odeeh in the picturesque colonnade of the Altes Museum to Haderlump in the historic Hangar 6 of the former Tempelhof Airport or Namilia in The Tunnel under Potsdamer Platz - the venues were perfectly selected each time and offered the ideal setting for the respective collection.

JOSEPHA RODRIGUEZ 

Stylist, Art and Creative Director 

What does Berlin Fashion Week stand for for you? 

Especially for the up-and-coming talent, good ideas, talented designers, progressive approaches and a great interest in sustainability. I want to see more of this in the future of the fashion industry in Germany! There is so much creative potential and diversity here in Berlin, which continues to unfold thanks to international influences. I believe that if we give our aesthetes and creatives even more recognition and space, Berlin Fashion Week will be seen and celebrated even more globally. 

You have been an integral part of BFW since 2011. What has been your personal highlight so far? 

Last February, I accompanied two shows as art director and stylist. They happened to be on the same day, so I basically had to split myself in two on the day of the show. The weather was brilliant, the atmosphere in the city was super energetic and both shows were buzzing with productivity and creativity, making me feel a bit like a superhero in a time machine as I travelled back and forth between the two locations with just my mobile phone in my pocket so that I could be virtually everywhere at once.

After the applause at the finale of one show, I raced back to the other venue in time for the line-up of the second show. In the end, everything worked out and both shows went really well.

Was there a moment that particularly touched you? 

Yes, last summer. Back then, all my sisters visited me in Berlin while I was looking after two shows at the same time. I got them involved as backstage photographers, models and assistants. This allowed them to experience first-hand what I was doing and it was super empowering for me to have them there. It was a great feeling to experience Berlin Fashion Week with ‘my gang’. It was definitely the most emotional season for me and will always be a great memory.

NILS DOOSE 

Freelance Fashion Writer

Fashion alone does not create a magic moment in 2024. But that's exactly what it takes for a runway show to go viral and cause an international stir. The participating brands at Berlin Fashion Week know this too: they are becoming more inventive season after season, presenting their latest collections sometimes in a disused underground railway tunnel, sometimes in a swimming pool or even in the centre aisle of a church. The Haderlump label exceeded all expectations with its show for spring/summer 2025. For the ‘Aero’ collection, the brand sent models down the catwalk between two large aeroplanes in a hangar at the former Berlin-Tempelhof airport. When the huge hangar door slid open almost in slow motion for the grand finale and the models began their défilé accompanied by epic music, the biggest magic moment of the season was perfect.

KRISTINA HELLHAKE 

Communication Specialist and founder of Compose PR 

One of the best and perhaps most moving moments for me was when Irina Dzhus' show started, which I accompanied this season. The last few minutes before a show are always full of adrenaline and extremely intense - who's going to come through the door, is everyone there, are we going to start? When the internal starting signal is given, the tension is released for all the performers and the magic of the designer's performance unfolds. I missed this euphoria of the BFW during my time while on maternity leave, so I enjoyed it all the more this time.