Berlin Fashion Week: Berlin becomes the European Capital of Creative Industries for a Sustainable Future

The Berlin Fashion Week is transforming itself and entering the year 2021 strengthened: With the next fashion week (January 18 to 24, 2021), the German capital will position itself as the European Capital of Creative Industries.

The repositioning is the expression of a collective spirit of optimism that is shared and promoted by all those responsible and involved. It marks the start of a visionary idea for Berlin that is intended to strengthen and develop its location in a sustainable way.

The city of Berlin, as the host of the Berlin Fashion Week, is thus reflecting on its globally renowned strength as a creative, cosmopolitan and multifaceted metropolis and underlining its importance as the most significant location for national and international creatives in Germany. It is not by chance that the city carries the prestigious title of UNESCO City of Design since 2006 and is a member of the worldwide “Creative Cities” program.


International fashion competence meets sustainability and digitization

As the most important, most creative platform, the Berlin Fashion Week presents German and international fashion designers as well as premium fashion brands, internationally recognized young talents and trend-setting trends.

With a forward-looking interplay of interdisciplinary formats, the makers of the Berlin Fashion Week are creating a visionary and globally relevant concept that primarily focuses on innovation, sustainability and digitization.

Proven highlights such as the runway shows of the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week meet recurring programs such as DER BERLINER SALON as well as new crossover formats such as the Reference Festival and the primarily digital format BERLIN, BERLIN by Highsnobiety. These two newly added programs bridge the gap between contemporary fashion and various creative genres and ensure high media visibility with hybrid and digital formats. The Berlin Fashion Week is thus sharpening its profile and concentrating on what Berlin stands for worldwide: subculture, fashion, music and art.

The topic of sustainability is at the center of the Berlin Fashion Week. This can be seen in the new formats such as Fashion Open Studio / Fashion Revolution in cooperation with Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, which presents sustainable fashion brands from Berlin and around the world. At the same time, renowned sustainability experts are working with organizers and international stakeholders on Berlin's sustainability agenda. The results will be presented at 202030 The Berlin Fashion Summit  in January 2021.


Investment package worth millions

The fact that the realignment is met with overwhelming support is also reflected by the state's multi-million dollar investment: To strengthen Berlin's global radiance and to promote the holistic realignment of the Berlin Fashion Week, the Berlin Senate provided a significant investment package worth 3.5 million for 2021.
 

“The pandemic has particularly challenged companies in many areas. I am all the more pleased that we will be able to offer individual presentation options under the highest security standards as well as formats with high media appeal fashion labels and brands from Germany and Europe in January 2021. We are proud that we have developed new formats and realigned existing ones together with many stakeholders. With this we want to strengthen Berlin as a fashion location. We are currently in talks with other events, including those for the summer. I'm looking forward to the restart in January 2021. " – Ramona Pop, Senator for Economics

The formats of Berlin Fashion Week

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week

From January 18 to 20, 2021, Germany's largest and most established show format marks the atmospheric and emotionally staged prelude to the Berlin Fashion Week. The shows have been presented as live streams since 2018. From January 2021, these will be expanded to include live digital talks with designers and experts as well as virtual reality and live web tours. With the help of live streaming formats, the industry and viewers are given the opportunity to digitally follow all presentations, shows and contributions. (www.mbfw.berlin)


DER BERLINER SALON is celebrating its comeback on January 18, 2021 and is bringing German design talents together as part of its group exhibition in order to sustainably promote national and international awareness of design from Germany and to establish a sophisticated understanding of German fashion. The concentrated appearance of around 35 German designers from the areas of fashion, accessories and jewelry illustrates the relevance of fashion as a cultural and economic asset. (www.derberlinersalon.com)


Fashion Open Studio X MBFW

The new format Fashion Open Studio X MBFW on January 19 and 20, 2021 enables the participating fashion labels within the MBFW to present themselves in the form of show cases and a group exhibition. The program is enriched by three expert panels curated by the Fashion Open Studio team in collaboration with Fashion Revolution. (www.fashionopenstudio.com)


Fashion Open Studio Berlin

The renowned Fashion Open Studio program will take place for the first time on January 19 and 20, 2021 during Berlin Fashion Week. Fashion Open Studio is a global initiative by Fashion Revolution, which is curated by the Fashion Open Studio team in collaboration with Fashion Revolution Germany. Fashion Open Studio offers individual mentoring sessions for five selected Berlin fashion labels, open studio talks and virtual studio visits in Berlin. In this way, the format creates personal access to the designers and shows concrete solutions and steps towards a more responsible industry.


Berlin sustainability agenda

On the occasion of the realignment of the Berlin Fashion Week, Kaleidoscope Berlin and strong partners are developing a common understanding of sustainability for Berlin with all relevant stakeholders and organizers based in Berlin. The results will be presented to the public during Berlin Fashion Week in January 2021.


202030 The Berlin Fashion Summit

The 202030 Berlin Fashion Summit will take place for the first time. The format offers space to discuss topics that are moving in the fashion industry in workshops with international participants and to develop visions. The main topics are sustainability and digitization, fashion and culture, and a look at the fashion system. (www.202030summit.com)


BERLIN, BERLIN

The city of Berlin and its local scene stand together for a diversity and development opportunity rarely achieved elsewhere. With this digital-first format, Highsnobiety illuminates a space in which fashion, music, art and design meet and express themselves in the form of contemporary clothing and their progressive, visual communication. Selected contributions will be expanded into the physical urban space via video projections and augmented reality. With BERLIN, BERLIN, Highsnobiety puts the city and its creative scene in the center of the world through its own media channels of the same name.


Reference Festival

In the form of interdisciplinary showcases, performances, screenings and exhibitions, the Reference Festival gives local and international talent and key players a platform and is aimed equally at consumers and industry. The festival combines fashion, art and music. All activations are digitally expanded on Reference Realities, a video game-like online platform. (www.referenceberlin.com)


Study presentation "Status of German Fashion"

In a hybrid event during Berlin Fashion Week in January 2021, the Fashion Council Germany will present its study, funded by the Federal Ministry for Economics and Energy, on the importance, relevance and size of the German fashion industry. Together with the renowned Oxford Economics Institute, the contents of the study will be presented to a specialist audience via digital video conference and with a few face-to-face participants. It is an initial survey that depicts the German fashion industry as a cross-sectional industry with all sub-sectors and in its full added value. (www.fashion-council-germany.online)


Fireside Chat

The Fireside Chat, which will take place on January 18, 2021, is the established networking event series of the Fashion Council Germany, which opened its doors for the first time in Berlin in 2018 and has since taken place 21 times across Germany. The Fireside Chats receive guests from the fashion and media industry several times a year, who can exchange ideas and network in a pleasant atmosphere at the exclusive industry get-together. (www.fashion-council-germany.online)


Wear It Live

The Wear It Live format, which will take place on January 21, 2021, is a virtual event that focuses on the future of digital fashion and intelligent textiles. The host is the Wear It Innovation Summit, Europe's leading conference on wearable technology. Wear It Live is designed as a virtual, open innovation platform that will conclude at the Innovation Summit 2021, which will take place as a physical event in Berlin. (www.wearit-berlin.com/fashion-tech/)

Current information about the Berlin Fashion Week, the formats, dates and venues will be successively announced on the website www.fashion-week-berlin.com.