Press Release
Bright Despite the Rain - That was the summer 2024 edition of Berlin Fashion Week
![[Translate to en:] © ODEEH, Luna Schaffron](/fileadmin/_processed_/b/8/csm_Teaser_PM_5725_526a6c899c.jpg "© ODEEH, Luna Schaffron")
From July 1 to 4, Berlin Fashion Week once again presented itself as a powerhouse of talent. A total of almost 28,500 guests experienced a rich program of 35 shows and numerous large and small events that provided euphoric fashion moments throughout the city. Under the motto "The responsible movement of freedom, inclusion, and creativity", BFW once again proved over the four days of the event that it has firmly established itself on the map of global fashion capitals with its particularly creative protagonists and collections.
Between the antique columns of stately buildings, pools with plastic palm trees, neon lights in empty department stores and brutalist subway tunnels, Berlin showed again its most diverse side. The collections could not be pigeonholed in terms of style and inspired international fashion professionals, content creators, buyers and journalists despite the rain.
"Berlin Fashion Week was once again a great event in the fashion world, which we could feel and see in many places in the city. The fantastic presentations in 35 fashion shows and numerous accompanying events have shown what Berlin Fashion Week stands for: Incredibly creative talents who bring freedom, diversity and sustainability to life by creating inspiring and iconic fashion designs. More than 28,000 guests and the growing international attention confirm our course. We will continue to focus on courageous young fashion talents and continue our efforts to closely interweave creativity and sustainability. Fashion is a craft - to bring this topic even more into the spotlight is a major concern of mine for the further development of Berlin as a fashion metropolis. We want the most creative minds and the most talented hands to continue to showcase their skills at Berlin Fashion Week in the future." - Franziska Giffey, Senator for Economic Affairs, Energy and Public Enterprises
THE SHOWS
The heart of Berlin Fashion Week was formed by the shows and presentations of the Berlin Contemporary winners as well as the staging of the format “Intervention”, which was initiated for the second time by communication agency Reference Studios communications agency under the direction of Mumi Haiati following its successful premiere in February. The formats, sponsored by the Senate Department for Economic Affairs, Energy and Public Enterprises, have developed into powerful international platforms for new and experienced talents and took place in various locations throughout Berlin.
The Intervention Showcase at Tempodrom and hence Berlin Fashion Week kicked off with a show by knitwear icon Claudia Skoda. Berlin underground designer Claudia Skoda, who has been successful since the 1970s and who also dressed David Bowie, presented impressive wool ensembles, layered dresses and glittering lurex sweaters in front of a projected retrospective image collage.
Back in February, Berlin Contemporary winner Marie LUEDER presented within the Intervention Showcase and explored the boundaries between form and material with her fashion. This season, she showed layering looks consisting of boxy shirts, mesh dresses, metal shirts and pants with color gradients along with knee-high socks and Puma Speedcats.
After Benjamin Alexander Huseby and Serhat Işık previously showed the collections of their label GmbH in Paris, they celebrated their Berlin Fashion Week debut with "Resistance Through Rituals" and showed a strong collection of tailored hooded jackets, ultra-short shorts, polos and asymmetric dresses with an Olympic touch.
Shayne Oliver closed the Intervention program with his Anonymous Club Runway Show in the packed Tempodrom. For the second time, the internationally acclaimed artist showed in Berlin, inspiring an ultra-fashionable, young, international and influential audience - off- and online.
Also on Monday, Mitya Hontarenko showed his PLNGNS collection on the terrace of the brutalist Lobe Block. The Ukrainian impressed with consistently sustainable streetwear looks recycled from old sneakers and used his platform to draw attention to serious issues such as climate change and war.
Julia Ballardt and Nico Verhaegen from Milk of Lime presented the elaborately handcrafted pieces from their "Current" collection on the site of a former crematorium in Wedding, the Silent Green. In cooperation with NEWEST, Mario Keine chose the Kulturforum as an impressive location for his brand MARKE and presented looks inspired by rural shooting festivals. In keeping with the label's DNA, RIANNA + NINA flew in dancers from Athens to present their detailed folkloric creations in the Greek embassy building.
For the "Commute" collection of her label Avenir, Sophie Claussen designed urban-inspired upcycling looks, which she presented authentically on cobblestones under the eyes of the public at Potsdamer Platz. Another highlight was the show by Haderlump, who presented "AERO" in the historic Hangar 6 at Tempelhof Airport - a tribute to the innovative spirit of the aviation pioneers of the early 20th century. Jale Richert and Michele Beil staged a "swimwear show" for Richert Beil with tailored swimwear for all body shapes and remained true to their mission of bringing more inclusivity to the fashion world.
Sia Arnika chose a vacant store in Wedding for the presentation of her progressive fashion and played with stylistic contrasts and deconstruction. The grand finale of the second day took place in the stately colonnade of the Altes Museum, where Otto Drögsler and Jörg Ehrlich, the duo behind ODEEH, presented their latest collection. This season, the Berlin Contemporary winners once again presented extremely eclectic designs that always have one thing in common: excellent craftsmanship.
The Ukrainian label DZHUS kicked off the show on Wednesday in the atmospheric Kabbalah Center, followed by Berlin Contemporary newcomer Anna Heinrichs, who, typical of her label Horror Vacui, showed extremely elaborate creations, which paid touching homage to traditional craftsmanship. After her spectacular BFW premiere in February, this time Abarna Kugathasan from Kitschy Couture celebrated a bride enjoying her honeymoon, newly married to herself, at Stadtbad Neukölln and showed matching lingerie-inspired creations with silk flowers and dolphin accessories. Rosa Marga Dahl and Jacob Langemeyer from SF1OG were inspired by the vibrancy of marketplaces and showed handcrafted designs with references such as aprons, kitchen linen and shopping bags to live rock music.
Alan Balletshofer showcased his craftsmanship in the Martin Gropius Bau in the form of classic tailored fashion with sportswear references. The young designer Clara Colette Miramon celebrated her runway debut with "Nesting", a collection that explores the dynamic between female strength and vulnerability. At the end of the third day, Emilia Pfohl and Nan Li celebrated their Namilia collection 'Good Girl Gone Bad' together with cult label Ed Hardy and almost 600 guests as usual in a big, wild and colorful party of pop culture and provocation.
As in previous seasons, the NEWEST showcase format, produced by the agency nowadays and supported by the Senate Department for Economic Affairs, Energy and Public Enterprises, ensured that many of the shows ran smoothly in the various locations and, thanks to the collaboration with Museum&Location, gave visitors an exciting journey through Berlin's impressive architecture, history and cultural diversity.
Other highlights of the show program included brands such as Marc Cain, who invited their guests to the Neue Palais in Potsdam, and the Collective Four designers Kilian Kerner, Marcel Ostertag, Danny Reinke and Rebekka Ruétz, who attracted media attention and an enthusiastic audience around the Uber Eats Music Hall, as well as established names in the industry such as Dawid Tomaszewski, Anja Gockel and Ewa Herzog. On Thursday, the ABOUT YOU Fashion Circus covered the streetwear part of Fashion Week with shows from brands such as adidas, HUGO, LSCN by LASCANA, Levi's®, Nike, PUMA and Reebok, attracting around 1,300 guests, including musicians and content creators, to the city. Maximilian Gedra (The Ballery), Maria Chany (Manifesto am Potsdamer Platz), Faam Studio (Haubentaucher) and Marlon Ferry (NEST3) designed the last show day of the official schedule and rounded off the program with their creative collections.
The young talent promotion format Neo.Fashion. took place in the Atrium Tower at Potsdamer Platz. In addition to the graduate shows from 11 universities, the program was complemented by a panel talk about digital fashion followed by an exhibition of virtual works by around 50 digital artists, as well as collective shows by young German designers and talents from Ukrainian Fashion Week. The highlight was the 'Best Graduates Show', during which the Neo.Fashion. Awards were presented. Best Design: Marvin Mülleck, Kunsthochschule Weißensee; Best Craftsmanship: Marie-Louise Müller, Macromedia Berlin; Best Sustainability Concept: Nadine Aurin-Liew, HTW Berlin; Best Innovation: Christian Nemnich HS Pforzheim.
THE EVENTS
Der Berliner Salon took place for the first time in the imposing halls of the Bode Museum. Between art history and marble statues, visitors were able to discover the creations of the 44 participants from the fields of fashion, interior design and beauty. In addition, the looks of the seven finalists of the FCG/VOGUE Fashion Fund, which were presented at a reception in the James-Simon-Galerie on Monday, were also part of the group exhibition for the first time this summer: Kasia Kucharska, Lou de Bètoly, LUEDER, Namilia, Richert Beil, SF1OG and Sia Arnika can hope to win the prize, which is endowed with a total of 100,000 euros in financial and non-cash benefits. It will be awarded on September 23, 2024 in Berlin. The global initiative, which was announced during the last BFW in February and took place in Germany for the first time, aims to support young, up-and-coming talent and help them achieve visibility and commercial success.
The topic of sustainability was given plenty of space and visibility during Berlin Fashion Week. The eighth edition of 202030 - The Berlin Fashion Summit took place on July 2 and 3 at BIKINI Berlin. Under the motto RE/GENERATE IMPACT, the event offered lectures, panel discussions, workshops and networking moments that highlighted relevant aspects of sustainability in fashion. METAMORPHOSIS - dialogues about change celebrated its premiere. This format, initiated by the Fashion Council Germany in partnership with Vogue Business and powered by eBay, brought together a total of 30 experts in the CUPRA City Garage from July 2 to 4. The discussions focused on the topic of circularity and looked at necessary changes in the industry from the perspectives of design, technology, innovation and community.
Two days of SEEK and four days of THE JUNCTION: Brands from the streetwear, sportswear, heritage wear, denim, sneakers and footwear segments exhibited at Station Berlin to exchange ideas as a community, do business with international buyers and shape the industry of tomorrow. 41% of the exhibiting brands joined the CONSCIOUS CLUB this season, demonstrating their commitment to positive change in the fashion industry.
Various showrooms such as Berlin Contemporary in the Château Royal, REFERENCE FORUM: NEW WAVE and the Melagence showroom showed a strong development towards spaces that focus on the economic dimension of fashion.
The events of the STUDIO2RETAIL initiative brought Fashion Week to the streets, stores and galleries of Berlin. The highlights were the events that received awards as part of the competition funded by the Senate Department for Economic Affairs, Energy and Public Enterprises. Under the title "The Lissome Presents: Slow Style Chronicle", The Lissome founder Dörte de Jesus and her team presented their own new sustainable brand guide and organised a panel talk on the topic of "Conscious Making". Lou de Bètoly transformed a Neukölln gallery into a pop-up store where you could buy looks and accessories from her own collection as well as drawings and artworks curated by her. The multidisciplinary and social design project PEOPLE invited visitors to discover the collective's zero-waste designs. Black in Fashion presented five German brands with an African background and their founders as part of a store event. Under the motto "NextGen", Platte.Berlin focused on promoting young talent: Berlin fashion design graduates were able to apply in advance and their looks were sold during BFW with music, an open bar, tattoo studio and tooth gem bar. Effenberger Couture won the special prize from Berliner Sparkasse and opened a pop-up store with club atmosphere during BFW. W1P Studios, MAJÈRE, Luise Zücker and OBS & Maximilian Semlinger also organized creative events. Reference Studios organized an installation with the Italian brand CP Company, including a workshop, a one-week pop-up store for the label GmbH and UGG presented the official Intervention after-party. Overall, a young, very fashion-savvy and diverse audience gathered at the BFW activities and made the special vibe visible and tangible throughout Berlin. Images are available in the BFW Media Hub.
The next Berlin Fashion Weeks will take place from 3 February to 6 February 2025 and from 14 July to 17 July 2025.
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