Berlin: Fashion fairs celebrate successful summer season

In fashion terms, the German capital’s rise during the last decade had been astonishing: “Berlin managed what no other city in the world has done in such a short time: to become an internationally recognized fashion metropolis”,

said Tanja Mühlhans, who is in charge of the fashion industry at the Senat, Berlin’s local government. But ahead of this summer’s fashion week, dark clouds had appeared on the horizon. The absence of Hugo Boss, Germany’s most important fashion company, from Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week’s schedule had raised some doubts about the future of Berlin’s status. The Swabians staid away from their home turf for the first time to stage runway shows in Shanghai and New York as they had decided to focus on their most important growth markets. Other traditional German fashion houses such as Rena Lange, Escada or Strenesse also gave Berlin a miss, which turned Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week basically into a showcase for upcoming local designers – who handled the bigger pressure remarkably well.

The trade fairs remained unfussed by the absence of some big brands from the runways. Premium, the biggest local event exhibiting 1.500 collections, recorded another attendance record. “Not only did we record the highest visitor numbers in our history, our exhibitors were thoroughly pleased with the number and quality of visitors“, CEO Anita Tillmann said. The percentage of Non-German guests rose to 71 per cent, reflecting the ever-growing international appeal of the fair.

Despite some doubts Berlin defended its new-found status

Bread & Butter, still the most important fair for denim and casualwear in the world, had raised quite a few eyebrows before this summer’s edition with a new restrictive admission policy. Only exhibitors and their affiliates, buyers and journalists could visit the fair for free, whereas other guests had to cough up 500 Euros. Representatives of big retailers such as Hennes & Mauritz or Zara were refused entry altogether. Therefore, a drop in attendance came as no surprise. “Due to the new visitor regulations, the event just concluded was of course not the strongest in terms of visitor numbers, but a very successful tradeshow for many exhibitors”, the organisers said. CEO Karl-Heinz Müller defended his stricter door policy: “Our decision to apply a stronger filter with the new visitor regulations proved to be right”, he said, admitting there had been “unpleasant scenes in the forefront and at the counters”.

The third major fair, Panorama, continued the success of its January debut with more exhibitors and satisfying visitor response. It proved once again that Berlin is not only about creativity and streetwear but has developed into a solid business location for high-volume, mass-market brands, too.

The Big Three were complemented by a number of fairs and showrooms, catering for all tastes and special interests. The eco fashion fairs Green Showroom and Ethical Fashion Show recorded further growth in terms of exhibitors and buyers, “Curvy Is Sexy”, a new event focussing on plus-size collections, met with favourable feedback from buyers and press despite its slightly cringeworthy name, and established smaller fairs such as Seek and Capsule impressed those who ventured off the beaten tracks with an excellent selection of Scandinavian, American and local brands once again.

Image: Bread & Butter