Berlin: As a Fashion City


Berlin has the ability to change forms. The 1990s rave scene’s bright hues, the 2000s’ leather and rubber queer sex scene, and the current ten-year reign of Angela Merkel’s power suits While the city strives for a new place on the global fashion map, it is thriving as a digital metropolis, defining how luxury is perceived in the nanotech age—less glamour and more zeitgeist relevance, high-tech, and always cutting edge. The fashion scene in Berlin offers an exciting blend of trendy street wear, the newest in office attire, and lots of avant-garde eye candy while Paris obsesses over haute couture, Milan prepares a steady supply of luxury, and New York ups its celebrity game.

 

While the “big four” fashion capitals have emphasised the appeal of sophisticated and formal attire, with couture houses driving the ready-to-wear collections that follow, locations like Berlin have taken centre stage in the industry for their more modern, informal attire. Glitzing up everyday outfits makes dressing down the new dressing up.

Historical Background

Historical analysis paints a different picture of Berlin’s reputation in the fashion world. Bread & Butter and Premium, two fashion trade shows, arrived in the city in 2003, opening the current chapter in the city’s fashion history. When all fashion fairs, including Panorama, Premium Group, and Neonyt, are taken into account, there were nearly 1800 exhibitors in Berlin in July 2019, compared to approximately 270 brands there 17 years ago.

Fashion in Berlin is more than simply fashionable clothing. Berlin fashion in the 1920s represented a certain social life, a way of living, and a means of expressing one’s uniqueness. But that was a long time ago. Today’s taxpayer-funded “fashion displays” in Berlin get very little coverage in the international media. They are only insider gatherings for a group of designers who struggle to succeed in London, Milan, or New York. Fashion from Berlin used to be a major export and was in high demand. The 1920s culture was greatly influenced by the industry’s high level of innovation, which also served as an inspiration for writers, composers, directors, actors, and architects.

For a small upper class in the 19th century, fashion, fashion stores, new trends, and delight in new clothing as an expression of a lifestyle were all exclusive. After the First World War, however, the city’s reputation as a global centre of style soared, and fashion played a significant part. An important factor was the rise in female office workers in Berlin, who loved to shop for new clothes each season at reasonable prices. The history of Berlin fashion and Berlin fashion designers is extensive. Due to the Berlin fashion industry and its organisations doing everything they could to erase the history of Jewish designers starting in 1948, this history is essentially unknown today.

Important Fashion Events and Destinations

It includes -

Fashion Week in Berlin (January and June)

Berlin Fashion Weeks draw visitors from all over the world, despite being smaller than the “big four” fashion weeks. The event is obviously as much about partying as it is about fashion because it is in Berlin. Berlin’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week easily incorporates sustainability into every aspect of its design. Here, green is fully embraced rather than relegated to the fashion industry’s periphery. A key event in this movement is the Neonyt Trade Fair, which takes place during Fashion Week in the Kraftwerk building. The exhibition hosts the Fashionsustain Conference and motivates bloggers, influencers, and companies to approach fashion from a technological and sustainable perspective.

PREMIUM (June)

A 3-day event called the Premium International Fashion Trade Show will take place in Berlin, Germany, from January 15 to January 17, 2020. A world-class event, the Premium International Fashion Trade Show exhibits items like casual wear, men’s wear, women’s wear, material, textures, form embellishments, silk, ethnic textures, and items of clothing; machines and equipment for the mould industry; fashion establishments and planners; fashion productions; media and administrations; underwear and shoes; as well as fine scents and beautifiers, and so on, in the apparel and clothing, lifestyle, and fashion industries. The premier international fashion trade expo, PREMIUM, is constantly on the lookout for the most cutting-edge collections from throughout the world.

Butter and Bread (September)

A major trade show for ready-to-wear and street fashion is called Bread and Butter. In 2001, Bread & Butter was established. Bread & Butter was originally held in Cologne until 2003, but in January of that same year it relocated to Berlin. With effect from July 2005, Barcelona joined Berlin as the company’s second location. Zalando’s Bread & Butter was a year-round online shopping destination and an annual event in Berlin. Bread & Butter’s DNA includes access to pre-launches and uncommon items, with a focus on streetwear and shoes in particular. For the launch at Bread & Butter, brands including Vans, adidas, Eastpak, Nike, and many others made special goods.

Street Style

Berlin is the world’s coolest city and the epicentre of street style, even if we forget the glitz and glamour. Berlin’s streets are crowded with artists, writers, and designers, each with their own peculiar sense of style and originality, drawing creative types from all over the world. The German city is one of Europe’s newest fashion hubs, thanks to its more than 800 cutting-edge designers and labels. Although it is powerful, edgy, sleek, and robust, the city has managed to create a distinctive sensibility that distinguishes it from the more traditional fashion capitals.

Conclusion

By fusing the country’s illustrious engineering tradition with its underappreciated fashion past, Berlin is on to something truly unique. Germany gave Jil Sander, the Dassler brothers, the Puma and Adidas rivalry, and people like Düsseldorf-born Demna Gvasalia (of Vetements and now Balenciaga fame) second chances in the fashion world. It’s time to start paying attention more and going to the Berlin fashion scene more frequently. The roots of the new cool are strong and unbreakable by money.

Updated on: 06-Dec-2022

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