Berlin Fashion Week is a very expected event for all brands, designers, creative minds and fashion lovers of the German capital. This year, the shows are taking place in the infamous Kraftwerk. Let’s take a look at what this year’s Fashion Week surprises are.
An international opening
To start off, a group a fashion designers from South Africa will make the honors and begin the show. All the designers involved in this presentation were meticulously chosen by the Mercedes Benz Fashion Talents program. A very international and encouraging start for young aspiring designers around the world.
The opening show will take place on the 13th of January and will feature the very promising works of South African creators Clive Rundle, Floyd Avenue, Viviers Studio and Rich Mnisi. Their creations and show is expected be a striking reflection of their culture, craftsmanship and traditions.
It is not the first time that Mercedes Benz cultural investments have been focused on South Africa: « Ten years ago, to kick off the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Talents program, we invited the South African label Black Coffee to hold a fashion show for the Berlin Fashion Week » says Bettina Haussmann, Head of Branded Entertainment at Mercedes-Benz Cars. She adds: « Africa has some of the most promising, emerging fashion talent who are able to translate their culture and traditional craftsmanship into modern collections. ».
New venue, bigger catwalk and a public access
This year’s fashion week is hosted at Kraftwerk for the first time. The building is situated in the center of Berlin and is an important part of the city’s industrial and cultural history. Kraftwerk also permitted the creation of an impressive 45 meter long catwalk which is certain to help the event provide the most impressive and memorable fashion moments.
Alongside the fashion shows for journalists, buyers, influencers and other fashion experts, the new venue introduces a public accessible space. At the ground floor, exhibitions about the fashion designer’s works will be free and open for all to enjoy. Berlin Fashion Week has tried, through the years, to give the public an opportunity to be part of this very prestigious and private event by democratizing their practices.
A look into the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Talent Program
Mercedes Benz has been promoting young fashion talent since 2009 with its in-house « Mercedes-Benz Fashion Talents » program. The project’s aim is to support up-and-coming designers seeking to build a career beyond their own country’s market. Mercedes Benz has already presented fashion shows by more than 90 emerging designers on around 30 platforms around the world, including young talent from Milan, London, Tiflis, Istanbul, Sri Lanka and Berlin. The Mercedes Benz Fashion Talents program promotes local craftsmanship and builds important cultural bridges.
This year’s Fashion Week is an exciting opportunity for Berlin based designers, writers as well as fashion enthusiasts to discover new promising artists that will shape tomorrow’s fashion industry and to meet some that are already renowned creators such as Rich Mnisi that has been worn by none other than Beyoncé and Naomi Campbell.
Berlin Fashion Week 2020: everything you need to know
