Fashion Week
January 20, 2010
It is that time of the year again as designers from around the world are busy packing their collections and beginning their bi-annual pilgrimage to the German capital. Berlin Fashion Week returns for its sixth outing from January 20-23 and promises to build on past success.
A total of 30 fashion shows are planned to display the new trends for winter 2010/2011. In addition to trends from more established names such as Boss, Rene Lange and Strenesse Blue, Berlin has continued to draw in many fresh names such as the award-winning newcomers Frida Weyer and Sam Frenzel.
Notable absences
As for the established designers, two of Germany's oldest names are notable by their absence. Both Karl Lagerfeld and Wolfgang Joop will not be there, instead preferring to showcase their work on the catwalk in Paris.
Joop has turned his back on the event after accusing the Berlin Fashion Week of being too focused on glamour. The creator of the Wunderkind label claims it has become nothing more than a show for the media, filled with celebrities who aren't even interested in fashion.
"I would never put on a fashion show in the Friedrichstadt Palace," said the German fashion icon, referring to the Berlin event center where designer Michael Michalsky held a show during last summer's Fashion Week.
"That's just for entertainment value and fashion is supposed to be an art," added Joop, as reported by dpa.
The organizers of the Fashion Week, IMG Fashion, disagree. "I don't think that it's any different in Paris," IMG spokesman Daniel Aubke told Deutsche Welle. "Celebrities are also invited there and it's no different in Berlin."
A center of creativity
Aubke said that the lack of big names wouldn't reflect badly on the event. "Designers decide for a city that makes the most sense for them. If they can reach their target audience better there than in a different city, then they will obviously show there."
Berlin, after all, has made up-and-coming designers its focus, so perhaps Joop and Lagerfeld don't really fit in after all. The German capital is often viewed as a bubbling cauldron of creativity and the show can capitalize on its home-grown talent of some 600 to 800 designers. The city has already gained notoriety by concentrating on the work of exciting, talented and innovative young designers who continuously push the boundaries of creativity.
One of these is resident Berlin designer Sam Frenzel, winner of the Designer for Tomorrow award at the show's last outing. This season, he'll be displaying his first collection on the Berlin catwalk.
One step at a time
By focusing on young newcomers, the Berlin Fashion Week has developed a unique flavor that sets it apart from Paris and Milan. But the event's organizers say that Berlin still isn't quite ready to go head-to-head with the major leaguers.
It'll take time until Berlin firmly establishes itself on the fashion map, but this process has already begun, says IMG Fashion. Last season, the event attracted attention from around the world and drew fashion reporters from the New York Times, The Guardian, and Vogue Italy.
"We've only been here since 2007 and it would be a bit presumptuous to say 'we want to have a comparable audience to Paris,' but we are trying to develop step by step," said Aubke.
Change of venue for next year
An unforeseen step in this development was announced one day before launch amidst clouds of controversy over the show's main venue.
Bebelplatz is best known as being the site of the infamous book burnings held on May 10, 1933, where thousands of books were burnt by students and members of Hitler's National Socialist Party. Today, a glass window offering a view into a room filled with empty bookcases commemorates the event.
In an open letter addressed to Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit, campaigners labeled the Fashion Week a "trivial mass event" which has no place on Bebelplatz. In response, IMG Fashion promised to find a different venue to showcase the year's summer trends in July.
Author: Andrew Shale
Editor: Kate Bowen