Berlin Mercedes Benz Fashion Week
Look for the Next Wave of “It” Designers in this Buzzing City
This German hub of hip solidifies its role as a bonafide international fashion city with the inaugural Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin, July 12-15, 2007.
Among the international talent showing in front of the Brandenburg Gate as part of the prestigious Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week will be Vivienne Westwood with Anglomania, Strenesse, Puma, and Hugo (Hugo Boss) – which will be the kickoff collection. Sisi Wasabi, Michalsky, Prototype and Anett Roestel are also on the roster, as are up-and-come’rs Smeilinener, Macqua, Kaviar Gauche, Talkingmeanstrouble and Lala Berlin. Premium will also be in town, featuring an impressive 700 collections for both men & women, and 60 new eco-chic lines as part of Green Lifestyle. In addition to other related events around town, 100 cutting edge designers will be at the Café Moscow location.
ART, NIGHTLIFE, DECADENCE & AFFORDABLE HOUSING...IT'S NEW YORK IN THE LATE 70S
The thriving Berlin fashion scene is thanks in large part to the city’s impressive growth, which is double that of the rest of Germany. 1-in-10 of the country’s creative types now work in the city (50% more than a decade ago), giving rise to a raw energy that is irresistible to young design talent. “For many, it is this freedom to do what they want — and the space to do it in — that is Berlin's major calling card,” explains a recent article in WWD (The Wild West, Monday, July 09, 2007). “The city's been broken up and messed around with so much by history that there are no models to follow, either figuratively or literally.” Affordable housing (400 euros/$545 per month for a convenient, non-shoebox apartment or work space) is also key. "It's a huge city with an amazing creative network, but because rents are so cheap, you have enormous creative freedom,” LaLa Berlin designer, local resident Leyla Piedayesh, told WWD. "This all wouldn't have happened in London, Paris or New York. Having Berlin as a base has helped me a lot.” Agrees Robert Goff of Goff + Rosenthal, a NYC art gallery that now has a Berlin outpost that showcases emerging artists: “Berlin's special because it's got the energy of a city in which artists can actually afford to live. They're part of the daily life of the city, not like Manhattan. And it's not just artists, but young creative types of all sorts who are moving here, and it snowballs into a great vibe… I didn't experience New York then, but everybody tells me Berlin feels a little like New York in the Seventies and Eighties.”
BERLINERS ASK NOT WHAT LABELS YOU WEAR, BUT WHO'S WEARING THEM
Part of what makes many nostalgic for New York of that period is the notion that creative expression was the coin of the realm, rather than flash & designer logos. "Bling-bling would be laughed out of town, and labels are considered desperately tragic. You do not walk around Mitte swinging a Gucci or LV bag, or people think you are a spoiled brat," says Elizabeth McGrath, editor in chief of BangBangBerlin, an as-yet unlaunched magazine devoted to the subculture of the city. The mashup of affordable rents, thriving art scene, fabulous nightlife, and sizeable pool of design talent has created a ripe environment for fostering artistic growth. “Berlin is an open, liberal, urban, cosmopolitan city that offers freedom and space," notes Diana Kaufmann of Create Berlin, a local design initiative. "And in comparison to other major cities, it's not set; it's not finished. Change is ongoing — not just in a historical sense, but in terms of people who believe change is possible."
