Berlin Fashion Week Balance

At just three days since the end of the Berlin Fashion Week - the highlight of which was the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week catwalks - the organizers took stock of the business and social aspects of this edition.

The exuberant eccentricity of Vivienne Westwood, on the catwalk for the first time at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week last Sunday with the Anglomania line, had the last word at the third edition of this event. "With a total of 26 fashion shows by established and new designers' commented Kristina Hammer, director of global marketing communications at Mercedes-Benz, 'the event demonstrated that it belongs in the short-list of top fashion events. Berlin' she added, 'has been confirmed as one of the most important European capitals of fashion".

Apart from the catwalks and social events (for example, the July 19 celebration for the 20th anniversary of Elle Germany, with the awarding of "Mercedes" prizes to leading stylists like Karl Lagerfeld and young stylists like Italy's Tommaso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi), in the German metropolis there was no lack of shows that were a significant benchmark for national and international buyers: without doubt, the biggest was Premium, which had 15,273 visitors from July 18 through 20, 59% of which were from German-speaking countries. In second position, but with a gap, Italians and operators from southern Europe with 19%, followed by the British (8%), the Scandinavians (5%), and east Europeans (4%). Benelux had 3% and the USA, Arab Emirates and South Africa together reached 2%. The events à côté included, the "Trading up" symposium on the future developments of the top ranges, and the Young Designers Award, which this time went to Niconé (women's fashions, Berlin), Placed by Gideon (menswear, London) and J Dauphin (accessories, Paris).

If Premium had over 800 brands, then the Stark event aimed at research and concentrated about eighty names in the former power plant at Kopenhagenstrasse.