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BERLIN -The four -day iteration of the Berlin Fashion Week this season was there for everyone every Thursday.
The offers included ingenious ideas of the youngest graduates in specially curated shows; Slick, Smart Presentations by Homegrown Talent Like GmbH and Richert BeiL, and the Commercial Savvy from the Likes of Blumarine Creative David Koma, Who Showed His Eponymous Menswear Line for the First Time in Berlin, Berlin-Based Brand Ottolinger, Who Had Musician Kim Petras Modeling and Designer Stefano Pilati Sitting in the Front Row, and German Designer Johannes Boehl Cronau, with his brand ioannes Frisch from a collaboration with Kylie Jenner.
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In between there were art projects, pop-up stores, studio openings and parties, including one in the legendary sex club in Berlin, Kit Kat. The venues drove from the middle of the century from modern congress centers to historical breweries, sweaty underground bunkers, sex clubs, construction sites and some of the praised galleries and charming castles of the German capital.
There was also politics in the form of conversations about the future of fashion and sustainability, 58 seconds silence, which in the GmbH show in memory of all Kampala, which was killed in Gaza, in Uganda, Budigahill, who concentrated on upcycling, concentrated.
It is true that Berlin is not considered particularly relevant to international fashion medies and buyers. The audience at Berlin -shows tended to enthusiastic influencers, brand fans and exciting fashion students. But this season it was clear that the professional, international contingent grew, with the event counting around 60 international visitors.
“There is much more the feeling that this is an international shop window that this is a serious business,” said Stavros Karelis, founder and buyer for London Concept Store Machine-A, who was in Berlin for the third time. “More and more talents will come and make a smart selection,” he told WWD at the end of the week. “From an international perspective, the shows began in early June – so it was so far for a month – so that someone adds this [Berlin] As the last part of your trip, this means that you have found something here that you can see here. “
“The Berlin Fashion Week is wonderfully on the global race track,” said Chloe King, director of fashion and lifestyle at Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus, who was at the event for the first time.
“The possibilities for meeting really unique up -and -coming brands are very limited,” said Shihoko Okuda, a buyer of the Isan Shinjuku Womenswear Department in Japan, who focuses on international creators, to the WWD. “The Paris Fashion Week is excellent, but since it is already a well -established field, we were looking for something more unique so that we can bring our market fresh.”
After the event, Okuda said her first visit to Berlin was a success. “In contrast to a typical fashion week, it offered a presentation style that merged fashion with Berlin’s unique cultural context.
“Berlin definitely begins to compete with Copenhagen [fashion week]«, An international visitor said to WWD; As a regular visitor to Copenhagen, who is often referred to as the “fifth model charge” after Paris, Milan, London and New York could remain anonymous to speak freely. “Personally, Berlin is much more my style. Copenhagen can sometimes be a bit boring.”
The event is “bigger and more exciting”, agreed in Milan’s artistic director and former Bottega Veneta-Kreativ, Edward Buchanan. Buchanan spoke about the future of fashion in the “Metamorphosis” series of Fashion and also modeled for Buzigahill. “I like the independence of the designers here. I just like being here and seeing how artists here in this niche work and survive.”
It is true that for many of the designers shown in Berlin, the commercial commercial commercial on their list of motivations still seems to be lower. But this free, artistic bent could be part of the growing attraction of Berlin.
Undoubtedly, the fact that the Senate of the City of Berlin supports the fashion week of around 4 million euros (4.7 million US dollars) annually supports these settings. Designers who were selected for participation in the contemporary Berlin department can receive up to 25,000 euros to finance a runway show and easier access to event locations.
“Maybe there is not so much business here, but Berlin is a playground for artists,” explained designer Esther Perbandt, who showed in an installation in Central -Berlin Exquisit in her characteristic black. “And that’s so beautiful. Berlin is also part of my inspiration,” said the designer, who was accepted on international importance in 2020. Around 60 percent of their customers still come from the United States.
“I just feel so relaxed here,” said designer of in Georgia, London, designer Koma, after introducing the first exhibition of his men’s fashion collection in a Berlin trade fair center, the Palais on the radio tower. The Koma show was part of a series entitled “Intervention” organized by the Berlin agency Reference Studios. “Because it was so personal for me, I wanted to go somewhere where I could feel really good,” said Koma. “I actually asked my commercial team to give myself the room for it.”
A glittering thread ran significantly neatly through Koma’s. Inspired by a love for “David”-that is Michelangelo, Beckham in his paparazzi era and self-evidence of the clothes for well-dressed men. But the use of glittering appliqué blumes, satin fabrics and lurex needle stripes showed the smart casual a subtle extravagant edge.
The designers of GmbH, Benjamin Huseby and Serhat ISIK showed themselves for the third time after several excursions in Paris in Berlin.
“Berlin is our home,” said Huseby. “Our creativity still drives.”
GmbH’s new men’s collection was again based on sports clothing, including a formal, very portable setting for Satin -Box shorts, and also referred to the family roots of the designers with embroidered slogans like “Mashallah” (which means something in the series “Beautiful, as God was in Arabic”). But the most sublime aspects of their work were found in the slight touch of the designers and the playful creativity with men’s clothing. The models came in the palace on the radio tower two opposite, curved stairs. But only when they passed did they see how a slim shirt turned into a sheer, diaphanic chapelet and a slim, formal jacket with elegant knots on their back.
“It is necessary to be here to represent a space for our community,” added Isik when he was asked why the label was still shown in Berlin and not in Paris. “Especially in this political climate,” he said, referring to the strongly criticized repression of protests in the country’s Palestinian rights in the country.
Despite the show in Berlin, GmbH still works most of his sales in Paris, said the couple. They had an exhibition room in Paris during the men’s fashion week.
It was the opposite for designer Kasia Kucharska. When her golden and light yellow dress and colorful coupling bags from the typical “latex tip” and her team stood and her team stood, drew cameras and interest, she said, many of her buyers were actually in Berlin this time.
“I was pretty surprised,” she said. “Usually they only travel to Paris, but this time we got e -mails that were asked where they could meet us in Berlin.”
In the meantime, the Brin -brand Richert is concentrating on Beil to make a living at home and chose a smaller event location and a smaller guest list this season. “We see ourselves very much as a niche brand,” said Jale Richert. “But hopefully a successful one,” she added.
The designers Richert and Michele Beil organized a smaller salon show in their new business and studio in a former 135-year-old pharmacy. Your goods with a mixture of dark humor, handmade latex, bondage kink, sexless taste and trendy Y2K styling could be described as the most striking “Berlin” brand by all of these at the event.
At the end of the Berlin fashion week it was clear that there are still improvements that could be made. Almost every show was delayed (and due to locations in the city, this meant to miss other important shows). Some designers also seemed to believe that they opened a night club and not take up a runway show.
“We have a lot of homework,” confirmed Mumi Haiati, founder of reference studios. “And there is always the question of how to make it economically relevant. Berlin builds up and sum up what is a good starting point.” But Haiiati can imagine incorporating more direct events for consumers in the future. He would also like to see the largest German brands such as Adidas or Hugo boss who somehow get involved.
The buyer of Isetan, Okuda, would like to see that the focus is on business. “From the point of view of a buyer, while many brands showed impressive creativity, I have the feeling that there is still room for improvements when it comes to the business side,” she argued. The creativity and culture are there, she said. Now Berlin designers have to think more about things such as product balance and production infrastructure, Okuda concluded.
Buyer picks
Stavros Karelis, Maschine-A: So many highlights, but on my head, GmbH, brand, Sia Arnika, Richert Beich, Buzigahill, Ioannes. However, the biggest highlight could have been the “Berlin curated” show. The industry makes difficult times and many people here asked: “What is important about fashion? What should we do now?” This show was a great answer. The youngest graduates of the fashion school do really incredible work with craftsmanship and design skills and cultural connections – everything the industry is looking for.
Chloe King, Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus: One of the headlines of the week was Ottolinger, who showed a late night resort collection between his Paris excursions. The typical sporty nonchalance of the brand looked cooler than ever before, especially the rubber table bowler bag. Other highlights are brand, GmbH, Richert Beil and SF10G. It was also very special to see the orange culture of Nigeria on the schedule … A voluminous black Jacquard suit with Raffia hat and tie was one of my favorite look of the week.
Shihoko Okuda, Isetan Shinjuku: Many brands had concepts that were deeply rooted in culture and showed a strong feeling of individuality. The collections of Richert Beil, Balletshofer and Limemilch were heavily polished, and these brands left a particularly strong impression.
Start gallery: Berlin Fashion Week Spring 2026
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