Mercedes Benz

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin takes place twice a year in the German capital – the fall/winter collection in January and the spring/summer collection in July. In January 2008, for instance, fashion designers from around the world presented their latest collections in 18 shows for five days in the Berlin Postbahnhof and other off-site locations. The combination of national and international top labels with up-and-coming young German designers is what makes the Berlin fashion event special, even by international standards. “This mix is what gives Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin its style. From world-leading fashion houses to young German avant-garde designers, it offers them the ideal platform to present their works to an international audience,” says Dr. Olaf Göttgens, Vice-President Brand Communications Mercedes-Benz Cars.

With its goal of encouraging upcoming German fashion designers, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin does credit to Berlin’s reputation as a fashion metropolis for the young. Today’s Berlin is among the most creative and dynamic cities in Europe, and is home to over 800 leading-edge designers and labels. With a total of nine top-quality fashion schools, the city is ideally positioned to produce tomorrow’s top designers. In fact, students from the University of Fine Arts Berlin and the Kunsthochschule Weissensee have already shown their impressive collections at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin.

“There’s an incomparable degree of creativity and dynamism here. It’s like no other city in Germany. Berlin attracts established fashion designers as well as ambitious and talented up-and-comers. This is why we chose it as the location for the German edition of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week,” explains Dr. Olaf Göttgens. The city of Berlin has also recognised this potential by supporting its week of fashion. Simultaneous with Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin is the PREMIUM fashion trade show with more than 700 labels from around the world presenting their collections. For fashion industry visitors, it means a stellar programme of fashion shows and trade fair presentations.

Among the top German and international labels who have already shown their latest collections at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin are HUGO, JOOP! Menswear, Michael Michalsky, Maqua, Marcel Ostertag, Suzana Peric, Zac Posen, Sinemus, Strenesse, Unrath & Strano, Sisi Wasabi, Vivienne Westwood and Susanne Wiebe. For many of these renowned designers, Berlin is already a must on their international runway calendars. And with every edition of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin, new domestic and international labels are added to the mix. In July 2008, for instance, Basso & Brooke, M by Kostas Murkudis, Eastpak, Kai Kühne, Karen Ly, Kilian Kerne, pureBERLIN, Scherer González and Slavna Martinovic will be appearing for the first time. Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin is constantly expanding its role in the world of fashion.