Berlin Fashion Week Spring Summer 2022 | The Sustainable Agenda
Fashion folk are preparing to re-acquaint themselves with the flashing lights and red carpets of Berlin Fashion Week as it returns on the 6thSeptember at Kraftwerk Berlin in a blend of physical and hybrid event formats. Over 40 designers will present their Spring Summer collections for 2022, meanwhile an array of panels and forums will shed light on issues around sustainability, the circular economy, and the digitisation of fashion.
This fashion week, we can anticipate with only a few exceptions, that most events are going to be physical. The days where the screen acted as an intermediary between events, it’s prolific array of guests and the tens, hundreds – sometimes even thousands – of miles that were forged between them due to the pandemic, are for now, over.
We can expect to see lots of contemporary brands and designers who are pioneering the shift towards transparency, sustainable practise, eco design and other initiatives that are putting a halt to the status-quo… that which is centred around a wasteful ‘fast-fashion’ culture and one that is vacillating and is socially and environmentally ruthless).
This Berlin Fashion Week, Dawid Tomaszewski will present their Spring Summer ‘22 collection ‘Fantastic Voyage’ through an exclusive film set in the designer’s second home in Lisbon, Portugal on Tuesday 7th. Other prolific names in sustainability that are presenting collections include Danny Reinke, Rebekka Ruétz, Kilian Kerner and Fassbender.
Prolific fashion names, editors, influencers, and other key players in the fashion world putting on their fineries and attending the events in-person. No doubt, anti-bac and a face mask are going to be high up many of the guests’ wardrobe agenda this time around.
Here is a round-up for the fashion and sustainability conscious of what to expect and an agenda of the key ‘not to be missed’ sustainable fashion moments that we recommend you pencil into your schedule.
NOT TO BE MISSED: A RECOMMENDED AGENDA
6th – 8th September
Around 10 renowned designers will present their Spring Summer 2022 collections alongside up-and-coming new labels who stand out for their pioneering and unique approaches. In a traditional fashion, the shows will kick off with Mercedes Benz Fashion Talents’ showcase of as part of their youth development programme, supporting and nurturing young talent, followed by Mercedes-Benz Fashion Night.
In collaboration with MBFW and Fashion Revolution Germany, Fashion Open Studio showcases behind-the-scenes content and an open conversation between the public and designers about the processes behind making their collections. Through presentations and talks, Fashion Open Studio will draw much needed attention and consideration for the people who make our clothes, and contributing to the need for transparency and accountability, as well as offering designers the opportunity to showcase their environmental and social initiatives and practises that are helping to revolutionise and pioneer positive change within the industry.
6th September
“Committed to Responsibility” is their motto. This should be a go-to for those who are interested in sustainable fashion beyond the big names. 35 young German designers have their collections curated into a group exhibition that focuses on contemporary sustainability and innovation. Some to look out for include Isabel Vollrath, whose contemporary fashion“merge[s] fashion and art”; Julia Leifert who has describes her collection as a “holistic all-day wardrobe for modern feminists”; or Odeeh whose sophisticated silhouettes and bold patterns are made in line with their conscious anti-industrialist values. To keep up to date with new designers as they are announced as being part of the Der Berliner Salon, see their Instagram page.
6th – 8th September
We can anticipate a fervent series of conversations and constructive debate centring around the core themes of innovation, digitisation, the possibilities around sustainable supply chains and sophisticated eco-design in the fashion industry. Renowned representatives, stakeholders and creatives who are pioneering change in the industry will host talks and discussions around the positive impact of more sustainable practises, driving thought around the urgent need for innovative thinkers and designers to take the climate crisis and fashion’s vacillating contribution to it, seriously. Just some of the prolific names who are scheduled to appear over the course of the 3-day-long event are Prof. Dr. Micheal Braungart, Amber Slooten from The Fabricant and Orsola de Castro from Fashion Revolution.
Berlin Fashion Network Studio2Retail
6th – 11th September
Opening it’s series of events on September 6th, with an exclusive reception at the Alhambra on Kurfürstensamm, the Studio2Retail event will consist of special sales promotions and products for the public and trade visitors alike. The event will entail a curation of uniquely progressive and pioneering shops and studios, placing emphasis on the need for consciousness of environmental damage and innovation for minimising such, within the fashion industry. Expect to see Coexist, #Damur, Dawid Tomaszewski, Marco Scaiano, William Fan amongst other constructive, forward-thinking brands there.
9th – 12th September
The 3 day digital event will create a platform for specially selected independent Berlin designers whose work lies at the interface between art and fashion, in the interest of demonstrating the value of sustainable fashion in the face of it’s destructive, disposable counterpart that thrives in this age of ‘fast fashion’.
11th – 15th September
The motto is going to be “Who are You?”. In line with their signature notion of gender fluidity and self-expression and freedom of identity, the event constitutes 12 progressive brand shows including LeGer, Levi’s, Jack and Jones, Espirit, HOERMANSEDER; a concept store and a TikTok set.
A-Gain Guide
8th September
A-Gain Guide is an innovative digital platform that promotes re-instating purpose and value into old fashion garments through repair and upcycling. The platform will host a network of stores and manufacturers in the user’s immediate vicinity, who can re-work or repair old garments to instil value and significantly extend the lifecycle of the garment, re-directing it’s trajectory towards landfill, back into being a dynamic and used piece in the wardrobe. The Instagram launch on 8th Sept at 12 noon.
6th – 8th September
A hybrid Festival dedicated to connecting the creative scene across Berlin the festival gives voice to art, fashion, music and film that does not adhere to conventional frameworks by creating a platform for previously unrealized projects. It can be experienced both physically and digitally, here’s where you can find it:
6th in Wood Wood Store in Mitte
7th in Reference Space in Schöneberg
8th + 9th in Bierpinsel in Steglitz
For media professionals, trendsetters, or influencers, the festival will additionally host several networking sessions where industry figures will be available for building relationships and contacts. These include Mates Date on the 7th and Fashion Council Germany’s Firesidechat on the 8th.
+ Words: Niamh Heron, Luxiders Magazine
