Frankfurt Fashion Week 2022 | Will There Be Two Fashion Weeks In Germany?

A curious spirit was in the air. It was obvious that after the return of Premium Exhibitions to Berlin, Frankfurt Fashion Week was opening its doors with more expectation than ever. Will Frankfurt Fashion Week be successful enough for Germany to prepare for two fashion weeks, one in Frankfurt and one in Berlin? That was the question we also asked ourselves at Luxiders Magazine. The truth is that there are least populated countries than Germany, such as Spain, that enjoy two successful fashion weeks (one in Barcelona and one in Madrid), which allows the public to see all the richness of fashion design in the country. Why couldn’t the same thing happen in Germany?

The important thing would be that they do not coincide in time and that each one offers a different vision of fashion. We can imagine, therefore, a fashion week in Berlin specialising in independent and avant-garde fashion design and a fashion week in Frankfurt specialising in sustainable and technological design. Who knows? Maybe this would give Germany a more important place on the European fashion circuit than it has had so far.

ALL EYES ON FRANKFURT FASHION WEEK 2022

NEONYT LAB

Neonyt Lab opened its doors with an excellent Fashion Show, with a beautiful selection of fashion garments which, on this occasion, did not belong to the brands present at the exhibition, but had been freely selected by the stylist Claudia Hofmann to show the most fashionable sustainable fashion design of the moment at an international level. Under the motto Biosphere-Ecosphere, the Neonyt Fashion Show took as its theme the interaction between man and the environment; the elements of water, air and earth in a clash with our industrialised and digitalised world. In 31 multi-brand looks and a multimedia catwalk, some 50 brands showed the future of (sustainable) fashion.

The biosphere was represented mainly through the silhouettes and structures of the looks, as well as through the organic and regenerative materials from which many of the pieces in the collection were made. Thus, only more sustainable organically grown or regenerative materials were allowed in the Neonyt fashion show, which help to protect valuable resources such as clean water, energy and soil, thus contributing to a healthy ecosystem.

The Technosphere, to which by definition humans also belong, was represented in the fashion show by merging the digital world with the real world through large LED screens, on which digital content could be seen, as well as close-ups and superimpositions of the looks on display. In the collections, the Technosphere is presented in the themes of recycling or recycled chemical fibres, the clean use of chemicals or in the technical cycle of the Cradle2Cradle concept. Visually, the Technosphere is portrayed in shiny and reflective surfaces, and in sportswear and outdoor styles.

At the Neonyt Lab exhibition, more than 30 sustainable fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands had the opportunity to sell their collections to the general public in a 1,000 m2 space in the Greenstyle the Store area, curated by Greenstyle’s sustainability criteria. Local companies such as Alexandra Svendsen, Frisch Beutel and Helena Harfst participated, as well as brands from all over Germany, Austria, Italy and Switzerland, such as Akjumii, Alicia Victoria, Amaran Creative, Angels Ambition, Belle Ikat, BenecosBio, Clothesfriends, Fairnica, Frijda Juni, Lana, Lanius, Make Somebody Happy, Martin Guthmann, Melina Bucher, Montreet, Natyoural, Nikin, Nina Rein, Oscalito, Refished Fair Fashion, Seads, The Bad Seeds Company, Viktoria Moser, Vretena, Widda and Wildling Shoes.

Most of the brands consulted by Luxiders Magazine expressed their satisfaction with the event, which allowed them to connect with the end consumer, show and sell part of their collections in-situ and secure regular customers, in the case of the brands based in Frankfurt.

On the first day, the event was very busy. The atmosphere was business-like. The Fashion Sustain sustainable fashion conference, which was held in the same space, was also very well attended. During the three days of the event, the end consumer would be able to learn about important topics such as how to differentiate between sustainable fashion and greenwashing or how to prioritise sustainability in our wardrobe.

According to the director of Neonyt Lab, Bettina Bär, “we have not yet decided how and where the next edition of Neonyt will be held, we will wait to analyse this edition to make the right decision for our brands”.

HEIMTEXTIL

Due to the cancellation of the regular Heimtextil in January due to the pandemic, the international trade fair was held this year as a one-time Summer Special parallel to Techtextil & Texprocess at the request of the industry.

The Heimtextil Summer Special was trend-setting with its clear focus on sustainability. A wide range of products – from fibers made from PET bottles and fair trade natural materials to textile products with QR codes for tracking the entire production process – enabled visitors to experience the megatrend of sustainability in its entirety. Linen in combination with other natural fibers such as hemp and wool as well as bed linen made of cotton coated with cork were also part of the green global product portfolio. In this context, the daily Green Tours with insights into recyclable textiles were also well received.

Fresh impulses were provided by the Heimtextil Trends for the industry. The Trend Space put the spotlight on unusual approaches to avoiding waste and economic imbalances. Other crowd-pleasers were the Green Village with reliable certificates as well as the Heimtextil Conference “Sleep & More” on the mega-topic of sleep and the sustainable hotel industry, and as well the range of lectures and guided tours as part of Interior.Architecture.Hospitality.

The next Heimtextil will take place from January 10 to 13, 2023.

FRANKFURT FASHION LOUNGE

René Storck’s opening show at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange was a genuinely spectacular event. It was followed on the other Fashion Week days by further impressive shows featuring the participating designers’ and artists’ trends and labels – all made in Frankfurt. The entire city was radiating in the fashion glow.

The Frankfurt Fashion Lounge presented the collections of young designers at numerous fashion show venues on Tuesday, saving up the creations of Albercht Ollendiek and his ‘Le Temps Èphémére’ couture show as the grand finale at the venerable Carmelite monastery on Tuesday evening. Finest fabrics, subtle colours and sophisticated details all featured in the famous Frankfurt designer’s collection.

On Wednesday the Frankfurt Fashion Lounge showcased the collections of the young and talented designers in the Fashion Designer Mentoring Programme that was initiated by Sevinc Yerli and is supported by Wirtschaftsförderung Frankfurt, the Rhine-Main Tailors’ Guild and August Pfüller Fashion Concept. The young designers presented their fashion pieces on the rooftop of the Sofitel Frankfurt Opera. The mentoring programme focuses on supporting talented designers who specialise in the production of sustainable fashion.

City Councillor Stephanie Wüst summed up all the positives so far: “There’s a special atmosphere in the air. Frankfurt has raised its profile as a fashion city and a creative hub. All of the shows, big and small, delivered some incredible images. Our Frankfurt creative industry is an important sector of the economy that clearly shows how much creative potential exists in Frankfurt, especially when we combine their creativity with the exhibition company’s international know-how. “

Oliver Schwebel, Managing Director of Wirtschaftsförderung Frankfurt, is proud of his team and everyone else involved: “We’re still finding it hard to believe that our team managed to put on a programme of this calibre within such a short space of time. More than 100 events, including some real fashion highlights, speak for themselves. Citizens of Frankfurt who are interested in fashion definitely shouldn’t miss out on Fashion Week.”

Said that, we can imagine a country with two fashion weeks –Frankfurt Fashion Week and Berlin Fashion Week–, living together in harmony and complementing each other to position Germany as an essential stop on the European fashion calendar.

+ Words: Belvis Soler, Luxiders Magazine