Rub the Copenhagen and Berlin Rub the shoulder with the four major fashion weeks fashion
INA Spark Multistorey Car, models in elegant sewing walking on the platform by Kate Bush. It looks like one of the four most famous fashion weeks: London, Paris, New York or Milan.
But this is a cloudy night in February in Berlin. The brand, GMBH, showed its designs in Paris this time last year, but returned to Berlin for the second season, which is the main title of the mobilization of the house.
While the four major fashion weeks remain undisputed heroes, a group of other European cities compete to obtain a place in the evaluation of the industry. Among them is the Danish capital, Copenhagen, which started its own event late last month, after men’s clothes and high -end fashion shows in Milan and Paris.
What started as the merging of two small Danish commercial exhibitions in 2006 is now referred to as “Fifth Fashion Week”, because of its impact on the industry and beyond. It attracts buyers from luxury global leading chains, fashion managers from global publications such as Vogue and a series of influencers.
There may not be the Fashion Week in Berlin, which ends on Monday, but is growing. The German Fashion Council (FCG) took matters in 2023, and in the words of CEO Scott Leipinski, “decided to reset”, as it succeeded in re -naming its previous incarnation as the Mercedes -Benz Fashion Week. Places such as churches, train warehouses and sacred halls of a world -famous nightclub, are all obtained for shows.
The return of GmbH to Berlin, according to a designer, Benjamin Hozby, was “for pragmatism” – FCG provided support and a grant to be provided in the city. But it was also a welcome opportunity, as a secret mark in Berlin, “communicating with our society.”
Alberto Calbreys is a shareholder of Vogue ITALIA, who traveled to the fashion weeks in Prague, Hildink, Kiev, Shabouna and Budapest. There, as a logic, there is a logic: “Show in a place closely related to your culture, your heritage and your upbringing is very important to allow these designs to provide something that seems really authentic.”
Another Berlin -based brand, Richert Bell, is an example. “You can see the roots in our group,” said Michel Bell’s founder. Their leather and latrex clothes drop directly inside the city’s aesthetic; The political message also felt appropriate.
For the main headlines, these alternative fashion weeks provide an opportunity to be a larger fish in a smaller pool. In Paris, Hossabi said: “You are against all these huge blocs, you are fighting to pay attention to a very crowded schedule.” According to Bele, “Berlin Fashion Week is a kind of definition of itself at the present time. [It’s] It is good to be here … open new doors to be creative and defend something. “
Unlike many world famous brands that dominate the four adults and are often owned by a large company, some smaller and independent designers in alternative weeks can use their platforms to speak without the chains of the Board of Directors. In Copenhagen, Alectra Rothschild, the founder of Masculina, used to highlight the anti -severity violence. Rothschild, a passing woman, opened the offer with Donald Trump announces an executive order that allows “only two sexes, males and females, in the United States.”
The GMBH show occurred hours after a protest against the appearance of the Fur Deutschend, the far -right alternative in the city. Although it is not explicitly political in the way of some previous offers of the brand, it was, according to the designers behind the scenes, a “group of mourning” at troubled times. Players read “Rejection of trade with the enemy” and the models that carried the prayer beads. Earlier in the day, Melissa Menca gave the guests a revolutionary booklet At the top of it, partial, partial display. At LUEDER, the “Men’s Back to return” jacket got on Guffaw from the poker front row.
Some of these fashion weeks also put a sustainability at the heart of what they do in a way that the four adults do. Since 2023, Copenhagen has insisted that 60 % of groups should be made of accredited materials or DeadStock fabrics; Block fur and feathers. The required evidence is that supply chains provide fair and safe working conditions. Cecison Thursk, CEO of Copenhagen’s Fashion Week, used this year’s opening ceremony to highlight the United States’ withdrawal from the Climate Agreement in Paris, saying: “Change is not optional. It is necessary.”
Thora Valdimarsdottir, co -founder of Rotate, one of the most important stickers of Denmark, says about the focus of Copenhagen on “sustainability, innovation, comprehensiveness … is really distinguished.”
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This season also witnessed that the Berlin Fashion Week begins to implement the same sustainability requirements as Copenhagen in a pilot. From next year, only those who meet the standards will be qualified. But already many brands, such as wine and lipoin ice cream, create sustainable practices.
There are also benefits at the city level. According to Lipinski: “We can see the influence of Berlin with the rise of new brands … It is a prominent scale that indicates that Berlin and the fashion week acquires more economic value.” Socially, it can also be a blessing. Speaking at the opening dinner and referring to the current political climate, Franzeska Guevai, a member of the Senate, said about the economy, energy and institutions in Berlin, that for her, the week is a sign of a “tolerant society”.
Of course, these alternative fashion weeks will not always win the older four. Last year, Copenhagen lost one of her star brands when Jani decided to show her in Paris. This was followed by Cecell Bnsen, who criticized the French capital in 2022. Both represent a loss for Denmark, but the local brands that make it in Paris or Milan prove the success of Copenhagen in the care of designers. Detty Rifstrop, creative director of Jani, said the brand “will not be what we are today without the fashion week in Copenhagen.”
Although Husbe does not deduct the show in Paris again, he believes that the most important thing for Copenhagen and Berlin is that they are not trying to simulate other fashion weeks. “These cities have a unique personality and a long history,” he said. “You have to harness what is really unique in this place.”