Once more, the opening of “Der Berliner Salon” which is a group exhibition and platform for established and upcoming designers, kicked off Berlin Fashion Week. Christiane Arp, Chairwoman of the “Fashion Council Germany” and Marcus Kurz, Managing Director of “Nowadays“, invited their audience to Crown Prince’s Palace (Kronprinzenpalais). The hosts and Michael Biel, State Secretary for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises, welcomed the guests with a motivating speech. Christiane Arp who used to be the Editor in Chief of German VOGUE Magazine for over 18 years underlined the importance of Berlin’s fashion industry. Nowadays she plays a major role in the German fashion business, she is also part of the organizing team of Berlin Fashion Week. As she stated, Berlin’s fashion market gets a global attention and is known for its sustainable and diverse character. She then also thanked all the visitors for their engagement in the German fashion sector. They then both spoke enthusiastically about the meaning of the German apparel industry and how the economy can strengthen that field. Worth of mentioning is also the fact fashion business plays an important role as an economic factor. They both emphasized that Berlin is the city of emerging talents and that promoting new talents plays a major role for “Der Berliner Salon“. As always when these well-known hosts invite, the guests chose their prettiest wardrobe. Thus, it was a true pleasure to observe the various outstanding looks of the audience.
As location, once more Crown Prince’s Palace (Kronprinzenpalais), one of Berlin’s historic landmarks, was chosen. During summertime, often fashion shows take place in the picturesque garden of this gorgeous location. It always feels like a welcome rest from the busy city life to be a guest there. The impressive building is situated in Berlin Mitte, next to the “Staatsoper”, only several metres away from “Bebelplatz” at the prestigious boulevard “Unter den Linden”. Both this striking monument and the Princesses’ Palace (Prinzessinenpalais) were once residences of the members of the Hohenzollern royal family. It is always incredibly inspiring to observe the architecture of this monument, as influences from baroque and neoclassicism clearly shine through. Its architectural features are one-of-a-kind, for instance its colossal order, the pillard portico and the massive construction with its classical ornaments. From 1919 to 1937 this building hosted the National Gallery. With that location choice, the strong connection between fashion and art was once more clearly visible.
This season the group exhibition showcased the work of 39 fashion, accessory, jewellery and interior designers, among them labels such as Anne Bernecker, Assembled Half, Christian Metzner Brandenburg, Elho, Gina Melosi, Haderlump, HAP Ceramics, International Citizen, Karen Jessen, Luise Zücker Jewelry Couture, Société Angelique, Studio Milena Kling, The Other Gods, Uncommon Matters and many others. Every designer has a very own style and that is why this exhibition was so interesting and inspiring to visit. Everyone interested in sustainable fashion and art could find numerous inspirations there. To participate in this event, designers are responsible for the sustainable and contemporary development and production of their collections.
Upstairs you could view creations of the initiative ‘Fashion x Craft‘. For this programme, Fashion Council Germany teamed up with the Swarovski Foundation and The King’s Foundation to promote young fashion and textile designers. Therefore graduates receive a custom-made program to learn more about sustainability, craftsmanship and innovation. The program contains of a wide range of programs, workshops and trainings. It encourages young designers to try new ideas and think outside the box. That way they learn how to use different techniques.
The opening of “Der Berliner Salon” was a very inspiring start for Berlin Fashion Week. The creative ideas and sustainable solutions of many established and upcoming designers certainly deserve recognition.
Review and Images by Sussan Zeck for DSCENE Magazine
