Berlin Fashion Week: Shows, Dates and… Invitation?

Soon it will be time again and all model agencies and models will meet again in Berlin! The Fashionweek is coming up and invites to the big summer party. For a week, the German capital is turning back into a fashion Mecca. Many know the big shows of German designers from fashion magazines like Vogue, Elle or Harper’s Bazaar. Away from the mainstage there is also much else to discover, e.g. the Berlin Fashion Salon. But also the meeting places of the Be-to-Be economy. What does that mean? But let’s start with the basics!

Why is Berlin Fashion Week?

Fashion changes so fast! Almost every month there is a new collection and new parts hang in the shop windows in the city centres, and there are always new highlights in online shops. All big chains but also all boutiques have to get their clothes from somewhere. Usually you visit a designer and look at the clothes in the showroom. Showrooms are therefore also one of the most frequent jobs for young models. Here you present the designer’s new fashion collections directly to the body, in front of a small audience, with only designers, someone from marketing and the customer. The customer can view the cuts directly, but also the fits and materials. Of course this way is relatively complex, because every single boutique owner has to come to the customer, needs a single appointment, a model and so there is a lot of effort. Berlin Fashion Week has exhibition halls with various themes, trend fashions, wedding fashions and oversizes. Hundreds of designers and producers position themselves at every trade fair. For one week trade visitors can inform themselves here about the latest collections and pieces. You can not only see the individual samples live, but also models who can present individual parts are booked on each stand. This is the main business of Berlin Fashion Week!

Fashion Designers Meet Customers

From the prêt-à-porter to the curvy, customers will find everything they need for their fashion boutiques and shops. Berlin will thus occupy the trends in German fashion boutiques for a few weeks. Of course, not only boutiques stop by, larger fashion chains also send their scouts out to discover trends. Hundreds of designers are lined up next to each other on each stand at each trade fair. There is a lot to discover here, i.e. fabrics and cuts that have been separated but also completely new ideas as well as Function Wear. The fashion industry never stands still and that’s why we meet for Fashion Week, whether in London, Paris, Milan, New York or Berlin to discover the latest trends. And when you meet, there are always others, of course. YouTube, Instagram Stars, Press, Stars and Starlets. For one week, the Who’s Who of the fashion and media world will meet in Berlin.

How many fashion shows are there at Berlin Fashion Week?

There are two different sections among the various fashion shows. One stage deals with the main shows. This is where the great German designers meet to present their new collections to a large audience. Not only normal guests are invited to these fashion shows, but also VIPs, YouTuber, Instagramer, press representatives and stars as well as actors, footballers or even musicians. On this mainstage there are usually eight shows per day over 5 days. From Monday to Friday you have the possibility to have a look at the new collections. On Saturday there will also be a big highlight, the audience and the tickets are of course strictly limited and not for sale.

In addition to the main stage, there are also 2.3 side stages where there are smaller shows by young designers. These include, for example, the Berlin Fashion Salon, where you can particularly look forward to new designers. That’s why there is also the Ethical Fashion Show. It runs parallel to the mainstage for 5 days and shows in particular fashion labels that focus on sustainability. These are the two different areas, the mainstage and the different side stages.

Show Highlights 2018 (Spring)

Marc Cain Fall / Winter 2018

RIANI Fall / Winter 2018

How to get tickets for Berlin Fashion Week?

It’s extremely hard to get tickets for the mainstage, of course designers prefer Instagram Stars or Youtuber, who can report directly and directly about the collections. Press representatives and magazines are increasingly receding into the background, but also stars and VIPs. If you want a ticket, you need good contacts and a contact person at the respective designer or his advertising or PR agency. But it is very difficult to get such tickets!

For the other side shows of Berlin Fashion Week it is also difficult to get tickets but a little easier. For example, if you have an Instagram account with at least 40,000 or 50,000 fans, you can get one or two tickets. The magic word here is accreditation. However, you should take care of it early, as well you should only try if you have something to offer in exchange for the coveted places.
How many people are at a fashion show in Berlin?

The tickets are of course strictly limited, so there is not much space. That is clear but how little space actually? The main show of Berlin Fashion Week usually comprises a maximum of 150 people. Each show can now accommodate 150 guests. This sounds like a lot of space at first, if you count sponsors, people from the team or partners, as well as buyers who buy larger quantities, then only 100 seats are left. These 100 places have to be distributed to stars you work with, instagramers you already work with, model agencies provide the models and so on! In the end there may be 80 tickets left for the invitation, for the whole of Germany but also for international guests.

So the space conditions are very tight, on the side stages it often gets even tighter. In the Berlin Fashion Salon there are shows in which only 30 or 40 guests take part. Is that what you thought? That’s why invitations to the shows are so popular!

Do international designers appear in Berlin?

You won’t meet many international designers at Berlin Fashion Week, Marc Cain is usually on site, but that’s the big international highlight! In Berlin he meets the top German designers, fashion labels RIANI and Dorothee Schumacher.

In which location will Berlin Fashion Week take place?

The designers’ shows take place in various locations in the city, a few years ago at the Brandenburg Gate in a specially constructed large tent with its own lounge and many conveniences, then in the Jandorf department store and this year for the first time in Berlin’s E-Werk.

Modeling at a fashion show? If you want to work as a model at one of the fashion shows yourself, you have to take part in the castings. The casting dates, especially for the great designers, are of course kept strictly under lock and key. Here only the big model agencies should participate, so that on the day of the decision one really has only the best candidates locally. There is not much time for the preparation in Berlin, as an agency or team you usually have 7 to 10 days to find the best models, to familiarize yourself with the location, to prepare all clothes and if necessary also to make changes if something is spontaneous. Therefore, the castings are usually not conducted publicly. With smaller labels, however, you are sometimes lucky as a model without a model agency. Because some of your castings are held in public, why is that? Of course, the great designers don’t necessarily need additional advertising, they already have other concepts for that. Smaller designers, e.g. from Berlin, would be happy to receive a little extra attention for your fashion label. That’s why some model castings are made public.
Berlin, Paris, London, New York, what is most worthwhile?

The concepts and the presentation are of course the most extravagant in Paris and New York! If you’ve experienced one like this here, Berlin will soon seem relatively small to you. Especially in Paris big shows are traditionally done. Everyone knows the famous productions for Chanel by Karl Lagerfeld, trend-setting with robots – in the supermarket or in the forest, every kind of production is feasible. In Berlin the scales are a bit smaller, here you have two or three locations, which are usually not specially prepared, the focus is on fashion. Of course, this has its very own charm. Fashion Week is not only important to see new clothes, but also to network and meet again.
Chanel Fall / Winter 2018 in Paris

Here you see the difference to Berlin, Paris, absolute highlight!

What is there to experience besides the fashion shows?

In the streets of Berlin, especially in the city centre, you will find a lot of events that take place parallel to Fashion Week. For example, there are great parties at the House of Weekend, one of the rooftop bars in Berlin. Not only cash, but also club! A truly unique experience for Berlin. If you are an agent at a model agency or a model at Fashion Week in the summer, it is also worth taking a look into the great crested diver, just a few metres from Warsaw Street. In the Great Crested Grebe you not only have a club but also a huge pool. Especially in the hot summer days, the cooling in the evening is perfect here. But there are also smaller events and parties, from DJs to barbecues. Of course you have not only the time to visit events in the evening, but also many events in the night. Magazine Parties in clubs, private parties in larger houses but also designer events, often with celebrity singers who present new songs for an invited audience. From a cosy barbecue to a magazine party you can experience so much in Berlin. Many dates can be found on the official site of the would Fashion Week but also always in our fashion blog!

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