About BFW

Berlin Fashion Week sees itself as a movement for creativity, sustainability and innovation and acts as a stage for self-realisation, freedom and inclusion. 

In its basic understanding, Berlin Fashion Week functions as a platform on which designers can freely develop not only their creative works, but also their individual convictions. This freedom extends beyond fashion and also includes personal aspects such as sexual orientation, gender-identity, cultural heritage, religion and political views. A guiding principle is openness to all - regardless of background, belief or point of view. The values at the centre of this are freedom, tolerance and a firm "no" to any form of discrimination. Berlin Fashion Week therefore not only focuses on aesthetic innovation, but also on an inclusive space that celebrates and actively promotes diversity.

Berlin Fashion Week attaches great importance to acting responsibly and has already introduced various criteria and instruments to ensure that this is done transparently and by all those involved. Sustainability is a fundamental element of the BFW concept competition, and greenwashing checks have also been carried out regularly in past seasons. These checks have shown that many of the presenting labels and organised events in Berlin already act responsibly and integrate sustainability as a central element of their work. The initiators and co-organisers are striving to act as sustainably as possible as quickly as possible. 

With the February 2025 edition Berlin Fashion Week will introduce the Sustainabilty Requirements developed by Copenhagen Fashion Week for its show schedule. 

Berlin Fashion Week is an initiative of the Berlin Senate Department for Economic Affairs, Energy and Public Enterprises (SenWEB). Berlin Partner realises the location marketing on its behalf. The Fashion Council Germany (FCG), in cooperation with the agencies Press Factory GmbH (communication and media relations) and Uhura Digital (digital and social media) are currently commissioned by Berlin Partner and responsible for the implementation, overall coordination, organisation and communication.

In addition to individually organised shows, events, conferences and trade fairs, SenWEB supports selected brands, formats and platforms. These form the cornerstone of Berlin Fashion Week, which is complemented by other events from Berlin's international creative scene and summarised in the official BFW Schedule. SenWEB's financial support is always focussed on promoting talent and young talent. 

Berlin Fashion Week also co-operates with other partners. You can find an overview of BFW partners HERE . If you are interested in a partnership, please contact coordination@fashion-council-germany.org 

Berlin Fashion Week plays a central role in the promotion of emerging fashion talent. It not only provides a platform for young designers to present their collections to an international audience, but also encourages dialogue with buyers, fashion journalists and other creatives. It also places special emphasis on sustainability and inclusion, enabling young designers to realise their visions in these areas. This makes Berlin a place where not only fashion trends are set, but also important social issues are reflected and developed through fashion.

The competition, initiated on behalf of the Berlin Senate Department for Economic Affairs, Energy and Public Enterprises and the FCG, consists of two categories: The BERLIN CONTEMPORARY talent promotion and the STUDIO2RETAIL B2C concept promotion. The aim of both initiatives is to strengthen Berlin's international relevance as a fashion centre and to provide a stage for talented designers and their collections.

In addition, the Berlin Senate Department for Economic Affairs, Energy and Public Enterprises supports other formats of Berlin Fashion Week that also focus on promoting talent. All information can be found here: About Talent Support

INTERVENTION
Intervention is the formatdeveloped, curated and produced by the Berlin and Milan-based communications agency Reference Studios under the direction of founder and CEO Mumi Haiati. The mission is to create an innovative platform for national and international designers that is seamlessly integrated into the official Scheduleof Berlin Fashion Week.

The essence of 'Intervention' unfolds through a curated series of runway shows and presentations taking place in iconic locations across the city.

With the start of Berlin Fashion Week on February 5, a symbiosis of innovative installations, pop-ups with a retail component, showcases and more and was continued in July 2024. 

In essence, 'Intervention' embodies a harmonious combination of international relevance and Berlin's dynamic model landscape, embedded in the Reference Studios cosmos. Renowned designers and emerging talents find themselves in this curated context and form an integral part of the official Berlin Fashion Week.

NEWEST

NEWEST is a platform developed by the Berlin-based agency nowadays that supports designers in organising sophisticated, high-quality fashion shows and installations. The aim is to provide young, less experienced and financially limited designers in particular with all the necessary resources to stage their collections in the best possible way and generate content that meets international standards. This includes finding and preparing the location, an experienced production team, all the technology and a professional backstage infrastructure. This offer was primarily used by BERLIN CONTEMPORARY designers, but is also open to other labels who would like to apply for this opportunity.

Der Berliner Salon

The Berliner Salon is a group exhibition that showcases the best of German fashion and design in order to establish a new and confident understanding of the artistic and creative quality from Germany. The focus is on the claim that the selected creatives promote the sustainable development and production of their work. This claim is decisive for the participation of the design talents in the group exhibition, which is curated by Christiane Arp and organised by the Berlin-based agency nowadays. Click here to find impressions of Der Berliner Salon.

Neo.Fashion

Neo.Fashion is a platform that enables young fashion designers to enter the professional fashion industry. Its core competences are the graduate shows from the majority of German fashion colleges and universities. The highlight is the Best Graduate Show, where the best collection from each university is presented and prizesare awardedin the following categories: Best Design, Best Sustainability Concept, Best Innovation, Best Craftsmanship. The jury is put together in cooperation with Fashion Council Germany and consists of high-calibre experts from the fashion industry. 

The graduate format is complemented by curated shows by aspiring designers (newly founded companies), showrooms and guest contributions from international universities and organisations. 

Neo.Fashion always takes place during the summer edition of Berlin Fashion Week. All information can be found in the BFW Schedule and on neofashion.de

STUDIO2RETAIL

Thanks to STUDIO2RETAIL, anyone can become part of Berlin Fashion Week, regardless of whether they work in the fashion industry - or are simply passionate about fashion. Access is provided by a network of studios, pop-ups and stores that open their doors during Berlin Fashion Week and offer specials, as well as an event schedule that lists all events that even fashion enthusiasts without a professional background can take part in. This also includes the concepts honoured in the same-named category of the BFW concept competition. 

STUDIO2RETAIL is an initiative of Fashion Council Germany. Further information can be found at studio2retail.berlin

202030 Summit

202030 is Germany's most progressive platform for interdisciplinary discourse and networking between avant-garde creatives, pragmatic researchers and intelligent industry stakeholders. The aim of the conference is to bridge the gap between sustainable innovations and the fashion industry's need for pragmatic transformation guidelines. To this end, alliances for new value chains are forged and trends are set for a sustainable, regenerative future in the fashion sector. The 202030 Summit takes place every summer - in February 2024, the organisers hotsted a "pop-up format" of the conference and in July 2024 the original conference in full length.

Berlin Fashion Week provides the framework for various runway shows, presentations and other events at different locations in the city.

Participants are responsible for organising their own events. The FCG and the BFW team are available to provide support. The initiatives are presented under "Other formats".

In order to register a fashion show or event in the official Berlin Fashion Week calendar, it is necessary to fill out a registration form during the registration phase. This form will be published on the BFW website (link). After the application has been checked, the acceptance or rejection will be sent by e-mail. If accepted, the fashion show, event or format will be included in the official Berlin Fashion Week calendar, published on the website and communicated via the Berlin Fashion Week channels. Even if registration for the BFW calendar is successful, the realisation of the event is the sole responsibility of the participants.

All registration information will be shared on the website, in the newsletter and on Instagram @berlinfashionwe.