Lady LUX

Berlin is an amazing city with great art and music – and a progressive fashion week that is quickly gaining momentum. Germany’s capital hosted the Spring Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week extravaganza July 5 to 10, which attracted not only plenty of buyers and press, but also celebrities such as Helena Christensen, Hilary Swank, Jessica Stam, Mira Sorvino and Marc Jacobs, despite the overlap with Paris Fall Couture Fashion Week, reported The Wall Street Journal and Reuters. As these shows weren’t about high fashion, but more about unique styles and ideas, they drew a colorful crowd.

Both established and new designers showed off their best for Spring 2012, including A.F. Vandevorst, Diesel, Don’t Shoot the Messengers, Escada Sport, Michael Sontag, Mongrels in Common, Hugo Boss and Vladimir Karaleev. While the runway shows were in full swing, various events and tradeshows were also staged. Bread & Butter, one of the most popular European tradeshows known for cutting-edge streetwear, ran for two days alongside the other expositions. Premium, Bright and (capsule) from New York were also tradeshows to be explored.

via WWD

Maia Guarnacci, vice president of IMG Fashion Europe, said in a statement, “Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Berlin has made great progress. The designers have delivered meaningful collections and the industry audience was more international than ever and the whole city had an amazing buzz with the additional fashion events and tradeshows taking place at the same time.”

Berlin is currently the predominant city when it comes to green fashion. Two green runway shows, Lavera Showfloor Berlin and GREENshowroom, were highlighted during Berlin Spring Fashion Week. These eco-friendly events were held during the “Eco Fashion Days,” which also offered presentations of green trends and discussions of key industry issues.

Green accessories and apparel brands also had their own spot in the tradeshows: Green Glamour. Other brands, such as Levi’s, took part in the eco movement in their own way. The denim company illustrated with bottles how excessive water is used during denim production and encouraged consumers to save water by washing their jeans less frequently.

Making a special appearance in Berlin this Spring Fashion Week were entries from Japan. After the devastating earthquake and tsunami in March, Japan Fashion Week was cancelled due to a lack of venues and difficulty in organizing the logistics of shows during the tsunami’s aftermath. Berlin therefore offered the perfect opportunity for Japanese designers to showcase their talents.

The German city and Japan had in common that they were both focused on up-and-coming designers and hipster trends. Thirty designers were provided with free space at the Premium tradeshow and the chance to showcase to a European audience for the first time. Seven of these designers were able to have their modest-sized collections walk the Tokyo-inspired runway, in which local modeling agencies provided free talent.

This article was contributed by Annette Tang of the VersaStyle. You can follow Annette and her fashion adventures on Twitter at @theversastyle.

Tagged in: green, spring, fashion week, japan, berlin, 2012, july, mercedes benz fashion week, mercedes benz,

Fashion / Runway