The new fashion week in Frankfurt was already in the starting blocks for its upcoming edition from January 17th to 21st – in the hope of finally showing its full program with full potential. But then, just as with the first issue in July, the coronavirus thwarted the bill.
After the cancellation of the main program with the Premium, Seek and Neonyt trade fairs, which became known in December, this week the question arose as to what can actually take place in the current situation. In addition to a network dinner by the Fashion Council Germany (January 18), some of the presentations from the Fashionsustain conference (January 19) remained for a specialist audience. The lectures on consumer behavior, sustainability at the point of sale and corporate due diligence will take place hybrid – i.e. online and in small groups under 2G-Plus rules in Danzig am Platz in the east of Frankfurt.
Some fashion shows, such as those of the Berlin label Susumu Ai Friends and Dawid Tomaszewski, should take place physically. Other presentations, such as Baldessarini’s, only online. The Frankfurt Fashion Lounge mainly presents shows by local designers and with its program tries to build a bridge between the end customer and the specialist audience.
A cultural, local side program in the form of exhibitions – such as “Helmut Fricke Fashion – fashion photography in downtown Frankfurt” or “Fashion in the Kiez” – remains a sustainable exhibition in the shop windows of five shops.
It now remains to be seen how the Frankfurt Fashion Week will establish itself with its trade fairs in the future. Her plans are ambitious, but so far she has not really been able to take place physically. Even before the pandemic, there was a noticeable consolidation in the industry. Buyers made a more targeted choice of which trade fairs they visit each season. In the past two years, more and more digital orders had to be made, and that continues to question the role of trade fairs.
The complete and current program of the Frankfurt Fashion Week in detail can be viewed on the website https://frankfurt.fashion/de/schedule.