Berlin Fashion Week opened with a show by Finnish designer Sofia Ilmonen. At the same time, the installations of the Berlin Salon invited visitors to immerse themselves in the world of German fashion. Platte.Berlin celebrated the inclusiveness of fashion.
The modular world of Sofia Ilmonen
Sofia Ilmonen won the sustainability prize donated by Mercedes Benz at the last fashion festival in Hyères and then began work on her own brand, whose designs she presented on Monday in Berlin. All of her clothes are characterized by an ingenious, inherent system.
What at first glance looks like decorative elements made of lacing with ribbons and wooden beads is held together by square modules that, like building blocks, allow for endless possibilities for modification without sewing. With just a push of a button, the shape of the garments can be changed.
Berlin salon with new and old faces
On Monday, the Berlin Salon in the power plant gave an insight into the diverse work of fashion designers from Germany.
“There is no Berlin style, there is no German style,” explained Christiane Arp, Chairwoman of the Fashion Council Germany and former Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Germany. She underlined how diverse fashion from Germany can be and that there are many labels that are worth knowing.
This edition of the salon included 31 fashion labels, such as the Frankfurt designer René Storck, who was there from the start. Newcomer and upcycling label Avenir brought a breath of fresh air to the salon with deconstructed denim. During the pandemic, the label became known for its homemade masks. Avenir now has its own collection and wants to explore sales via stores and wholesale.
The Munich designer Anna Heinrichs usually shows the collection of her label Horror Vacui at the Paris Fashion Week, for the Berlin Salon she brought two designs with her Liberty prints that embody the cheerfulness of her feminine label.
Catwalk in the shop window
The display windows of Platte.Berlin became catwalks on Monday afternoon. The store offers many Berlin labels a home and a point of sale in the middle of the capital.
The models stepped onto treadmills in the store windows and wore gender-fluid outfits that could be purchased in-store after the show. The cast of the models was diverse and inclusive, they chose their own look from the current collections of the participating labels such as #Damur, Lu La Loop, Louise Zücker and many more.
Visit from Gran Canaria
The Canarian government and patron of Europe’s largest swimwear fair, Gran Canaria Swim Week, and the fashion association Fashion Council Germany invited to an installation followed by dinner on Monday evening.
Six German and six Canarian labels were shown in the fashion installations. Participating German labels were, for example, Hien Le and Working Title. Holiday feelings came up at the sight of the labels Aurelia Gil and Pedro Palmas, who participated from the Canary side.
“Most of our designers specialize in swimwear and are closely linked to Gran Canaria, a destination of sun, beaches and mountains,” explained Araceli Diaz, representative of Cabildo de Gran Canaria, on Monday.
The Berlin fashion week runs until Saturday with shows by long-established fashion designers such as William Fan and Esther Perbandt as well as newcomers such as SF10G and Bondy – and the Ukrainian designer Jean Grisfeld.