A shining example

Berlin is universally known for its cutting-edge art and cultural scene, so it is little wonder that twice a year, during Berlin Fashion Week it becomes a focus for fashion industry insiders who hope to pin down next season's hottest trends and upcoming design stars.

Across the board, creatively, Berlin is recognised as producing raw, gritty and original works. Its music and art scenes are inspirational within contemporary fields and it's fast becoming an important hub for Eastern European fashion. Berlin is a trendsetting city, and so when its fashion week rolls around twice a year, the industry sits up and takes notice. ‘Progressive' is the buzzword surrounding the event.

Glitz and glamour

The spring/summer 2010 shows held in July speak for themselves. The event attracted high-profile show Anglomania by Vivienne Westwood, which closed the week-long event, as well as a very respectable array of celebrity front-rowers, including Sienna Miller, Adrian Brody, Jade Jagger and Sex And The City's Kim Cattrall. No small coup for a relatively small fashion week.

But it wasn't just the big stars who made BFW a success. The event is celebrated for its quirky themes and innovative styling, making it a great fashion week for trend spotting and looking out for emergent talent. This season's predominant themes were distinctly urban and industrial. Even the show locations, including a former electricity plant on the outskirts of the city and Tempelhof, a former airport, were carefully chosen for their stark features. The clothes were equally edgy. Patrick Mohr's show best illustrated the trend, as models walked down a runway featuring an old park bench whilst sporting hobo boots, sackcloth coats and work overalls. The models themselves were homeless people from public shelters.

Hub of creativity

Despite its gritty overtones, style still prevailed, proving that with raw materials, Berlin still hits the fashion spot. Creativity is undeniably thriving in the city. Perhaps Berlin's Mayor, Klaus Wowreit, summed it up best when he famously said of this season's fashion week, "Berlin is poor, but sexy," which he later elaborated on, saying, "We are trying to become richer, but stay sexy — and it is a great challenge." It's with pride that Wowreit acknowledges that the city is making waves in the fashion industry despite the hurdles it has faced.

But perhaps this year's shabby chic does more than show the potential for creativity to thrive on a shoestring. This year marks 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, its significance reflected in the fashion showcased throughout the week. But just as the recession influenced designers globally last season to either pare down their runway looks or rebel and go for all-out glamour, several designers chose to ignore the significance and prove that Berlin Fashion Week can do glamour just as well as any other city.

In fact, re-branding is high on the city's agenda, and Berlin Fashion Week is going a long way to show how cosmopolitan and tolerant and open-minded the city is. Frida Weyer's cocktail dresses and Ramirez's sculptured dresses showcased a different side of the city's creativity.

Three decades of style

Another German anniversary this year was Escada's celebration of 30 years in the industry with an exhibition showcasing past and present — a glamorous display of shocking pink hues and bold designs. Other anticipated events included the JOOP! Jeans show, Lena Hoschek — a designer known to be one of pop star Katy Perry's favourites — and, of course, every fashionista was eagerly awaiting Vivienne Westwood's Anglomania. Grape patterns, Grecian-inspired draping and pirate boots were the highlights.

UK Vogue acknowledged some of the smaller shows as being particular highlights of Berlin's Spring-Summer 2010 fashion week. "A politically charged range of sixties psychedelics from Michalsky, pearl and crystal-encrusted couturesque designs from Scherer Gonzalez ... were more than enough to leave the fashion pack hailing Berlin as a new centre of sartorial excellence," it said. n

Save the date: Berlin Fashion Week January 20 to 24, 2010.