How to be young, bright and absolutely fabulous – showing your stuff at Berlin Fashion Week 2016/2017 Part I!

I’ve got to tell you.

Living in Berlin is the dogs bollocks!

Berlin is just so amaaaaaaazing!

I know I go on about it, but moving to Berlin has got to be just one of the best things that I have ever done, and if you’ve ever visited Berlin, you’ll know absolutely why!

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Beeeeerlin!

Less than a fortnight ago (two weeks), I was running around the city because I attended Berlin Fashion Week and Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week as press, and I’m awfully proud of it.

Living in Berlin has afforded me the opportunity not only to grow professionally (opening up two schools in Berlin / gaining a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Education Leadership and Management ), grow personally (obtaining a German husband – a gorgeous talented fellow – and an equally amazing tween son), but also grow creatively working as an International Social Media Lifestyle, Expat & Travel Blogger with this here blog.

You know the one – my blog – The British Berliner!

As such, I like to give back.

I enjoy promoting young entrepreneurs and young people with vision, zest, energy and ideas.

As a result, I made it a point of duty to ensure that not only did I cover the classic wonderful fashion brands that delight and astonish us, but also the up and coming, the new generation, the unknowns and the I-do-it-because-I-love-it fashion designers and artists.

BUT WHAT IS BERLIN FASHION WEEK ALL ABOUT?

So before we go any further, let me clarify that Berlin Fashion Week isn’t Milan, Paris, London or New York. It’s Berlin!

It’s different.

It’s vibrant.

It’s a hub for artists and designers to create, innovate, and showcase fashion, music, film, art, and culture.

Berlin is raw.

Berlin is rough at the edges.

Berlin is unique.

Berlin is creative.

And so is it’s fashion!

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I’ll be writing all about the fashion and glamour of Mercedes-Benz next week but this week, I would like to write about emerging designers.

But before we go any further, a quick reminder of the stuff that I’ve previously written:

• How to be an embodiment of urban, provocative cool: Berlin Fashion Week – Autumn/Winter 2016 – PART I!
• How to be an embodiment of urban, provocative cool: Berlin Fashion Week – Autumn/Winter 2016 – PART II!
• The secret to surviving Berlin Fashion Week is to sip champagne, quaff on cocktails and drink lots and lots of water – Part I!
• I’m a fashionista, so I pucker my lips, twirl my skirt, and put on my kitten heels to attend the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Berlin – Spring/Summer 2016!
• We might not be London. We might not be Paris. But by god, we’re gonna have a jolly good time in Berlin, at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week!
• You’re looking hot and wearing a fur coat Katie Holmes. Of course you are: It’s Berlin Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2015!
• How to be a part of the new fashion set: Berlin Fashion Week 2014/2015!
• Tilda Swinton and the Last Hurrah: Berlin Fashion Week Spring / Summer 2015!
• Fashion or Passion, Green or Mean: Berlin Fashion Week

Let’s be honest. One of the reasons that people swarm over to Berlin like bees flying to a sticky honeypot, is because of the constant jollification! Oh yeah! Berlin knows how to paaaarty, and Berlin Fashion Week was absolutely no exception. In fact, it was far much better….!

The fact that I had various press passes ensured that many doors were open to me and boy, did I use my privileges!

I received loads of invitations and parties that I actually turned some down!

And why?

Because after my second and third season I was knackered, and had drunk far too much champagne!

I had to detox as I just couldn’t take the high life any more, and ended up having no alcohol. NO ALCOHOL! And then taking it really sloooow with just a glass of champagne. Only A GLASS! And the day after that, I had a glass of champagne at a fashion event, and a lemon beer. A LEMON BEER people.

OMG!

The first time I wasn’t actually invited and just sort of bragged and hustled my way through! However, by last summer I was well and truly on my way to being a real press person!

This was my sixth season at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin so I knew the drill:

Wear something nice.

Come early and get your make-up done professionally.

And your nails.

Wear heels.

Hide a pair of “comfy shoes” or birkenstocks.

When you’re in the press bus, take off your heels.

Take your notebook and pen / pencil.

Drink lots and lots of water.

Go home for a real cup of tea!

Take it easy on the champagne and cocktails!

At the end of the night, take off those damn heels!

Here we go.

I received press invitations and passes to thirty-nine (39) exclusive fashion houses and fashion trade shows, and about (20) after-shows functions and parties.

Twenty (20)!

Of course, after what happened a year ago, there was absolutely no way that I would even attempt to go to them all, so I decided to be smart and be selective. There’s always the next fashion season…!

WHERE WERE THE NEW EMERGING DESIGNERS?

The new emerging designers could be found at:

• The European Fashion Award FASH 2016 show
• The Hungarian Embassy, Berlin and the Design Terminal Budapest
• #FashionTech Berlin
• Berlin Fashion Film Festival
• Thomas Hanisch
• Tomcsanyi
• Sample – cm
• HFK Bremen
• Vanessa Krongold
• Nathini van der Meer
• MAISONNOÉE
• LANA MUELLER – Prêt-à-Porter
• Sammler Berlin
• Cushnie Et Ochs
• Jeans for Refugees by Johny Dar

THE EUROPEAN FASHION AWARD FASH 2016 SHOW

The European Fashion Award FASH contest is organised by the Stiftung der Deutschen Bekleidungsindustrie zur Förderung der Ausbildung von Nachwuchskräften in der Modebranche, otherwise known as, the German Fashion Industry Foundation for the Promotion and Training of up-and-coming designers in the Fashion Industry, with the purpose of promoting the further education of exceptionally talented students in the fashion industry.

The fashion award is open to talented design students of all disciplines, with emphasis on fashion and textile design. Applications must be students currently enrolled in their fourth semester or higher, registered at an european university or fashion school, or have a Masters Degree completed in the previous academic year. The fashion topic was CHANGE – searching for visions of a new era.

The award show took place at the Neues Museum, otherwise known as the New Museum, so I just knew that I had to go.

After all, you know how much I like history and art, so what could be better than fashion presented within the walls of ancient civilizations and remnants of the “old world!”

Colours were strong and dark such as red, black with trailing ribbons, yellow and green. Fabrics were wool, long suede leather skirts and aprons with belts. Leather slippers on feet. The male models wore pilot anoraks, dark blue leather aprons with leather pockets, and blue grey jumpers for autumn.

Very practical!

We were served cool glasses of wine and platters of cold cuts, wholesome chunky cheese, pickles, slices of crunchy bread, breadsticks, nuts, and mustard to keep our energy levels up!

Fashion people tend not to eat so this was surprisingly nice!

As for what the fashion and society set were wearing? Black and dark blue, black shoes, and here and there, flecks of silver!

I was wearing orange!

THE HUNGARIAN EMBASSY, BERLIN & THE DESIGN TERMINAL BUDAPEST

I went to Hungary last year and had a very nice time in Budapest. Perhaps that was why I was invited to the opening of a fashion room presenting young Hungarian Designers, by the Hungarian Embassy, Berlin and the Design Terminal Budapest.

The Design Terminal features design and fashion related exhibitions, fashion shows, design conferences, and many other programs along the lines of design and innovation representing all kinds of “creative industries” and promoting Hungarian design brands at home and abroad.

And that they did!

I hovered over one piece bodies and white – cream monochrome pieces inspired by wave-boarding for the nostalgic smart woman of Elysian. I especially liked the Celeni – NOT JUST A LABEL collection, and in fact, I went to a similar show-case organised by BOLD promoting i-D – a glossy magazine that documents fashion and contemporary culture and Zalando Fashion House, last summer!

The inspiration for Celeni’s S/S 2016 collection is the playful and romantic style of Hungarian Romany culture, with its lively style of dressing, the feeling of modern-day Roma domestic design with a chic, metropolitan style worn by professional feminine women!

After the speeches and fashion collection, I mingled, and helped myself to the warm filling of a Hungarian dinner, and full-bodied red wine!

#FASHIONTECH BERLIN

#FASHIONTECH Berlin is a platform for all ideas and business models that influence the way fashion is designed, produced, distributed, marketed and sold. It targets fashion industry digitalisation, fashion experts, industry insiders, designers, start-up businesses and where young designers and entrepreneurs can meet, learn, discuss, network, find out about fascinating projects and explore new opportunities.

I love going there!

And why?

‘Cos I’m a freak.

I like to learn about new stuff!

So sue me!

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I was awfully busy this season, and so I couldn’t really stay for the sessions which included such topics as Wearables & Design, E-Commerce & The Future of Retail, Digital Marketing & Communication, I did however, attend the Fashion Fusion Press Launch!

The Fashion Fusion initiative is a combination of high-tech and fashion converging to create smart apparel supported by Deutsche Telekom which is encouraging innovative ideas for the fashion of tomorrow as part of its plans to become a digital lifestyle brand. Deutsche Telekom and other partners have created the “Fashion Fusion Challenge”: an international competition, where young talent throughout Europe, will have the unique opportunity to draw upon the aid of experts from industry, the fashion sector and the startup scene to realize their visionary concepts for high-tech apparel, wearables and digital lifestyle products and bring them to market.

Students, young professionals and startups from the fashion, design and technology sectors may submit their concepts until August 1, 2016 in one of the three categories: Connected Devices & Accessories, Digitally Enhanced Fashion and Smart Services. If you’re interested, make sure that you avail yourself of each and every opportunity, to get your ideas and products out there!

BERLIN FASHION FILM FESTIVAL

Now, I actually attended the Berlin Fashion Film Festival (BFFF) at the beginning of June, but I never got around to writing about it!

It’s a magnificent event created by a fellow British expat that I met last year – Niccolò Montanari – who is the young co-founder, and Head of Communications of the Berlin Fashion Film Festival (BFFF). And as you can see this is what living in Berlin does for you.

If you don’t find what you see, or feel that you can do something better, get up and do it yourself!

You know how much I love art films and quirky films so it was only going to be a matter of time before I bumped into them, somewhere in the city!

The Berlin Fashion Film Festival is an annual Berlin‐based celebration of creative video content for the lifestyle, beauty and fashion industry, in which a selected group of 500 leading creatives working between fashion, film and advertising, come together to celebrate the best fashion film productions of the year. It’s goal is to recognise, embrace, and reward exceptional branded video content, focused on fashion, beauty and lifestyle.

Phew!

Aimed at celebrating talent, discovering upcoming creative trends, and connecting creative professionals, the BFFF Awards encourages productions companies, film directors, filmmakers, producers, creative agencies, fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands, labels and designers to get to know each other and work together. The festival also includes 48 hours of talks, case studies, panel discussions, masterclasses, creative speed dating, film screenings and an international tour.

With 40 winners, 20 categories and 100 nominated films, it was a couple of days of intense screen watching!

That’s it for now. See you next week!

This article is not sponsored, and all fashion opinions about being artistic and creative, are my very own!

Next week, I’ll be writing more about Berlin Fashion Week!

July is Pride Week!

From 02.07.16 – 24.07.16, the LGTB (community), well-wishers and gay-friendly supporters will gather in Berlin to celebrate and advocate a tolerant and open-minded society.

The Lesbian-Gay City Festival will take place from 16.07.16 – 17.07.16.

CSD on the Spree (River) will take place on 21.07.16.

Dyke * March Berlin will take place on 22.07.16.

Our main Gay Pride Day otherwise known as Christopher Street Day (CSD), will take place on 23.07.16.

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