History of Fashion Week: On the catwalk-disappointed hopes

What was the spirit of optimism! In the subway Tunnel beneath Potsdamer Platz, young fashion designers were deconstructed collections and a hopeful look. In the courtyard of a restaurant, the designer Mari Otberg and the milliner Fiona presented Bennett a in every sense of the word fantastic collection. On the fashion goods between halls, huge sand measure pours beaches up. And if you don't had enough of all the Cocktails there, then the days in the "Cookies sounded".

Alfons Kaiser

editor responsible for the Department "Germany and the world," and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Magazin.

The first years of the Berlin fashion week, which began in 2003, seemed to be a single upward movement. In the capital, which was only half-way to the gentrification, there was still enough brownfield sites for great fashion tents, not enough cheap shops for young brands and anyway, plenty of Clubs.

one flower

At the beginning of this period of a woman sitting on Monday morning at the Frankfurt Messe on the Podium: Anita Tillmann stand. You worked with fashion fair Premium fast from the U-Bahn-Tunnel in the large halls at the U-Bahnhof gleisdreieck. To her came the usual Suspects, the man knew of the CPD in Düsseldorf. The crowd was younger and hipper, the atmosphere, the Labels were casual and funny, new and exciting than on the former end of July on the Rhine, which was once the largest fashion fair in the world, the dawn now slowly.

the competing Sportswear trade fair "Bread & Butter", founded by Karl-Heinz Müller, who had also fled from the Rhineland, drew a lot of attention. The first setback of Berlin suffered, as the so busy such as irregular entrepreneurs in 2007 with his exhibition to Barcelona moved. In 2009, he came back to Berlin and recorded on the grandiose nature of the historic halls at the airport Tempelhof. But that was only a pseudo-flower, the Party was over, the era of Müller, is long gone.

city of wide paths

The cons have always been clear: Berlin is a city of wide avenues, the lack of a large airport, the economically weak areas. Were compensated for these weaknesses by the cultural value of the city, the Coolness factor, the many small Labels and fashion shows. Because a fashion fair, alone, is still not a fashion city. You need the big catwalks, because the bring charisma, vulgo: Glamour.