Since 2007, Berlin Fashion Week, an international showcase for fashion and design, has become one of Europe’s most important fashion weeks. Its primary goal is to consistently promote national design quality as well as emerging brands. The emphasis is on subjects such as sustainability, inclusivity, and innovation, which are executed in extraordinary ways in design, manufacturing, and presentation. This year’s Berlin 2020/30 Fashion Summit was held in the burstling city of Berlin, where many creatives from various industries find refuge to explore their creativity and co-create safely. This again underlines the city’s trans-disciplinary significance as the European Capital of Creative Industries.
Don’t use the word “sustainability” at all unless you can satisfy the socio-economic condition.
Veronica Bates Kassatly
The two-day-long summit was organised by Magdalena Schaffrin and Max Gilgenmann from Studio MM04, two active creatives from the Berlin fashion scene. The event, funded by the Senate Department for Economics, Energy, and Public Enterprises, hosted different personalities across various industries to have conversations around sustainability practices, new materials, and the need for resilience and digitalisation.
First Day: Berlin 2020/30 Fashion Summit
The Berlin Messe Süd opens its doors to various stakeholders across different communities to join the summit. It started with a warm welcome from the organisers, the sponsor, and the friendly host.
The enriching programme took the participants and the Fabl’style team on a journey of regenerative culture, whose main focus was the futures of equity and ecology, followed by insights about the importance of creating business relationships that go beyond capital.
Furthermore, a rather open-ended conversation to share experiences within the framework of intersectionality and feminist leadership took place. Speakers from Platte Berlin, Uns*, and Condé Nast Germany shared their own stories of how challenging it can be to navigate a professional career as a POC or a member of the LGTBQ+ community. The young speakers, coming from different creative industries, finished their panel with an invitation to be open to different perspectives and opinions and to avoid gaslighting and invalidating their own experiences.
Second Day: Community Day, Berlin Fashion Week
The Community Day delves into important fashion subjects through masterclasses, workshops, and a concluding barcamp. It was especially focused on intensive issues linked to regenerative strategies, with a special emphasis on linking the industry actors who are leading the implementation effort. It addresses the EU Textile Strategy standards, and the BMUV gives a workshop on anti-greenwashing legislation. Other workshops feature expert guidance from Grüner Knopf, Bay City, and Natural Fiber Welding, as well as other 202030 Summit partners. Surely, Berlin Fashion Week, has won for itself the title of hub for rising sustainable fashion lover. More so, a gathering place for sustainability champions under the banner of “Connecting Progressive Minds.”
Credit:
Joseph HURTADO
EU development and Business intelligence officer
Chargé du développement Europe & IE
