The time when big names like Karl Lagerfeld and Jil Sander were synonymous with “German design” at the international fashion weeks is behind us. For a long time it seemed quiet around “die Deutschen”, but now a new generation is seeking the international stage.
Fashion labels such as GmbH and Ottolinger have already conquered a place on the big stages with their mix of sporty streetwear, playing with silhouettes and gender norms. But also – still – lesser-known brands are taking their first steps outside Germany under the name “Neudeutsch”.
Most feel at home in the German capital – helped by the fact that Berlin Fashion Week, like the local techno scene, is gaining international popularity – but new names are also emerging from other regions, united by their differences. They no longer play by the old rules, experiment with new forms and work more sustainably – without explicitly profiling themselves as such.
Political themes such as self-determination and the definition of home meet individuality and a distinctive aesthetic, which pushes the boundaries of “German fashion” and makes it more accessible to different layers of society. Young labels such as Kitschy Couture, Marie Lueder, Marke and SF10G are just a few names that demonstrate the potential and are not only active internationally, but also attract the fashion world to Berlin Fashion Week.
Berlin, Berlin
Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) may not be the best ambassador after his recent scandals. However, the massive interest of the American rapper at the ‘Anonymous Club’ fashion show of his compatriot Shayne Oliver proves that the program of the Berlin Fashion Week is also appreciated by international guests. He and his entourage and security took over his own stand and half of the backstage – of course the other guests also had to wait for the masked artist.
The show was part of the “Intervention” concept by Berlin PR agency Reference Studios. In addition to Oliver, who has discovered Berlin as his second home, major brands were also present. During a rework session by Italian outerwear specialist CP Company, not only the local scene participated, but also Stavros Karelis, founder of British luxury fashion retailer Machine-A. Shoe brand UGG was a partner of the Intervention Closing Party. To the music of British artist Shygirl, celebrities such as Italian fashion designer Stefano Pilati, who was previously at the creative helm of Yves Saint Laurent, footballer David Alaba and the GmbH duo Benjamin Alexander Huseby and Serhat Isik celebrated together with the Berlin cool kids.
Are international fashion weeks the key to success?
The GmbH founders, who for a time also had the creative direction of the Italian fashion house Trussardi, were also part of Intervention. They are, next to Ottolinger, one of the best-known “German” designer brands of the moment and have never shown in Berlin before this summer.
Both brands are based in Berlin, but are usually regulars at Paris Fashion Week. Cosima Gradient and Christa Bosch, the Swiss women behind Ottolinger, first gained fame when they showed their collection at the VFiles show for young talent during New York Fashion Week in 2016. Berlin-based magazine 032C, which first became internationally known as a print medium and launched its own ready-to-wear collection in 2020, also prefers to present its fashion in the French capital. After all, Paris Fashion Week is the traditional meeting place for brands with the press and the relevant buyers.
GmbH also sees this as a recipe for success: “Most talented designers from Germany seem to be more successful abroad, which is perhaps telling.” Nevertheless, they are pleased with the efforts of Berlin Fashion Week to become more internationally relevant. According to the GmbH makers, it is especially important that fashion weeks focus on the designers and put their needs first, instead of using them as a marketing tool.
Among the participating brands in Berlin this season was Hamburg-born Marie Lüder, who studied fashion design at the renowned art academy Central Saint Martins and has been living in London ever since. She describes this edition as “incredibly exciting and diverse”. She was particularly attracted by the combination of interesting locations and the individual signature of the brands. This is particularly special for emerging brands, which usually present at the same locations with similar catwalks elsewhere, says the founder of the Lueder brand.
She showed her own collection, in which she combines casual streetwear with medieval characters, in a round room of the Tempodrom event location, which has its origins in the circus.
The Berlin agency, which is well-networked with a showroom in Milan and a planned office in Paris, also wants to offer this international flair in its home country in the future, and with ambitious goals. With Berlin Fashion Week, they want to surpass London and act as a long-term springboard for emerging designers, says Tim Neugebauer, Creative Lead at Reference Studios in an interview.
Support for this comes from the Berlin Senate for Economics, Energy and Enterprise, which invests in various projects and thus also supports designers. “This long-term support helps the brands to grow,” says Lüder, who was awarded the Senate-funded ‘Berlin Contemporary’ prize. “Berlin enables the labels to present their work not only in the context of a fashion show that primarily represents the fashion week itself, but also supports them in their financial sustainability.”
The Senate is also helping the Fashion Council Germany (FCG), which wants to boost Berlin Fashion Week with such projects and international visitors. International influencers and fashion experts such as Hanan Besovic in particular are also giving local brands a digital platform. In his videos for Berlin Fashion Week, he presented several graduation collections by fashion students in the Neo.Fashion format and provided a deeper insight into the richly detailed coats of the Milk of Lime brand. The label based in Neustadt an der Weinstraße is inspired by natural materials and combines its rural environment with an urban perspective.
That’s how quickly a small brand can become internationally known. The fashion critic has more than 360,000 followers worldwide on his Instagram account “ideservecouture”, which made him famous. His followers also include Alaïa designer Pieter Mulier, Balmain’s creative director Olivier Rousteing and Matthieu Blazy, creative director of Bottega Veneta.
Can Berlin really compete?
Also important buyers like Eshaan Dhingra of the London luxury fashion retailer LN-CC were recently at Berlin Fashion Week. He sees great potential for German brands on the international market, he explains in an interview. In addition to GmbH and Lueder, he also counts Sia Arnika among his highlights of the fashion week. “I see great potential for German brands on the international market. Especially in Berlin, there is a strong aesthetic and a certain feeling that is closely connected to the brands that call this city home.”
However, he does see difficulties for Berlin Fashion Week in competing with the big fashion metropolises, because buyers and press representatives have to make do with smaller travel budgets and travel less. His visit to Berlin was therefore only made possible by the FCG and the fashion week, which showed him the potential that lies in Germany.
The German Fashion Association is not only bringing its international network to Berlin, but is also working with the Senate to ensure that Berlin brands in particular network internationally. For example, since last year, the FCG has been organizing delegation trips for local brands to New York – and from 2025 also to Seoul – to network with local industry representatives and promote the expansion of the brands.
Breeding ground for design
Neudeutsch is another format that is committed to presenting German designers internationally. The format, put together by trend expert Julian Daynov, first presented itself in January at Pitti Uomo. After positive reactions at the men’s fashion fair in Florence, the format, which presents German-based brands and aims to help them with their commercial growth, developed into a travelling concept.
The second edition took place at the beginning of August at the fashion fair CIFF in Copenhagen, with even more brands. In the future, they want to return to Florence, but also be present at other international fairs, Daynov says. For example, fair organizers from Asia have already contacted him. This allows Neudeutsch to present his designers to a broad audience of “aesthetic decision-makers and business magnates” who can contribute to their commercial success.
“It is very satisfying to see how some of the most influential incubators for really big fashion companies – trade fairs like CIFF and Pitti Uomo – appreciate what contemporary German design brings as a claim and aesthetic signature to the global lifestyle retail market,” Daynov told FashionUnited. “Often seen as an ‘underdog’, it is now enjoying the international attention and validation that we could never achieve locally.”
German design seems to be much better received internationally than in its home market. In its own country, a “relatively bourgeois image” quickly emerges with the assortment of retailers such as Karstadt and Peek & Cloppenburg and functional fashion, according to Neugebauer. But in order to break through internationally as a German brand, it is much more important how it is perceived there. For example, in Japan, people have a completely different image of ‘Made in Germany’ than in Germany, explains the Creative Lead of Reference Studios. “It has always been a breeding ground for design.”
Daynov, who himself once worked as a buyer for the American luxury department store Saks Fifth Avenue, is convinced that projects like Neudeutsch bring about change in Germany itself. The fashion industry, but also consumers, are encouraged to take more interest in local design. According to him, German design does not lack talent, but rather “good PR” – one of the reasons why he created the format and offers emerging designers from fashion and other sectors this international platform.
“By now we should all have learned and realized that building communities and offering open exchange, synergy effects and real support makes so much more possible than closing yourself off, being secretive and stewing in your own juices,” Daynov said.
Visibility and success, according to the trend expert, are mainly determined by non-organically generated popularity and influence. That is why it is crucial to join forces around those who have the talent and vision “to get into the spotlight of big players, big recognition, big news, big successes and hopefully big profits.”
This article was previously published on FashionUnited DE. Translation by AI, editing by Caitlyn Terra.
