NEWS: Fashion at the German Federal Chancellery – Reception highlights the importance of the industry
Fashion Council Germany
Berlin, 03 July 2026: We’re putting fashion on the agenda – also at the federal level: On the second day of Berlin Fashion Week, which runs through 5 July, Gitta Connemann, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, and Wolfram Weimer, Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, hosted a reception at the Federal Chancellery. The invitation underscores the importance of fashion as both a major economic sector and a vital cultural asset. Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz also attended the event, engaging in an interested and constructive exchange with representatives of the fashion industry, which—together with the other sectors of the cultural and creative industries—forms a key pillar of Germany's economic strength.
Following a reception held in July 2018 in the presence of then Federal Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel, this marked the second time that the industry had been invited to the Federal Chancellery at the initiative of Fashion Council Germany, its Chairwoman Christiane Arp and its CEO Scott Lipinski.
More than 100 guests from politics, fashion and the media attended the reception, including Stella Ahlers (Ahlers), Marie-Louise Berg (Berg Communications/Fashion Council Germany), Bettina Billerbeck (TextilWirtschaft), Martina Buckenmaier (Riani), Roel de Cooman (Haebmau.Atelier/Fashion Council Germany), Dr. Christian Ehler (Abgeordneter im Europäischen Parlament), William Fan (Designer), Franziska Frosch (Elle Germany), Herbert Hofmann (Highsnobiety), Linus Holzmann (Comma), Alfons Kaiser (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung), Manuela Kampp-Wirtz (Burda Style Group), Franziska Knuppe (Model), Philipp Löwe (Der Spiegel), Janina Lin Otto (Holistic Foundation), Eva Padberg (Model), Patrick Pendiuk (Vogue Germany), Esther Perbandt (Designerin), Dirk Schönberger (MCM Worldwide/Fashion Council Germany), Valentin von Arnim (Iris von Arnim) and Timo Weber (KaDeWe).