NEWS: STUDIO2RETAIL: WHEN FASHION BECOMES AN EXPERIENCE!

Berlin, 23 January 2023: The STUDIO2RETAIL initiative, organised for the fourth time by the Fashion Council Germany e.V. on behalf of the Berlin Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises, once again attracted a great deal of public interest during the recently concluded Fashion Week Berlin. The concept of making fashion and its designers accessible and directly tangible with a variety of different off-site events, store events, studio workshops, vernissages and performances proved to have enormous appeal.

The format brought together 151 participating stores and studios in the network and over 30 events for interested Berliners and guests. The STUDIO2RETAIL events focussed on sustainability, diversity and inclusion as well as innovative technologies. The events ranged from the metaverse showcase ‘HOOKED’ by the nine VORN Academy participants, who presented a three-part phygital capsule collection, the creation of which visitors could experience with the help of VR glasses, to the presentation of ‘Diverse it! - A Fashion Trialogue’, an initiative by PLATTE, in which five Berlin designers created diverse, needs-oriented looks, to the fashion flat rate campaign by STUDIO2RETAIL competition winner Ward'Robe Affaire, in which customers could borrow different looks every day during Berlin Fashion Week.

The topic of sustainability was also the focus of the events organised by other winners of the STUDIO2RETAIL competition for innovative concepts, each endowed with 5,000 euros. The Berlin-based label with Japanese roots, SUSUMU AI, focussed on the topic of ‘degrowth’. In workshops, Japanese craftspeople demonstrated various traditional techniques such as sashiko for reusing discarded fabrics and items of clothing to visitors.

The human factor in the clothing creation process was emphasised by the fashion rental company Kleiderei with the project ‘The Human Touch’. With a live fashion performance of her Sewing Painting technique, clothing technician and designer Juliet Segner visualised the direct impact of human labour on the clothing produced. The resulting unique pieces were then available for purchase.

Among the concepts supported was The Circle-Pop-Up by IMPARI, the label founded by Jana Heinemann in 2018, which emphasises the cycle of sustainability. Each of the pieces she designs is produced locally and without waste by reusing offcuts in future pieces. For Berlin Fashion Week, she made retail space available to young, sustainable labels in her store to emphasise the importance of joint action for change by both manufacturers and customers.

The ‘Moving Concept Fashion Show’ project by Anja Gockel in her shop Paris44 also celebrated togetherness. The audience followed the dancers through the store on two levels, who presented the 2023 summer collection ‘Move on’ and other young designers in motion.

Further information on STUDIO2RETAIL and the programme can be found at www.studio2retail.berlin/

About Senatsverwaltung für Wirtschaft, Energie und Betriebe / Project Zukunft: hier

About Berlin Fashion Week: hier

About Fashion Council Germany: hier

About Hubert Burda Media: hier