The Fashion Council Germany's FASHION x CRAFT funding program is once again being implemented this year in partnership with The King's Foundation . New project supporter eBay Germany is also on board. Together, the project partners aim to support young fashion and textile designers by providing them with tailored workshops in sustainability, craftsmanship, and innovation. With 30 years of experience in pre-loved fashion and the circular economy, eBay seeks to foster talent and provide new impetus for a more sustainable fashion industry. Through this interdisciplinary program, participants will learn how to make the fashion industry more sustainable and innovative. The five winners were announced in May 2025. During Berlin Fashion Week in July, they presented their designs at Der Berliner Salon and in RAUM Berlin, a new exhibition format initiated by the Fashion Council Germany.

As part of the project, the five design talents completed their residency at Highgrove, England, the educational center of The King's Foundation . The focus of their stay was on traditional craftsmanship, which they explored in various workshops such as basket weaving, woodworking, weaving techniques, metalwork, natural dyeing techniques, drawing, and printmaking. This provided them with valuable insights into the connection between traditional craftsmanship and modern practices. A key learning experience was the development of a reflective approach to their work, supported by group design training sessions, to empower them to combine their individual design approaches and inspire collaboration.

The winners then applied their newly acquired techniques to the development and implementation of their own designs and sketches. Together, they created a collective mood board, which served as a central design element for the subsequent development of their joint collection. This collection represents the final result of this year's edition. The designers were visited on-site by press and industry representatives, including Kirsty Keoghan (GM European Fashion, eBay) and Carlo Bellmann (Strategic Partnership Lead, DE Fashion, eBay). During these visits, they presented initial ideas and designs and exchanged ideas to generate inspiration.

Following the residency in Highgrove, further workshops took place in Berlin in August in collaboration with the Good Garment Collective as part of their residency in Germany. These workshops focused particularly on collection development and imparted knowledge about production management and sustainable material sourcing. In addition to the workshops, participants will also receive a workspace in their co-working space in Berlin in November, where they can develop their collections. Deadstock fabrics and upcycled materials, provided by partners eBay Germany and Zerow, will be used, thus enabling a circular approach. The final collection, created during the course of the project, will be presented at Berlin Fashion Week in February 2026.

The participants of the fourth edition of FASHION x CRAFT include Aleksander Kudrischow (HAW HAMBURG), Jon Liesenfeld (AMD), Laura De Sousa (UNIVERSITY OF LISBON), Lennart Bohle (PFORZHEIM UNIVERSITY DESIGN) andMelanie Parzenczewski (HTW BERLIN).