On Thursday evening, industry representatives from fashion, business and politics came together in Munich.

Munich, September 26, 2024: The Fashion Council Germany invited people to the Fireside Dinner in Munich on Thursday evening together with Burda Verlag, Amazon Fashion and the cultural and creative industries competence team of the state capital Munich. The 50 invited guests from the areas of fashion, business, politics and the press met for networking and cross-industry exchange. An introductory panel talk offered the opportunity to discuss new technologies in the fashion industry during the dinner.

Moderator Craig Crawford (Digital Transformation Strategist) as well as speakers Florian Mair (General Manager & Director Apparel, Amazon Fashion EU) and Adrian Runhof (Artistic & Managing Director, TALBOT RUNHOF) discussed the topic “The Tech Innovation Shaping the Future of Fashion” . They highlighted various technologies that are transforming the fashion industry, including artificial intelligence (AI), which is playing an increasingly larger role. The discussion highlighted how technologies such as AI, 3D printing and augmented reality will shape the future of fashion and revolutionize both the industry's creativity and business models.

Franziska Frosch, Editor-in-Chief ELLE Germany and Scott Lipinski, CEO Fashion Council Germany welcomed the guests in a short speech. Dr. Olaf Kranz, Head of the Cultural and Creative Industries Competence Team of the State Capital of Munich, gave a greeting from the City of Munich and thanked the Fashion Council Germany and the co-hosts. As part of his speech, he presented the Munich Fashion Award, which will be presented by the state capital of Munich for the first time in May 2025. The Munich Fashion Award – The European Sustainable Fashion Award with a tech twist is aimed at young designers who are shaping the fashion industry with their creativity, innovative spirit and sense of sustainability. At the same time, it makes technological solutions for the sustainable design of the textile value chain visible. The MFA recognizes European fashion design talent with sustainable concepts and combines them with technological sustainability solutions from the industry for a faster transformation of the fashion system towards sustainability

In the MUSEUM restaurant in the Bavarian National Museum, the guests gathered in an atmospheric atmosphere and enjoyed a delicious dinner. The guests included Sybille Schön (CEO, Aigner), Patrick Pendiuk (Fashion Features Director, Vogue Germany), William Fan (Designer, William Fan), Fiona Collins (Principal, New Business Development, Amazon Fashion), Anna Heinrichs (Designer, HORROR VACUI) and Petra Pfaller (Creative Director & Head of Fashion and Lifestyle, Bunte).

The FCG networking format “Firesidechat” has been taking place in various major cities in Germany since 2018 and regularly brings together the most important industry representatives for exchange.

Photo Credit: Holger Thalmann for Fashion Council Germany