“Never Change A Winning Team” – that could be the headline for the annual general meeting of the Fashion Council Germany (FCG): In the presence of numerous participants, on Thursday at the Zoo Palast cinema in Berlin, both our chairwoman Christiane Arp and the other board members Marie-Louise Berg (CEO, Berg Communications), Roel de Cooman (VP Global Sales, haebmau.ATELIER), Simone Hartmann (Managing Partner, Hartmann Consultants) and Dirk Schönberger (Global Chief Brand Officer, MCM) were confirmed in their honorary positions.

With this appointment, the board, elected for a two-year term, further strengthens the FCG as a competence cluster with expertise in media, sales, design, human resources, and political networking. There are, however, changes to the Advisory Board: Our representative advisory board will now be complemented by entrepreneur Janina Lin Otto (Chairwoman of the Board, Holistic Foundation), sustainability expert Magdalena Schaffrin (CEO, studio MM04), and communications specialist Philipp Wolff, who will assume the chairmanship of the Advisory Board.

In addition to the central agenda item of the board election and the announcement of the new executive committee members, the FCG members were informed about the positive financial developments of the club, the status of its far-reaching initiatives and about new projects that are currently in the planning phase and will be implemented in the coming year.

In a detailed presentation, Scott Lipinski, CEO of the Fashion Council Germany, drew a positive conclusion, highlighting successes achieved in political networking. "For example, through a commission from the Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises, we have been responsible for the strategic realignment and overall coordination of Berlin Fashion Week for several seasons now." The format has since evolved steadily and has been able to reach an increasingly larger international audience.

The close exchange with political stakeholders was further underscored by the participation of Dr. Christian Ehler, Member of the European Parliament and member of the Advisory Board of the Fashion Council Germany, at the Annual General Meeting. Gitta Connemann, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, also accepted our invitation and delivered an impressive keynote address. Thus , we not only look back on a successful anniversary year in 2025, but also forward with great enthusiasm to the next decade of the FCG.

Photos: Celine Witon