Post date: Jan 15, 2013 7:23:52 PM
The Mercedes Benz fashion week throws opens its doors as the German capital adds a bit of glamour to a snowy January.
BERLIN, GERMANY (JANUARY 15, 2013) (REUTERS) - Laotian designer Hein Le kicked off Berlin's Mercedes-Benz fashion week on Tuesday (January 15) as the German capital gets ready for a dusting of glitz to liven up a grey January.
Set up in its spot of honour under the landmark Brandenburg Gate, the Mercedes-Benz tent will host some 50 shows between January 15-19 as Berlin hopes to cement its place in the fashion calendar alongside its more glamorous cousins Milan, Paris and New York."Well I think Berlin, now, is a fashion capital and I think probably for the first time, honestly in the last couple of years we can say it is a platform for existing and emerging talent because we have designers that have been on the schedule now - this will be their 10th or 11th show so I think it is really something that is part of the international fashion calendar that the rest of the world is waiting to see," director of IMG fashion worldwide, Peter Levy told Reuters TV.
"I think the challenge is, you know, for us to keep reinventing solutions for an industry for them to present their collections in a way that makes sense for them so that they can own their brand and their talent and I think that the city, because it is such a mecca of creativity of music and film makes it easy because it never becomes rote. It is always inventing itself and reinventing itself..."People are really looking at Berlin as a gateway market for the world. So you have designers from 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 countries that are actually showing at Mercedes Benz fashion week in Berlin because they believe that that is the platform for fashion's future," " Levy added.
And what better way to illustrate the pull of Berlin for different nationalities than to start the show with Laotian-born, Berlin-dwelling Hien Le.
Hien Le, who launched his label in 2010, presents discreet cuts with a subtle application of details, producing everything in Germany to the effect of what he calls, 'combining diligent design with accurate workmanship."
The street wear fashion fair, Bread and Butter will also strut its stuff, with 600 exhibitors expected on the former Tempelhof airport showing their autumn/winter 2013 collections.