Escada Sport gives breezy start to Berlin Fashion Week

First up was the show by Escada Sport by designer Madeleine Schaefer. The Escada Sport Spring/Summer 2013 collection drew personalities such as Canadian musician Brian Adams, Berlin's mayor Klaus Wowereit and Escada chairwoman Megha Mittal. Breezy linen trousers, striped bikinis, flowing dresses and jump-suits had an elegant yet laid back feel to them. Colours ranged from cream, red and apricot to white and turquoise. Schaefer combined see through tops with flowing long skirts and trousers. Floral and batik-like prints worn with strappy high heels served as eye catchers.

Berlin Fashion Week runs from July 4 to July 7. Surrounding the events at the main Mercedes Benz tent there are numerous trade fairs such as the renowned Bread and Butter at the former airport Tempelhof as well as the luxury brand fair Premium.

Additionally, many young designers get a chance to present their work at the so called Showroom Days. More than 50 labels will present their Spring/Summer 2013 collections at the tent or offsite, among the Hugo by Hugo Boss, Guido Maria Kretschmer and Michael Sontag. One of the highlights is US star designer Marc Jacobs choosing the new "Designer for Tomorrow" after a competition that has seen 350 designers applying with only five of them making it to the final.

Escada Sport is a subdivision of German label Escada, founded in Munich in 1976 by Marghareta and Wolfgang Ley. Escada Sport was introduced in 1994 after Brian Rennie was named new design director.

 During its high time, Escada was the label for many celebrities. Kim Basinger was dressed in Escada when she received an Oscar in 1998. After fading success and popularity Escada set about reinventing itself in 2009, naming Karen Schoeller and Daniel Wingate design directors to restructure Escada's hitherto design. After Escada's insolvency in 2009, the business was sold to the Mittal Family Trusts, making Megha Mittal new chairwoman of the company.