vans off the wall

Whilst at Bright we were invited by Vans to the launch party that happened to be just down the road from Clärchens, when we arrived it looked like an empty warehouse but inside (and up a few fights of stairs) it had been transformed. There was the main room, which had a beautiful architectural dome above that was the main stage area for a lot of the bands performing that night and to the left was the jager room. The deal was as long as your drink had some form of jager in it was free. Vodka and lemonade was expensive, vodka, jager and lemonade was free, get the picture? As you can see there are many perks to networking in Berlin, I can honestly say I counted the business cards I got from brands I thought were interesting and were based in the UK and there are over 50, I got a lot of contacts that I hope to use at some point as well. TIP: make sure you produce some business cards for your trip to berlin that self promote the service you offer effectively, you never know who you might meet…

ps. We arrived home form the Vans launch party at 6.00am with our coach taking us to the airport at 6.30am, we packed up quickly and ran to the coach. Slept right the way through to Nottingham (with a few breaks of course to get on to the plane, explain why I had 40 magazines in my hand luggage…) best trip ever.

berlin fashion week feat. sebastian ellrich

Twice a year Berlin becomes an international location for fashion and lifestyle topics. During the Berlin Fashion Week, fashion enthusiasts, buyers, trade experts and the media interact at shows and awards ceremonies, collect information at fashion trade shows and attend exhibitions and off-site events.

After a slight (big) disaster with some local transport police, after ‘forgetting’ to pay for the U-Bahn we had to literally sprint through Berlin on foot, after being banned from the subway and eventually had to launch myself in front of a taxi to take us to Fashion Week I was not missing this opportunity. TIP: Berlin transport is not free but you can bend the rules slightly, a week long ticket costs about 65 euro, but the fine for getting caught is 40 euro, seems silly if you ask me… but be careful, after a thirty minute discussion with the police officers they let us off by three of us paying 10 euro each a mega saving of 90 euro, but not everyone will be so lucky…

I walk into a disused second floor warehouse, in the middle of Alexanderplatz, an up and coming fashion and cultural district in central Mitte Berlin. It is a cold January and walking up the various floors with the surge of fashionable people, I hit Mercedes Benz fashion week… Sebastian Ellrich style. When I arrived to the second floor the concrete structure was transformed into a out of the ordinary catwalk installation. Being greeted in a smoke filled room with mystical models in raincoats twirling umbrellas everyone was intrigued. Walking around the circular complex and peering into the different rooms manikins were transformed into models full of energy and enthusiasm. One room showcased a couple fine dining in eveningwear, whilst another shows models jiving to a piano player, one showcased a rollerblader collaging on a wall and another with a group posing and slouching on a brick wall.

The finale room featured fiveteen models walking backwards and forwards through the width of the room with the guests walking in-between for a more close up look. With all the models coming together for a catwalk show at the end, the tailored, resistant and timeless nature of Ellrich’s designs are apparent. With the Cole Porter classic ‘Just one of those things’ being played it was the perfect end to the show. Ellrich is hoping to bring his designs to the UK and I think they will fit in perfectly in the London high fashion ready-to-wear crowd. Mercedes Benz label him the one to watch, Ellrich is something not to be missed… 

bread and butter launch

BREAD & Butter international tradeshow for selected brands represents the strong, overall and global marketing and communication platform for international oriented enterprises in young, progressive contemporary fashion culture: jeans & urbanwear, sports & streetwear as well as streetcouture on a top-level

Having never visited a trade show before I didn’t quite know what to expect but before visiting the two facts that stuck in my head were

1) It was the old Berlin airport (so I thought it must be pretty big)

2) No students are allowed so I spent time developing and establishing contacts in the hope they would allow me to represent their company in Berlin.

Having interned once a week at Designer Forum, a trend research agency I was lucky enough to go on behalf of them and was given the task of researching for up and coming SS12, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

When arriving at the Bread and Butter launch we were led into the main arena and got a sneak at a few of the stalls being prepared for the next day, I couldn’t see the end of them and realised this was a big adventure and flat shoes were a must. 2manydjs and Berlin talent played at the launch with a circus acrobatic performance happening above our heads, BB needs to impress the buyers and press and vice versa, it felt quite surreal being there for a business and I hope to return when I have graduated for a company I am employed at.