New German fashion: Is the next generation providing a boost?

Long gone are the days when big names like Karl Lagerfeld and Jil Sander represented 'German design' at international fashion weeks. Things seemed a little quiet around 'the Germans' for some time now, but a new generation is finally seeking the international spotlight.

Fashion labels such as GmbH and Ottolinger have already conquered the big stages with their mix of sporty streetwear, playing with silhouettes and gender norms. But even lesser-known brands are taking their first steps outside of Germany under the banner of "Neudeutsch".

Most of them feel at home in the German capital – helped by the fact that Berlin Fashion Week, like the local techno scene, is gaining international popularity – but new names are also emerging from other regions, united by their differences. They no longer play by the old rules, experiment with new forms and work more sustainably – without explicitly profiling themselves on this.

Political themes such as self-determination and the definition of home come together with individuality and an own aesthetic, which break open the boundaries of "German fashion" and make it more accessible to different sections of the population. Young labels such as Kitschy Couture, Marie Lueder, Marke and SF10G are just a few names that demonstrate the potential and are not only active internationally, but also attract the fashion world to Berlin Fashion Week.

Berlin, Berlin

Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) may not be the best ambassador after his recent scandals. Nevertheless, the massive interest of the US rapper in the 'Anonymous Club' fashion show of his compatriot Shayne Oliver proves that the programme of Berlin Fashion Week is also popular with international guests. He took over his own grandstand and half of the backstage with his entourage and security – of course, the other guests also had to wait for the masked artist.

The show was part of the "Intervention" concept by Berlin PR agency Reference Studios. In addition to Oliver, who has discovered Berlin as his second home, major brands were also present. During a rework session by Italian outerwear specialist C.P. Company, not only the local scene worked together, but also Stavros Karelis, founder of British luxury fashion retailer Machine-A. Footwear brand UGG was a partner of the Intervention Closing Party. To the music of British artist Shygirl, celebrities such as Italian fashion designer Stefano Pilati, who was previously at the creative helm of Yves Saint Laurent, footballer David Alaba and the GmbH duo Benjamin Alexander Huseby and Serhat Isik celebrated together with the Berlin cool kids.

Are international fashion weeks the key to success?

The GmbH founders, who previously headed the Italian fashion house Trussardi for a while, were also part of Intervention. They are, next to Ottolinger, among the most well-known "German" designer brands at the moment and had never shown in Berlin until this summer.

Both brands are based in Berlin, but are normally regulars at the Paris Fashion Weeks. However, Cosima Gradient and Christa Bosch, the Swiss women behind Ottolinger, first gained recognition when they showed their collection at the VFiles show for young talent during New York Fashion Week in 2016. The Berlin magazine 032c, which first became internationally known as a print medium and launched its own ready-to-wear collection in 2020, also prefers to present its fashion in the French capital. After all, the Paris Fashion Weeks are the traditional meeting place for brands with the press and relevant buyers.

GmbH also sees this as the recipe for success: "Most of the talented designers from Germany seem to be more successful abroad, which is maybe telling." Nevertheless, they are happy about the efforts of Berlin Fashion Week to become more internationally relevant. According to the GmbH makers, it is particularly important that the fashion weeks put the designers at the center and put their needs first, instead of using them as a marketing tool.

Among the participating brands in Berlin this season was also Hamburg-born Marie Lüder, who studied fashion design at the renowned art academy Central Saint Martins and has since lived in London. She describes this edition as "incredibly exciting and diverse". She was particularly impressed by the combination of interesting locations and the individual signature of the brands. Especially for emerging brands, who usually present at the same locations with comparable catwalks elsewhere, this is special, says the founder of the Lueder label.

She showed her own collection, in which she combines casual streetwear with medieval characters, in a round hall of the Tempodrom event location, which has its origins in the circus.

The Berlin agency, which is well-networked with a showroom in Milan and a planned office in Paris, also wants to offer this international flair in its own country in the future, and with ambitious goals. With Berlin Fashion Week, one wants to surpass London and act as a long-term springboard for up-and-coming designers, said Tim Neugebauer, creative lead at Reference Studios, in an interview.

Support for this comes from the Berlin Senate for Economics, Energy and Businesses, which invests in various projects and thus also supports designers. "This long-term support helps the brands to grow," says Lüder, who was awarded the 'Berlin Contemporary' prize financed by the Senate. "Berlin enables the labels to not only present their work in the context of a fashion show that primarily represents the fashion week itself, but also supports them in their financial sustainability."

The Senate also helps the Fashion Council Germany (FCG) with this, which wants to give Berlin Fashion Week a boost with such projects and international visitors. International influencers and fashion experts such as Hanan Besovic in particular also give the local brands a digital stage. In his videos from Berlin Fashion Week, he presented, among other things, some graduate collections of fashion students during the Neo.Fashion format and gave a deeper insight into the richly detailed coats of the Milk of Lime brand. The label, based in Neustadt an der Weinstraße, is inspired by natural materials and brings together its rural surroundings with an urban perspective.

This is how quickly a still small brand can also become internationally known. The fashion critic has more than 360,000 followers on his Instagram account "ideservecouture" worldwide, with which he has become famous. His followers also include Alaïa designer Pieter Mulier, Balmain's creative director Olivier Rousteing and Matthieu Blazy, creative director of Bottega Veneta.

Can Berlin really compete?

Important buyers such as Eshaan Dhingra from the London luxury fashion retailer LN-CC were also recently at Berlin Fashion Week. He sees great potential for German brands on the international market, he explains in an interview. In addition to GmbH and Lueder, he also counts Sia Arnika among his highlights of the fashion week. "I see great potential for German brands on the international market. Especially in Berlin, there is a strong aesthetic and a certain feeling that is closely connected to the brands that call this city their home."

For Berlin Fashion Week, however, he sees difficulties in competing with the major fashion metropolises, because buyers and press representatives have to get by with smaller travel budgets and travel less. His visit to Berlin was therefore only made possible by the FCG and the fashion week, which showed him the potential that lies dormant in Germany.

However, the German fashion association not only brings its international network to Berlin, but also ensures, together with the Senate, that Berlin brands in particular network internationally. For example, since last year, the FCG has been organising delegation trips for local brands to New York – and from 2025 also to Seoul – to network with local industry representatives and promote the expansion of the brands.

Breeding ground for design

Neudeutsch is another format that is committed to presenting German designers internationally. The format, put together by trend expert Julian Daynov, presented itself for the first time in January at Pitti Uomo. After positive feedback at the menswear trade fair in Florence, the format, which presents brands based in Germany and wants to help them above all with their commercial growth, developed into a traveling concept.

The second edition took place at the beginning of August at the CIFF fashion fair in Copenhagen, with even more brands. In the future, one wants to return to Florence, but also be present at other international trade fairs, says Daynov. For example, trade fair organisers from Asia have already contacted him. This will allow Neudeutsch to present its designers to a broad audience of "aesthetic decision-makers and business magnates" who can contribute to their commercial success.

"It is very satisfying to see how some of the most influential incubators for truly great fashion businesses – trade shows like CIFF and Pitti Uomo – appreciate what contemporary German design brings to the global lifestyle retail market as a claim and aesthetic signature," Daynov told FashionUnited. "Often seen as the 'underdog', it now enjoys the international attention and affirmation we could never really establish locally."

German design therefore seems to be much better received internationally than on the domestic market. In Germany, a "relatively bourgeois image" quickly arises with the assortment of retailers such as Karstadt and Peek & Cloppenburg and functional fashion, says Neugebauer. But in order to break through internationally as a German brand, it is much more important how it is perceived there. For example, people in Japan have a completely different image of 'Made in Germany' than in Germany, explains the creative lead of Reference Studios. "It has always been a breeding ground for design."

Daynov, who himself once worked as a buyer for the American luxury department store Saks Fifth Avenue, is convinced that projects like Neudeutsch are bringing about a change in Germany itself. The fashion industry, but also consumers, are thus encouraged to become more interested in local design. According to him, German design does not lack talent, but rather "good PR" – one of the reasons why he created the format and offers up-and-coming designers from fashion and other sectors this international platform.

"By now, we all should have learned and understood that building communities and providing open exchange, synergies and real support enables so much more than closing off, being secretive and cooking in one's own juice," says Daynov.

According to the trend expert, visibility and success are primarily determined by non-organically generated popularity and influence. It is therefore crucial to join forces around those who have the talent and vision "to get into the spotlight of big players, big recognition, big news, big success and hopefully big profits."

This article was originally published on FashionUnited DE. Translated by AI, edited by Rachel Douglass.