Germany plays an important role in thefashion industry, along withFrance, theUnited Kingdom, theUnited States,Italy,Spain, andJapan.German fashion is known for unconventional young designers and manufacturers of sports and outdoor clothing,ready-to-wear andcustom-made creations.[1]
Berlin, the country's capital city, is also a fashion capital of the world and the home ofBerlin Fashion Week, the country's main event where young and creative German fashion designers showcase unique creations.[2] Other important cities to the German fashion landscape areMunich,[3]Hamburg andCologne.[4] Smaller places such asHerford,Metzingen,Herzogenaurach,Schorndorf,Chemnitz,Albstadt andDetmold[5] are also important design and production hubs of the German fashion industry.
Berlin Fashion Week (Berliner Modewoche) is afashion week held twice annually (in January and July) inBerlin,Germany. Since its establishment in July 2007 it has gained great international attention for its many creative young designers who are flourishing in thefashion capital of Berlin.[6] Since July 2011, the event has taken place part in front of theBrandenburg Gate.
Mercedes-Benz is the main sponsor of the fashion week.
Zalando SE is a publicly traded German online retailer of shoes, fashion and beauty active across Europe, headquartered in Berlin. The company was founded in 2008 by David Schneider and Robert Gentz and has more than 51 million active users in 25 European markets.
Zalando is active in a variety of business fields – from multi-brand online shopping (including their own brands), the shopping club Lounge by Zalando, outlets in 12 German cities, as well as logistics and marketing offers for retailers. In 2022, Zalando generated revenue of 10.3 billion Euro, with roughly 16,000 employees.
.jpg)
Düsseldorf has been thefashion capital of Germanyfor decades; it is also a major cultural center for the art scene. Berlin, Germany's 'fashion capital' until 1945, lost its position because of itsspecial location within theSoviet occupation zone. After themonetary reform of June 20, 1948, fashionable clothes trends gained importance.Igedo organised fashion shows staged in Düsseldorf starting in March 1949.[7]There are a number of schools dedicated to fashion design in Düsseldorf, among themAkademie Mode & Design (de),Design Department, andMode Design College.[8]
The Königsallee is an urbanboulevard and is noted for both the landscapedcanal that runs along its center, as well as for the fashionshowrooms andluxuryretail stores located along its sides.
NicknamedKö (German pronunciation:[køː]ⓘ) by locals, the Königsallee is one of Germany's busiest upscaleshopping streets.[9]
In around 1,300 companies with more than 130,000 employees, a revenue of 28 billion Euro is generated by the German textile industry. Almost 44 percent of the products are exported. The textile branch thus is the second largest producer ofconsumer goods in Germany, after food production.[10][11]
Adidas AG (German pronunciation:[ˈadiˌdas]ⓘ; stylized inall lowercase since 1949)[12] is a German multinational athletic apparel and footwearcorporation headquartered inHerzogenaurach, Germany. It is the largestsportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the world, afterNike.[13][14] It is the holding company for the Adidas Group, which also owns an 8.33% stake in the football club Bayern Munich, and Runtastictrian fitness technology company. Adidas's revenue for 2024 was listed at €23 billion.[15] Adidas is best known for their iconic brand image, offering theYeezy Boost sneakers, and is publicly recognized for their extensive long origin history for participating in sponsored athletes, and for providing gear in theFIFA World Cup series. The brand is also unique for performance innovation of their shoes with major deep ties with sports culture, anddurability with their focus of sport shoes, clothing, backpacks, and other accessories. Its commitment to sustainability includes their digital technology andAI, including collaborating with cultural figures likeLionel Messi,Patrick Mahomes,Real Madrid, andPharrell Williams.
The company was started byAdolf Dassler in his mother's house. He was joined by his elder brotherRudolf in 1924 under the nameGebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik ("Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory"). Dassler assisted in the development of spiked running shoes (spikes) for multiple athletic events. To enhance the quality of spiked athletic footwear, he transitioned from a previous model of heavy metal spikes to utilising canvas and rubber. Dassler persuaded U.S. sprinterJesse Owens to use his handmade spikes at the1936 Summer Olympics. In 1949, following a breakdown in the relationship between the brothers, Adolf created Adidas and Rudolf establishedPuma, which became Adidas's business rival.[16]
Thethree stripes are Adidas's identity mark, having been used on the company's clothing and shoe designs as a marketing aid. The branding, which Adidas bought in 1952 from Finnish sports companyKarhu Sports for the equivalent of €1,600 and two bottles of whiskey,[17][18] became so successful that Dassler described Adidas as "The three stripes company".[17][18]
The most successful shoe from Adidas is the "Samba", due to its retro design and its versatility.[19]
Puma SE is a German athletic apparel and footwearcorporation headquartered inHerzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. Puma is the third largestsportswear manufacturer in the world.[20]
The company was founded in 1948 byRudolf Dassler (1898–1974). In 1924, Rudolf and his brotherAdolf "Adi" Dassler had jointly formed the companyGebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik ('Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory'). The relationship between the two brothersdeteriorated until they agreed to split in 1948, forming two separate entities,Adidas and Puma. Following the split, Rudolf originally registered the newly established company asRuda (derived from Rudolf Dassler, as Adidas was based on Adi Dassler), but later changed the name toPuma. Puma's earliest logo consisted of a square and beast jumping through aD, which was registered, along with the company's name, in 1948. Puma's shoe and clothing designs feature the Puma logo and the distinctive "Formstrip" which was introduced in 1958.[21]
As of 2022, Puma is operational in over 120 countries worldwide.[22]
Other famous fashion brands includeMCM,Hugo Boss,Escada,JOOP!,Bruno Banani,Jil Sander,Triumph,Schiesser,Closed,Reusch,Valisere,Jack Wolfskin,Ulla Popken,Buffalo,Rohde,Marc O'Polo,Tom Tailor,s.Oliver,Esprit,Wunderkind,Seidensticker,Windsor.,Jaques Britt,Naketano,HACOY.
There are also various agencies hosting multiple German brands and designers at once, such aszLabels Berlin.[23] Also the big department stores likeKaufhof andKarstadt, retail chains likePeek & Cloppenburg,Ulla Popken andNewYorker or mail order and online shops likeOtto andZalando have various in-house fashion brands.
TheBread & Butter in Berlin[24] is a leading trade fair forstreet fashion andready-to-wear trends, twice annually during Berlin Fashion Week.[2][25][26] TheIgedo fairCollection Première Düsseldorf inDüsseldorf (CPD) was the world's dominating fashion fair for years.[27]
Renowned fashion designers from Germany are e.g.Karl Lagerfeld,Hugo Boss,Wolfgang Joop,Jil Sander,Michael Michalsky,Etienne Aigner,Tomas Maier,Robert Geller,Philipp Plein,Rudolph Moshammer,Torsten Amft,Uli Herzner, Gabriele Strehle, Christoph Tisch, Marc Engelhard,[28]Willy Bogner,Rudolf andAdi Dassler.[29]
Important fashion media of Germany include the GermanVogue,Elle,InStyle,Cosmopolitan,Vanity Fair,Jolie,Glamour,Grazia,Life&Style andSleek magazines. The German fashion magazine with the longest continued tradition isBurda Style, that was first published byAenne Burda in 1950, who also established the majorBauer Media Group. Also various general women magazines and tabloids likeJoy,Brigitte,Petra,Gala andBunte are influential in regards to fashion perception.
As for television,FashionTV can be received via cable or satellite. Various casting shows reach a large audience in Germany, includingGermany's Next Topmodel byHeidi Klum. Also onProSieben, the seriesFashion Hero starringClaudia Schiffer was looking for fashion design talents. TheShopping Queen format atVOX stars designer Guido Maria Kretschmer, it provides five contestants with 500 EUR to buy them a fashion outfit and styling in four hours, to compete with each other.
Importantmodeling agency locations in Germany are Berlin (izaio, CORE Artist Management, Seeds Models, Viva Models, OneEins), Munich (Louisa Models, Most Wanted Models,Munich Models, Nova Models, Talents München, Vivienne Models) and Hamburg ( CORE Artist Management, MGM Models, iconic management, m 4 models, Mega Models, Model Management,Modelwerk, Most Wanted Models, Place Models, PMA Models). Also agencies inVienna andZurich host models based in Germany, as well as major global agencies likeIMG Models, DNA,Elite,Models 1 andNEXT.[30]
There is a range of fashion models from Germany that made it to international fame, such asClaudia Schiffer,Heidi Klum,Diane Kruger,Eva Padberg,Toni Garrn,Julia Stegner,Tatjana Patitz,Anna Ewers, Manon von Gerkan,Birte Glang,Nico,Uschi Obermaier,Carola Remer,Franziska Knuppe,Vanessa Hegelmaier,Lena Gercke,Sara Nuru,Barbara Meier,Nadja Auermann,Claudia Ciesla,Aslı Bayram,Shermine Shahrivar,Evelyn Sharma, Victoria Jancke,Marten Laciny, Nico Schwanz andLars Burmeister.[31]
Fashion education in Germany is centered on art schools,universities and the major fashion manufacturers.[32]
Academic institutions that offer courses in fashion design include:
Bread & Butter Berlin(BBB) confirms its position as the leading international trade fair and trademark.
(BBB), the leading international trade event for progressive, contemporary clothing brands
Media related toFashion of Germany at Wikimedia Commons
