6 Brands Making A Statement At Berlin Fashion Week

Berlin Fashion Week has set the agenda: fashion is a political act. Landing amid political riots, Trump’s threats of tariffs on the EU, and the upcoming 2025 German elections (where the far-right party is projected to win 20% of the vote), the Autumn Winter 25/26 schedule is a determined statement of fashion’s position. It cannot be neutral. All clothing, from haute couture to the high street, takes place within a community—within a context.

The fashion week itself is a lesson in resistance. It exists against the odds. The brands making up the schedule are resolute in their independence during great economic challenges, shaping their own alternative ecosystem which prioritizes craft, inclusion, and diversity. It’s a small industry: around 5,000 small to midsize companies, collectively employing nearly 26,000 workers, contribute to the city’s fashion industry turnover of roughly €5 billion. “They have the freedom to exist here and make their own rhythm. They are design-driven brands but less commercial,” explains Stavros Karelis, founder of retailer Machine-A who sits on the committee for Berlin Fashion Week (BFW), at the event. “You can also see it in the line-up. There are a lot of ideas and opinions. From Marke to Lou De Bètoly, it’s very mixed and cross-cultural.”

This dialogue is the result of a revamp under the leadership of Christiane Arp, chairwoman of the board of the Fashion Council Germany who is widely credited with the transformation of BFW. “Fashion has the power to bring people together,” says Arp, at the opening event. “It builds bridges and drives social change. We are what we wear and we wear what we are. Fashion has the power to bring people together. It is a global international gathering and a living, and constantly changing, element.”

From 31 Jan—3 Feb, it’s a packed program across 4 days. Here are 6 brands with something important to say.

GmbH

GmbH’s return from Paris Fashion Week to the German showcase is a strong sign that BFW is picking up momentum globally. This season, the label poses the question—can creativity survive? Backstage after the show, co-founder Benjamin Alexander Huseby argues for fashion’s effectiveness in making sense of the present, no matter what: “We as a brand have been exclusively political but this one was a way of digesting the feeling of grief or the existential dread that we are experiencing and processing it through poems, books and music.” He doesn’t pull any punches. “It captures that existential dread with the rise of fascism, not only in the US but all over the world.”

As the show notes acknowledge, we live in serious times. But the collection is by no means dour, and instead celebrates our “finding solace in beauty and art.” There’s playfulness and nostalgia: a leather smock and long-zipped boots are instantly desirable, while the off-the-shoulder Revenge neckline is back (so-called after Lady Diana’s dress designed by Christina Stambolian) in luxurious coats. Soapboxing is both delicate and unashamed, alternatively woven through the collection in subtle touches, sharp suiting with oversized shoulders set against soft organza veils) or loud and proud: see the sweaters printed with “Do not trade with the enemy,” now eerily prophetic.

“We are getting ready for a fight. For this long fight that’s ahead of us. But as long as you are fighting you are hopeful,” says co-founder Serhat Isik. “Keep resisting.”

Richert Beil

The disconnection of people today under worsening political climates is what’s worrying Jale Richert and Michele Beil—the couple behind one of Berlin’s most conceptual brands. “We don’t want to do a collection about, say, a political crisis, but we search for ideas that people can relate to. Our inspirations are always super-layered, starting from a topic but delving deeper,” Richert explains the day after the show. “It’s about giving hope and bringing people together.”

Mutter—the Autumn Winter ‘25/26 collection— does this in many ways. It’s seen in the diverse line-up on the runway which was cast from real people with diverse body shapes; 10 faces on the runway were entirely new to fashion shows. Richert Beil chooses transgressive materials such as latex to analyze unlikely topics such as motherhood and unseen labor, elevating the material to couture levels with technical interventions such as darting. Finally, the show venue Fichtebunker is historically charged. Another impressive location, the abandoned bunker in the middle of Kreuzberg, was once a place to stay for mothers and their children during World War II. At the heart of the set lies a symbol of shelter and care—the statue of a holy angel.

As the schedule’s most emotional label, according to the German Fashion Council, it is no less intense this season. But here we see social realism rather than sentimentality. On the runway, a pregnant mother-to-be, a woman clutching plastic milk containers.

Haderlump

Haderlump might be young (it was only founded in 2021) but it’s already one of the most polished names on Berlin’s fashion calendar. From concept to production, it’s a label that means business despite its small scale—only 13, including interns. Founded by Johann Ehrhardt and Julius Weissenborn, everything is produced sustainability in-house in Neukölln by a collective. “We don’t believe in the wholesale market anymore, rents, gas, etc are getting too high so we made our own DTC online shop. This is the modern world and it’s working very well for us plus reduces overproduction,” Ehrhardt explains at the official BFW showroom in Chateau Royal.

Following last season’s disused airplane hanger, the immersive staging for Autumn Winter ‘25/26 takes on another form of transport, trains. A platform with an antiquated clock and signage within Schöneweide station set the scene. Across 28 different looks—each has a story, the train worker, the waiter, and so on—Solivagant (Latin for solo travelers) is about momentum, time, and action. “I had this story in my mind of a guy running to a platform who loses his shoe as he boards the train. He then throws the second one out too, and I found out this was from Gandhi when he visited India,” says Ehrhardt. The Berlin spirit is compounded by the racy energy of the models that hurry down the long runway.

Design almost takes a backseat but it’s intentional, with details obscured in a blur. In the showroom, it’s flawless to see up close. This is the epitome of the Berlin style.

Lou De Bètoly

Another imposing venue, the Spiegelsaal in Clärchens Ballhaus is where French designer Lou De Bètoly convenes her community. Guests sit under the stucco ceiling dating from the early 19th century, surrounded by gallant reliefs, impressive giant mirrors, and a solitary grand piano, all of which speak to the faded glamour of a bygone era. This decadence also forms the DNA of Lou De Bètoly’s brand. That’s not to say she’s stuck in the past and designs have caught the eye of celebrities like Dua Lipa and Beyoncé.

Impressively, this season, all 40 looks have been crafted exclusively from reworked vintage, deadstock materials and pre-owned materials, using meticulous handcraft techniques—all of which illustrate De Bètoly’s potential as a designer. Fur-like two-piece suits are conjured up from pink bed sheets; a vintage silk blanket transforms into an evening gown that has been beaded by hand; we see structured tops reworded from leather belts. De Bètoly really sings when creating dresses, most notably her barely there transparent nylon knits—some woven with mohair or decorated with opulent, floral motifs or lavish embellishments.

Marke

Designer Mario Keine took inspiration from literature this season to produce a celebration of craftsmanship, slow fashion, and hand-tailoring. His muse, socialite Stephen Tennant, lived under the shadow of war: a brother to the war poet Edward Tennant, and a partner of Siegfried Sassoon.

Autumn Winter ‘25/26 opens with fluid gender-fluid silhouettes, soft draping, and delicate embellishments laden with historical touches created entirely from deadstock. Tailored looks in luxurious materials like wool-silk blends; romantic, oversized shirting, and raw-edged draped bows. Keine’s eye for detail is especially striking in the repetitious lines of silk-covered buttons or the skin-tight mesh garments adorned with vintage jewelry and artifacts sewn into the fabric—treasured objects close to the heart.

“I do every pattern and sampling. It’s a one-man show,” he explains after the show. Launched in 2022, Marke quickly moved from sculptural jewelry to incorporate clothing. Collections are unisex but 60% of clients are women and production is done in Germany. “That’s the good thing about keeping production here—I can do it later and very quickly as well as responding to private requests with alterations. I can have material without one or two weeks as well,” Keine says in the showroom, before departing for his studio in Cologne.

PALMWINE IceCREAM

PALMWINE IceCREAM, helmed by the Ghanaian-British designer Kusi Kubi, is an unexpected highlight on the closing day of BFW. New to the line-up, it’s the first African brand to be awarded as one of the winners of the BFW concept competition in the Berlin Contemporary category. Kubi’s label is rooted in Ghana with ethical production and the use of pre-existing materials and deadstock at its core.

The show was staged at Berlin’s iconic electro nightclub Berghain, which defines so much of the city’s aesthetic— black, gothic, and minimalist. But PALMWINE IceCREAM is anything but. The collection incorporates up-cycled leather, raffia, wood, and calabash (which is used hollowed-out to drink water and palm wine) in rich browns, earthy greens, deep reds, and black. Even a pop of orange looks chic in a palette that Kubi chose to evoke warmth.

The collection is dedicated to a close friend, who shaped the concept: the dynamic intersections of the past, present, and future through fabric, form, and feelings. It’s surprisingly effective, joyous yet restrained, and offers a different viewpoint. Shocking pink leather trousers on the Berghain dancefloor? Why not.

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