WHAT'S THE STORY
FRANKFURT FASHION WEEK
FRANKFURT IS EVERYWHERE! Covid was still crashing the party this summer, but Frankfurt Fashion Week intends to define the future of trade shows in winter 2022. Anita Tillmann, Managing Director of Premium Group, and Detlef Braun, Member of the Executive Board at Messe Frankfurt, explain what the future may hold in an interview with Stephan Huber. Interview: Stephan Huber. Text: Nicoletta Schaper. Photo: Frankfurt Fashion Week
J
anuary instead of July – is this not an excellent opportunity to align oneself even more precisely with a fashion industry that is changing at an accelerated pace? Detlef Braun, Member of the Executive Board at Messe Frankfurt: Yes, a crisis always harbours opportunity. Much has happened in the industry. Corona has accelerated so many processes and exposed shortcomings of the textile and fashion industries. Simultaneously, a rethink is underway on the consumer side. Awareness of sustainable consumption is one of our
098
style in progress
central themes, for which we as Messe Frankfurt and the FFW strive to be a new catalyst and inspiration source. Anita Tillmann, Managing Director of Premium Group: We need a fresh narrative for trade shows and fashion weeks, that was already obvious before Corona and our relocation to Frankfurt. We launched Fashionweek Studio, a new digital format focused on how to intelligently shape change, at the beginning of July. Not being able to host a physical event was painful in many ways, but it also gave us respite to synchronise the teams and to consider
