5 Key Takeaways From Berlin Fashion Week FW26
Berlin Fashion Week (BFW) seems to be destined for extremes. Where July’s edition arrived during the hottest week of the year, this season landed amid the freezing cold, with temperatures dropping to -10°C. Guests skidded between shows in platform heels and fur coats, navigating the snow and the ice with varying degrees of grace, but spirits were high and the front row remained tightly packed.
“For me, it’s important that you see the designers’ development season by season,” says Christiane Arp, chair of Fashion Council Germany, which organizes the week. “I judge [the growth] by looking at the people who are here from the industry that haven’t been before, and who keep coming back. Berlin is becoming more and more attractive for people to come, and that’s increasing season by season,” adds Fashion Council Germany CEO Scott Lipinski
Arp says the purpose of BFW is to offer discovery and new ideas on the international fashion stage. “Something isn’t working in our system — in our political situation, and in the industry,” she says. “Fashion is a language everyone understands, and to be part of something positive is so important for the times we live in.”
Here are five key takeaways from BFW Fall/Winter 2026.
BFW gained more international attention
BFW cemented its international influence this season — largely through Reference Studios’s Intervention showcase, which invites labels with global recognition to show on-schedule. The program has enriched the BFW calendar since its launch in February 2024, and has helped reposition Berlin as an international fashion platform rather than a local showcase. This season, newcomers included Japanese brand John Lawrence Sullivan, Nigerian designer Kenneth Ize, and skate-inspired streetwear brand Dagger, founded by Northern Irish designer Luke Rainey, who is now based in Berlin.
Menswear label GmbH continues to show on-schedule under Intervention, attracting the international fashion audience, and Ugandan brand Buzigahill returned to Intervention for the second time, after debuting last season. Now in its fifth season, Reference Studios CEO Mumi Haiati hopes the platform will continue hosting a handful of consistent brands season after season, while leaving space for newness.
“I think [BFW] is starting to have its own identity,” says Haiati, highlighting that it’s become easier to tap brands for its talent incubation and showcase platform. For Haiati, the best outcome would be if large German companies — like Hugo Boss, Adidas, Puma, and Bopla — were to invest in BFW in some way (as we see major labels investing in fashion councils in Paris and Milan). “I would love to see some of the big players support the city and create that halo effect.”
Brands pursued commercial growth
Many of BFW’s mainstay brands have expanded commercially since last season, through a combination of retail, wholesale, and new market access. Haderlump and Richert Beil each opened stores in Berlin, and SF1OG, which launched in 2019, is now expecting almost 50% sales growth for FW26, with wholesale (making up 40% of sales) growing steadily in the Asian market.
To support that momentum, the fashion council organized trips to South Korea and Japan at the end of last year, to put designers in contact with local buyers and press. “We try to put them in contact with the right buyers in the market for these brands,” says Lipinski. “You can only build those relationships on trust, it’s not like pushing a button and sales come,” adds Arp. Later this year, the fashion council plans to open a showroom in Paris.
Marke founder and creative director Mario Keine found the trip to Japan worthwhile, despite it taking place outside the normal ordering cycle. “It’s a huge investment to do the trip,” Keine says. “But I decided it’s worth it, especially to build trust and contact with buyers in Japan, because they like to see the brand two or three times before buying.”
