How Marc Cain Put Berlin Fashion Week On The Map

As the fashion world increasingly widens its gaze beyond Paris, London, New York and Milan, it’s no surprise that Europe’s coolest city, Berlin, has become the focus of a lot of international attention. A literal melting pot of influences thanks to its recent past, which saw it split between the east and the west, and economically strong thanks to its position in Europe, there are plenty of reasons why more of us are looking to Berlin for inspiration, and why its fashion week is becoming more and more prominent.

One designer who is enjoying the renewed focus on the city is Marc Cain, whose catwalk show is the unrivalled highlight of the week. Despite being based in Bodelshausen, with production in Stuttgart, Germany’s biggest designer puts on a show at Berlin fashion week, bringing together the country’s most famous influencers for a show of Burberry-sized proportions complete with drinks reception and after-party, that took over an S-Bahn station this season. (Can you imagine a tube stop closing for a fashion show in London? We didn’t think so).

Indeed, sat on this season’s FROW were a trio of the country’s most successful Instagram queens; Stefanie Giesinger (3 million followers), Caro Daur (1.3 million followers) and Nina Suess (260K followers), whose names will be well-known to those outside of Germany too. Opening and closing the show was New Zealand model Georgia Fowler (you may know her as one of Leonardo DiCaprio and Harry Styles’ rumoured exes), whose booking marks a real coup for the brand and Berlin in general.

The collection – which is so vast that it can’t possibly all be squeezed into a 15-minute show – was split into three distinct personalities, with the opening looks being ladylike and refined, the middle section athleisure, and the ending party party party. As Fowler explained backstage: ‘I’m wearing three different looks: the first look is very ladylike in a leopard print coat, which I love. The second look is more athletic and casual. But the last look is my favourite – it’s quite disco and sparkly.’

The closing look – which saw Fowler wearing a sequinned crop top, hot pants and over-the-knee boots, and dancing down the catwalk with her hands in the air – was the undisputed favourite of the show, with Giesinger, Daur and Suess all namechecking it as the one they wanted the most. ‘I think it’s the season of glitter,’ declared Daur afterwards, who had already gotten the memo in sparkling chandelier earrings and silver accessories.

If you had to describe the Studio 54-inspired show in one word, ‘fun’ would undoubtedly be it, with a disco soundtrack getting the audience shimmying in their seats while models barely contained their beaming smiles as they sashayed down the runway in glitter, faux fur, sequins, leopard print and bright colours (reds, pinks and oranges were key; both Giesinger and Daur chose tangerine coats for the FROW). ‘I love the energy backstage,’ enthused Fowler. ‘The atmosphere at Marc Cain is quite rock ‘n’ roll.’

The enthusiasm was contagious, with the audience clearly loving designer Karin Veit’s optimistic aesthetic as well as her ability to produce a cohesive show that encompassed several trends. ‘It was so colourful and it was really powerful; it was sexy but also casual,’ explained Giesinger after the show. ‘I think there was something for every woman.’ ‘I really liked the show,’ agreed Suess. ‘She’s [Veit’s] able to put everything that’s out there into one trend.’

For a nation who are known for their pared-back, reserved and simple taste in clothes (‘German style is very basic,’ Suess explained. ‘We can be quite scared of trying new things – sometimes we need a little push’), it was exciting to see such a fun, exciting collection. Indeed, the popularity of the trio of influencers on the front row is largely down to their adventurous sense of style (as Daur said, she’s a ‘chameleon’), so it’s no surprise that this new colourful, more daring aesthetic was welcomed by the audience. We can’t wait to see where it ends up next season.