Fashion and design industry
Berlin has established itself in the TOP 5 of the worldwide places for fashion with roughly 200,000 visitors at trade fairs and fashion shows and also when it comes to design, it's a dynamic, ambitious city.
With approx. 4,800 companies and about 25,500 people employed Berlin is Germany’s fashion capital and home to the densest concentration of fashion businesses in Germany. They achieved sales of around 5 billion euros. Numerous shopping miles and flagship stores for international brands draw fashion fans and tourists from around the world.
Twice a year, Berlin Fashion Week turns the capital into an international stage for fashion and lifestyle and a platform for a wide range of brands. Berlin’s fashion industry is vibrant, sustainable and innovative. With the Berlin Fashion Hub - VORN, Berlin promotes ideas for sustainable and green fashion and strengthens Berlin as a fashion location.
(Source: Projekt Zukunft, figures from the Berlin fashion industry, as of: 2021)
Berlin was the first European "UNESCO City of Design."
2006 Berlin became the first European city to be awarded the title "City of Design" by the UN cultural organization, UNESCO. This distinction has made Berlin part of the "Creative Cities" network alongside cities like Buenos Aires, Edinburgh, and Shanghai.
Facts and trends
- Berlin's fashion industry covers the spectrum from high-end couture and bespoke fashion to eco fashion and streetwear, from one-off pieces to mass-market collections. The accessories and shoes sector is also becoming increasingly important.
- Green fashion and upcycling are very trendy: more and more Berlin fashion labels are taking sustainability criteria into account in their production (e.g. Trippen, Folkdays, Jyoti, Schmidttakahashi, Ewa Herzog, Natascha von Hirschhausen and many more).
- Fashion tech and smart textiles also get their due in Berlin: More than 50 companies and young digital startups are reviving the business and breaking down industry boundaries. (Lukso, Yoona Ventures among others.)
- VORN – the Berlin Fashion Hub has established itself as a center for Berlin stakeholders who combine sustainability and circular economy approaches with digital technologies and processes – the first German 3D-Knitting MICROFACTORY has been located here since March 2025
- Condensed value chain: many new agencies (PR/sales), production service providers, and even large online platforms have been added in recent years.
- Berlin has the most training locations for fashion in Europe. Each year, roughly 300 graduates complete their training at Berlin’s thirteen fashion schools.
- Berlin stands for talent: fashion labels from Berlin have won many awards
- A broad research network offers numerous possibilities for further development: Haute Innovation, IVAM, design Research lab (UdK), Textile Prototyping Lab, Fraunhofer IZM, Berlin Open Lab, VORN - disruptive materials institute
