Fashion and design industry

Berlin has established itself as an international fashion hub, attracting around 200,000 visitors to trade fairs, runway shows, and fashion events, and is also an emerging city for design.

With around 5,000 companies in the fashion industry and approx. 21,800 employees subject to social security contributions, Berlin is Germany’s fashion capital and home to the densest concentration of fashion businesses in Germany. They generated revenue of around 12.9 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: Kreativ- und Digitalwirtschaftsbericht für das Land Berlin 2025 - Figures for 2024)

Berlin is 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

Broad fashion spectrum: From couture to eco fashion to streetwear; the accessories and footwear segment is becoming increasingly important.
Focus on sustainability: Many Berlin fashion labels are focusing on green fashion and upcycling, including Trippen Folkdays, Jyoti, Schmidttakahashi, Ewa Herzog, and Natascha von Hirschhausen.
Fashion tech and smart textiles: Over 50 companies and digital startups are providing new impetus and blurring traditional industry boundaries, e.g., Lukso, Yoona Ventures.
VORN – the Berlin Fashion Hub: The center for Berlin's fashion industry combines sustainability and circular economy with digital technologies – and is home to Germany's first 3D knitting microfactory.
Dense value chain: New agencies (PR/sales), production service providers, and large online platforms strengthen the ecosystem.
Education and talent: Berlin has the highest concentration of educational institutions in Europe Schmidttakahashi around 300 graduates per year from 13 fashion schools. Numerous awards go to Berlin labels.
Strong research network: Haute Innovation, IVAM, design Research lab (UdK), Textile Prototyping Lab, Fraunhofer IZM, Berlin Open Lab, VORN - disruptive materials institute, TITV - Institute for Special Textiles and Flexible Materials

Networks and platforms

Events and trade fairs

Training and education

Ecosystem sustainability/circular economy

Awards and Accelerators

Fashion

REDRESS DESIGN AWARD

The Redress Design Award is the world’s largest sustainable fashion design competition. Organised by Redress, the competition works to educate talented fashion designers around the world about sustainable design theories and techniques in order to drive growth towards a circular fashion system. Hereby a unique platform is created for passionate and talented fashion game-changers to transform the global fashion industry and honours the best with career-changing prizes to maximise long-term impact.

Global Change Award

Global Change Award is an innovation challenge initiated by H&M Foundation, aiming to make fashion circular. After intricate consideration, our top five projects have been awarded. A one million grant is shared by their creators, who join a year-long accelerator to bring their innovative work to the global market.

European Fashion Award FASH

The European Fashion Award FASH is an international fashion competition for creative and trend-setting collections from Europe. Outstanding achievements with own handwriting in the design should be promoted. Fashion creators with a completed master's degree or several years of professional experience can apply for the prize. The prize will be awarded to a collection whose outstanding concept, for example in the fields of dress to wear, modern couture, trash, innovation or sustainability convinces, explores aspects of modern society and current developments in design terms and provides clear statements in provides this context.

Wilhelm-Lorch-Stiftung

The aim of the Wilhelm Lorch Foundation is to promote qualified talents. It is carried by personalities and companies in the textile and fashion industry. If you are working in the industry or are preparing to start working in the field of apprenticeship or studies, if you are interested in continuing your professional development, then you may be the right candidate to become a winner of the Wilhelm Lorch Foundation.

ZUKUNFTSMEISTER

The promotion of young talents is an important topic at MEISTERKREIS. MEISTERKREIS unites people, companies and institutions that stand for creativity and the highest quality from and in Germany. The Zukunftsmeister program supports young companies from Germany who are committed to the values of the MEISTERKREIS and have not yet reached the size of a company for a membership. Associated with the award is a two-year mentoring program conducted in cooperation with the MEISTERKREIS members. The mentoring program consists of coaching sessions and workshops with the members, as well as the opportunity to participate in all MEISTERKREIS events.

PREMIUM YOUNG TALENTS

The PREMIUM GROUP (PREMIUM INTERNATIONAL FASHION TRADE SHOW) invests heavily in young companies - partly with favourable conditions for trade fair stands or with manpower and reach through communication. Within the group, PREMIUM itself occupies a leading position in the promotion of young talent. Since 2005, young talents have been sustainably supported there in the long term.

ISPO Textrends

With ISPO Textrends, ISPO awards innovative fabrics and production components of sportswear twice a year. An international jury assesses the participants most innovative product and benefits the best entries with numerous sales-promoting measures and marketing services.

DesignFarmBerlin

DesignFarm promotes the development of exploitation and startup strategies in the design-in-tech sector in three different directions product-related innovations, innovative manufacturing processes and competence-based foundations by giving grants to design-oriented startups.

Tex Started

Tex Started is looking monthly for the "Startup of the Month" of the textile and fashion industry to promote innovation and give founders access to an excellent network.

Fashion Council Germany

The FCG GERMAN SUSTAIN CONCEPT was aimed at all young designers or young fashion labels based in Germany who work in the field of sustainability. The winners then have access to coaching and unique presentation options.

iF DESIGN AWARD

The iF Design Award honours the latest trends and innovations in the product, packaging, communication, interior design, technical concept, service design and architecture categories. Open to companies, designers, agencies and architects.

Fashion for Good

Innovators who focus on one of the areas of Raw Material Dyeing & Finishing, Manufacturing, Retail, End-of-Use or Transparency & Traceability can apply and win the participation in a three-month Accelerator Programme.

Sustainability

Deutscher RecyclingDesignpreis

The RecyclingDesignpreis is a competition for the design of new products from waste and residues. They are looking for innovative upcycling ideas, new developments in the fields of materials research and circular economy, social design or transformation design - imaginative, visionary, original, sustainable.

DEUTSCHER NACHHALTIGKEITSPREIS UNTERNEHMEN

The competition identifies the most sustainable companies in Germany and pays tribute to pioneers who are breaking new ground: with innovative products and services, high ecological standards in production or special social responsibility in their value chain. Small, medium and large companies from all sectors who successfully commit themselves to sustainable business can apply. Companies that have issued a declaration of compliance with the German Sustainability Code can participate with this declaration.

Bundespreis Ecodesign

The Bundesspreis Ecodesign aims to promote sustainable production and sustainable consumption. In addition to submissions from the consumer and durable goods sector, capital goods are in demand, as well as sustainable services, system solutions and forward-looking concepts. Companies of all industries and sizes can apply. Startups or market leaders, local suppliers or global players are as much addressed as design offices and marketing agencies, architecture or engineering firms. It is important that the product submitted is available on the German market or is intended as a service or concept. Under this premise, international companies are also admitted as competitors.

Green Product Award

The International Green Product Award offers a platform for manufacturers, design studios, agencies that are characterized by their products and services in terms of design, innovation and sustainability and who want to present themselves on the German market. It is assigned in different categories e.g. Fashion Room.

Internationale Fairtrade Awards

The award honours companies and civil society who have been exemplary in their efforts to promote the Fairtrade idea and aims to re-focus on the development of fair trade through the inspiration of stakeholders and as a platform for communicating exemplary work for Fairtrade in Germany.

Projekt Nachhaltigkeit

The project searches for your projects and initiatives that are forward-looking for sustainable development and contribute to the implementation of the Global Development Goals. The main themes for 2019 are Economy, Urban-rural / Rural, Sustainable Consumption and Social Justice. Projects that cannot be assigned to a priority topic can also be submitted. In the electronic questionnaire further topics in the dropdown menu are freely selectable.

Deutscher Nachhaltigkeitspreis: NEA

The Next Economy Award honours startups that focus on sustainability and the green economy. It is intended to give green founders a tailwind and to support startups whose innovative business models seek social and ecological improvements.

Green Buddy Award

The Green Buddy Award offers a platform for committed companies, where ecology and sustainability are part of the company's own philosophy. Applications from all over Berlin can be made in the categories retail, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle and Smart City Solutions. For applicants from Tempelhof-Schoeneberg there are also the categories eco-friendly production and Young Green Buddy Award available.

StartGreen Award

The StartGreen Award strengthens founders of the Green Economy. It supports innovative startups in the field of climate protection and sustainability and makes them visible. This year, the Community Award for the green startup scene will be presented in different categories: Startup concepts (not yet established) and Startups (up to 5 years)

Mut zur Nachhaltigkeit

The ZEIT WISSEN Prize Courage to Sustainability is awarded to pioneers who make an outstanding contribution to sustainable development. The prize and the award-winning projects are intended to provide impetus for sustainability initiatives in science and industry. The prize will be awarded in the categories knowledge, trade and intermediate.

GREEN AWARDS

The Green Awards are awarded during the GreenTech Festival. The new categories “Rising Star of the Year”, “Startup of the Year”, “Innovation of the Year” and “Game Changer of the Year” are open to all technology areas. All green ideas now find their framework in the competition.

Sustainability Heroes Awards

The prize will be awarded in various categories at the DQS Sustainability Conference. The focus of DQS CFS is on sustainability, food and consumer safety. Not only large corporations but also explicitly small and medium-sized companies are addressed.

Mein gutes Beispiel

"My good example" is a nationwide award for the social commitment of small, medium-sized and family-run companies. The aim is to make the existing commitment of family-run and medium-sized companies visible.

Nachhaltigkeitspreis der Neumarkter Lammsbräu

For the 17th time already, Neumarkter Lammsbräu honoured people and organisations that make a special contribution to better environmental and living conditions. Anyone who promotes the culture of sustainability can receive our Sustainability Award. The prize, worth a total of 10,000 euros, is awarded in six categories: NGOs, companies, innovation, media representatives, Lammsbräu employees and outstanding commitment.