Premium show drops Frankfurt move to return to Berlin
Nicola Mira
The city of Frankfurt was set to become Germany’s new fashion hub, home to fashion weeks and industry shows. But the pandemic has forced a different outcome and, after two heavily disrupted editionsPremium
The announcement was made after the five trade shows scheduled in Frankfurt in January, PremiumSeekAs they had revealed in June 2020,
“Berlin is the metropolis for the cultural and creative industries and Europe’s largest start-up centre,” said Berlin mayor Franziska Giffey. “As the new regional government, we are committed to make Berlin’s economy thrive. Fairs and trade events are a major driver for the economy and a focus point for Berlin’s citizens and visitors from all over the world. We are therefore delighted to be able to bring back the Premium Group’s events to our city,” she added.
However, the Premium show will be back in Berlin in a new guise. The organisers have indicated they are developing a new concept based around the Berlin Radio Tower (Funkturm Berlin) and the Sommergarten, the oval-shaped park at the heart of the city’s exhibition centre, a well-known concert and festival venue. It is there that Premium’s vision for the future of fashion trade shows will take shape. Anita
“Traditional show formats are no longer relevant,” said Tillmann. “We must reinvent ourselves and turn towards the future, to a new stage in the fashion industry’s life in the wake of the pandemic, which has changed everything. Digitalisation, climate change, the pandemic, changing values, new industrial cycles with new players, gender equality, diversity, the metaverse, gaming and NFTs, these are only some of the themes we will be tackling,” added Tillmann. She is keen to introduce “new rules” for the future of trade events, which must be staged in a twin B2B and D2C dimension.
Premium’s decision puts into question the future of the Frankfurt fashion week
Premium’s firm view is that the switch to Frankfurt did not take place owing to the pandemic. And that the decision to return to Berlin was taken to “do justice” to the show’s participants and the entire market eco-system.
“We are truly disappointed that the move to Frankfurt turned out to be impossible,” said Arntz, managing director of the Premium Group. “We tried our hardest, and did our best. As a businessman, one has to always be able to move out of an impasse and question the decisions taken (…) We are Berlin people at heart, and we are convinced that the new government will establish Berlin as Europe’s creative linchpin in a sustainable and economically sound manner,” he added.
The show’s first come-back edition in Berlin is set for July 7-9 2022.
