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The move of the Premium. A comment.

"Home Run" is the headline of the textile industry in its current issue. What is meant is the end of the Premium @ Frankfurt Fashion Week. Because premium boss Anita Tillmann has surprisingly turned her back on Frankfurt and announced her return to Berlin.

The reaction of my Berlin Fashion Week buddy Wolfgang, to whom I sent the Premium press release entitled “BIG NEWS! Premium Group Events back in Berlin”, was so apt: “The Premium was never gone.” Bingo. That’s the way it is.

Review of the Premium @ Frankfurt Fashion Week “History”

The first premium trade fair took place in Berlin almost 20 years ago. At that time still in a subway shaft at Potsdamer Platz (I was there as an ELLE editor). Before leaving Berlin (the last Berlin event was in January 2019), the order fair for conventional fashion – as well as the sustainable Neonyt – took place parallel to the Berlin Fashion Week /Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin). And then came the next chapter…

Juni 2020: Bye-bye, Berlin. Hello, Frankfurt.

Since the fashion crowd was informed of the XL news in a large press conference on June 17, 2020 – there will be a merger of Neonyt, Premium and Seek in the form of the newly created Frankfurt Fashion Week – nothing has been seen of Premium . only heard. On the occasion of the cancellation of the 1st edition of the FFW in January 2021, which could not take place due to the pandemic:

Premium

SEE YOU AGAIN NEXT SUMMER

“Until then, we can only say one thing: stay curious, stay optimistic – because even if there are no events this January, things will continue. And with more business opportunities than ever before, innovative formats, events and conferences and a holistic city concept that has never been thought of before.” Anita Tillmann, Managing Partner of the PREMIUM GROUP. (Source: Premium Newsletter 30.10.2020)

And where was the Premium? Not in Frankfurt.

Two “Fashion Weeks” should have taken place in Frankfurt so far. The pandemic has thwarted both of them. Neonyt, Fashion Council Germany, the Aaarea Festival, labels, organizations – trade fair operators and event organizers have done everything possible to bring fashion flair to Frankfurt (Fashion Statements @ Frankfurt Fashion Week >>>) as far as possible and despite numerous Covid hurdles . Contrary to all the euphoria of the trade fair boss, only one was not part of the party – the Premium.

Bye-bye, Premium. Back to Berlin.

And now, as we all learned on January 31, 2022, Premium is moving back to Berlin with its two trade fair formats (a third one has been announced). Or, as Wolfi put it, it stays there without ever having been away. Because it never took place in Frankfurt. And it will no longer take place in Frankfurt either. And that, although it was she who opened with waving flags from the banks of the Spree to the Main. Not without accusing the home of lackluster and lack of commitment to fashion…

As the founder of GREENSTYLE, I’m not just a spectator here. I’m concerned. Twice.

For a long time I thought about whether I should comment on the move/withdrawal/whereabouts of the order fairs Premium and Seek to Berlin. I have decided to do it. Because, as the founder of GREENSTYLE, I’m not just a spectator here. I am affected (in a double sense). Because since the decision to create a Fashion Week in Frankfurt, we have been working on a GREENSTYLE @ Frankfurt Fashion Week to offer something there that we have always missed in Berlin. The opportunity for consumers to participate in Fashion Week. Just like buyers to be able to discover exciting brands. Getting in touch with the makers of the brands. Going to fashion shows. Don’t just passively get a taste of Fashion Week air, because fashion people are busy scurrying from trade fair to trade fair, from show to show and from party to party. But because they can be a part of it. A – in our opinion – very important part. Because change, which we sustainable fashion enthusiasts strive for, comes to a very significant extent from the consumer side.

Change comes from all directions. That’s why we bring (sustainable!) fashion vibes to consumers with GREENSTYLE.

In short: Consumers, end users and fashion enthusiasts should be able to take part in events that were previously reserved for trade visitors. We – as a B2C format – are committed to this and have already shown several times in Munich and Bolzano that we are on the right track.

The date of the premium? An announcement.

We do not know the exact reasons for the Berlin decision. We can only guess at them and come to terms with them. But Anita Tillmann wants to return to business with her premium events in her native Berlin from (attention!) July 7th to 9th, 2022. It overlaps with Neonyt in Frankfurt on one day and even on two days with our GREENSTYLE. What were the organizers thinking? Did you think of trade, industry, the press?

There is so much more to this Back to Berlin campaign. So many questions. So much (pointless) fuss. So much instability in times when everyone longs for predictability. In an industry that has been hit hard by the pandemic. An industry in transition. She’s trying to define her contemporary future.

Egal wer was wann wo veranstaltet: It doesn’t matter who organizes what when and where: It is clear who has the topic of sustainability anchored in their DNA. This is the neonite. And that is the GREENSTYLE. Sustainability has been lived here since the beginning. Not just since it became “trendy”.

What are we heading towards? As of February 8, 2022 (it may be different again tomorrow). No idea. This is how the whole industry has been since Monday a week ago. Let’s at least hope that Mrs. Tillmann knows.

In any case, she won’t get a #bettertogether from us for this campaign.

Thanks at this point to all our fantastic brands and our great community for the support, the honestly meant sustainability, the innovative ideas. #rethinkfashion #bettertogether