Haute couture on the coast. The island of Usedom has become a meeting point for creative fashion designers from across the entire Baltic region . Usedom’s traditions go back more than a hundred years, and the island remains Berlin’s seaside getaway.

Under the umbrella brand USEDOM BALTIC FASHION the three ‘royal spa’ resorts of Heringsdorf, Ahlbeck and Bansin host several major fashion events a year. With the long beach promenade and the seaside villa architecture as a backdrop, these are unique experiences.

Dedicated followers of fashion have relied on the expertise and quality of ROY ROBSON since 1922. This international lifestyle brand offers styles ranging from business to casual, available in own-label stores and in specialist retailers across Europe.

2010 spring/summer collection
Colour, colour, colour. This year’s spring/summer collection by ROY ROBSON carries a freshness achieved through the use of colour blocking. The slim silhouettes and body-hugging cuts are given a modern touch by summertime primary colours and strong accents. Inspired details inside the garments emphasise the collection’s overall expression of colour.

Exclusive fashion from carefully selected high-end labels equals a superlative shopping experience for both men and women.

Back in 1988, Petra Teufel opened the first establishment in Hamburg that offered genuine cutting-edge fashion. No one leaves empty-handed. Notable customers at Teufel’s eponymous store include Sheryl Crow and the Pet Shop Boys along with singer Herbert Grönemeyer, trend-setting TV presenter Thomas Gottschalk and other stars from Germany. Petra Teufel stocks lines by designers such as Issey Miyake, Dries van Noten, Ann Demeulemeester, Martin Margiela and Comme des Garçons

With 1,800 guests attending OUTLOOK – Night of Fashion, the event was a sellout days beforehand.

On 10 April, Dresden’s Eventwerk venue transformed itself into a place of inspiration for exclusive fashion. Thirty models – both male and female – took to the 20-metre catwalk to showcase the trends for spring and summer from international labels. What makes OUTLOOK so special is that the clothes featured on the catwalk are wearable and can be bought in Dresden’s boutiques.

Fashion lovers of all ages could pick up a wealth of ideas – including sporty yet feminine casual clothing from Airfield, seductive and playful lingerie from Vive Maria and elegant men’s fashion from Hugo Boss. In amongst all the international labels was Zingarelli Couture, produced by local designer Carla Beyer from Radebeul. She and her label symbolise the trend for selecting outfits for special occasions that reflect the wearer’s individual style.

The exclusive star guest was model trainer and choreographer Bruce Darnell, who co-hosted the show with the Dresden singer Sylvi Piela.

OUTLOOK 2010 was the eighth time that this fashion event has taken place. The Eventwerk, a former factory with the distinctive charm of a typical industrial building of the early 20th century, had previously provided the unusual surroundings for OUTLOOK in 2008. Back then, some 1,200 guests had attended the sold-out venue. Since then, the facilities have been expanded, enabling an additional 600 people to visit OUTLOOK this year. Nonetheless, tickets had still sold out days before the show.

In July 2009 the debut collection by Michael Sontag at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Berlin was named the stand-out show by the New York Times, giving the designer a rapturous start to life in the fashion fast-lane.

Following internships at c.neeon and Frank Leder in Berlin as well as Kenzo and Givenchy in Paris, Michael Sontag graduated from Berlin’s Weissensee College of Design. Sontag makes fashion wearable and does not adhere to conventional collection formats. His designs are brought to life by high-quality materials that you just want to wrap yourself up in such as silk, cashmere and fine wool. The innovative cuts, meanwhile, make each and every outfit a visual delight while never overstepping the mark. In contrast to the natural materials which dominate his collection, engineered textiles for functional purposes are also used where appropriate. Michael Sontag creates clean and elegant looks for fashion lovers with a taste for the extravagant.

Michael Sontag – biography

Education
July 2008 Diploma with distinction in fashion design
2002-2008 Weissensee College of Design in Berlin under the tutelage of Patrick Rietz
2006 Ecole Nationale Superieure des Arts Décoratifs under the tutelage of Gaspard Yurkievich
2000 High-school diploma in art & design

Internships
2007 Givenchy, Paris
2006 Kenzo, Paris
2004-2005 Frank Leder, Berlin
2004 c.neeon, Berlin

Awards
Oct 2009 Winner of the 2009 Textile Innovation Award
08/2009 Nominated for the Sportswear International Award in the Best Newcomer category
Jan 2009 Nominated for the Peek & Cloppenburg Designer for Tomorrow Award
Jan 2009 Selected for the Beck’s Fashion Experience International Fashion Award
Oct 2008 Nominated for the createurope Fashion Academy Award

Shows
Jan 2010 Solo show, Michael Sontag Autumn/Winter 2010/11, at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin, supported by IMG
Oct 2009 Show in the German Embassy in Rome
Jul 2009 First solo show, Michael Sontag Spring/Summer 2010, at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin, supported by IMG
Jan 2009 Show at the Beck’s Fashion Experience
Jan 2009 Show at Peek & Cloppenburg Designer for Tomorrow Awards

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Berlin has only taken four seasons to establish itself in the international fashion calendar. Since making its debut in July 2008 on centrally located Bebelplatz square, it has served as a showcase event for the latest collections from German and international fashion labels.

For many Berlin fashion labels, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week is a springboard for future success which attracts plenty of media coverage. It also features the Designers for Tomorrow Award presented by Peek & Cloppenburg. This rewards the best young talents and gives the winners a huge boost as they begin to make a name for themselves in the fashion world.

Premium

The Premium fashion show in Berlin, which runs at the same time as Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, offers an insight into the current state of play for select collections, international newcomers and exclusive on-trend products. It showcases around 900 international collections for men and women, a kaleidoscopic range of shoes and fabulous accessories.

In its early days Lala Berlin was known in particular for its exclusive knitwear creations.

With a strong focus on detail, workmanship and progressive cuts, Leyla Piedayesh’s designs stood out for their perfect fit and essentially laidback, elegant urban look.

Meanwhile, the label has moved from high-end knitwear to include innovative material mixes. This step has further multiplied the possibilities for creative expression. Lala Berlin fashion has since become even more versatile. More exciting. More surprising.

And since the label’s nomination for the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week 2007 New Generation Award, if not before, Leyla Piedayesh has successfully brought the message home to the world: Lala Berlin is no longer exclusively about knitwear but henceforth the collection includes everything from jackets, coats and trousers, dresses, skirts and blouses to smart evening wear.

It is Leyla Piedayesh’s fondness to experiment with unusual accessories and contrasting elements such as bold patterns or eye-catching prints that forms the basis of the label’s unique signature style. Lala Berlin designs have everything to become cult pieces. Whether it’s the skull insignia of earlier collections or, more recently, chain motifs in gaudy colours, striking plait or check patterns, or even delicate Toile de Jouy-style ornaments.

The Designer

Lala Berlin is Leyla Piedayesh’s brainchild and passion. It’s a nickname and a statement on Berlin by the prolific designer who was born in Teheran in 1971. And more than anything else, Lala Berlin is a tremendous success story. Initially, Leyla Piedayesh’s approach to fashion design was purely theoretical. Armed with a degree in business administration, she worked as an editor at MTV and helped launch “Designerama”, an MTV fashion format, before turning her attention to the practical side of the fashion industry in 2003.

What started out as a small scale business – hand-knitted wrist warmers sold under her own name – soon found a ready market: In spring 2004 Leyla Piedayesh presented a large debut collection at Berlin’s Premium Fashion Fair – Lala Berlin was born. Her individual concept which matches urban casual design with elegant chic met with enthusiasm on all sides: the public, the critics and the press.

This small but select store opened in March 2004 in up-and-coming Unterbilk – one of Düsseldorf’s hippest districts. Fraus and Fräuleins make regular pilgrimages here to browse lovingly selected, affordable clothing from various trendy labels, including Spain’s SkunkFunk.

A welcoming atmosphere for shopping and the classic charm of a boutique-size store offer a genuine alternative to mainstream styles and the hectic bustle of the city centre. Completing the kleidsam picture is a selection of well-chosen, offbeat accessories ranging from hand-made and highly individual bags to other accoutrements with a ‘made in Germany’ boast. Another of these funky Düsseldorf stores opened in May 2007 in the Flingern district.

Julia Starp is a young designer from Hamburg who makes high-fashion womenswear. She specialises in coats, jackets and other attire, which are characterised by exquisite details and distinctive cuts. For her collections, Starp makes extensive use of sustainable, environmentally friendly materials such as organic cotton, peace silk, hemp and bamboo.

The designer is a prolific producer of exclusive, one-of-a-kind garments in the haute couture category, which have brought her success in numerous competitions, such as the Concours International in the Carroussel du Louvre in Paris. She has also collected newcomer designer awards from burda, Pfaff and Catwork.

Actressess Katja Flint, Sarah Maria Besgen, Tokessa Martinius and Viola Möbius are also fans of her sensational creations.

Julia Starp puts the emphasis on individuality, exclusiveness and quality. For three years, her one-off pieces were sold in the Levantehaus on Mönckebergstrasse.

Since 2009 the label has borne the Julia Starp name and focuses on its own prêt á porter collections. These can be seen in the L’Anima Agents showroom in Hamburg and at fashion trade fairs such as Premium and GREENshowroom in Berlin. All items are made exclusively in Europe under ethical conditions.

After graduating in fashion design in 2005 Starp spent two years working at a sheltered workshop (Perspektive Meldorf). Together with the people under its care, she created a fashion collection made from hand-woven materials which was later presented at a fashion show.

“The human aspect of my designs is essential. I consciously design and create my fashion to be absolutely individual but also ethical. What I wear should not just make me happy, but also the people who have made it for me.”

Around 80 labels exhibit at this event on Munich’s party island of Praterinsel. All share the same ethos: no mainstream, no following the herd, nothing for its own sake.

Elegance is the watchword at the ABC Salon, a trade fair for evening wear, bridal fashion and cocktail dresses. Sportswear comes under the spotlight of style_ispo, which doubles as the European Fashion Award Ceremony, an initiative of the German Apparel Industry. To see fashion in the wild, head for the Glockenbachviertel, Munich’s trendiest district with all its clubs and bars, stylish stores and hip-and-happening folk.