After the first digital edition last July, the Frankfurt Fashion Week will be held for the first time as a physical event from 17 to 21 January 2022. At the same time, the ongoing Corona pandemic continues to result in massive restrictions at trade shows and events. With a strict hygiene concept and in full alignment with the current regulations, the Frankfurt Fashion Week will offer the sector and all fashion enthusiasts a host of business-focused opportunities to meet, network, exchange ideas and information and to gain inspiration in Frankfurt am Main.
“We act thoughtfully and are very much looking forward to the first physical edition of the Frankfurt Fashion Week – at Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Centre and at a variety of locations throughout the city. We invite all fashion fans to participate in an exciting programme of events that can be held providing the hygiene regulations are followed, as necessitated by the pandemic situation at the time. A great eye-catcher in the public space will be the B-level of the Hauptwache, furthermore we are looking forward to an exhibition with photographs of the Frankfurt photographer Helmut Fricke. Frankfurt Fashion Week can already boast considerable international attention. At the fully digital July edition, there were already 25,000 participants from 60 countries, accompanied by a total of 690 million media contacts worldwide. We are already looking ahead to summer 2022, when the next steps will be taken and the intensity of publicity and events will be increased”, says Peter Feldmann, Mayor of Frankfurt am Main.
“With the Frankfurt Fashion Week, we want to send images and emotions of Frankfurt as a fashion, creative and business location around the world. The involvement of local players is just as important as the global attention for Frankfurt as a location. Our trade fair succeeds very well in working together – together with the global players of the fashion scene and the local players involved. In view of the great importance of Frankfurt Fashion Week for Frankfurt as a fashion and trade fair location, the balancing act between live experience and hybrid elements is crucial,” says Stephanie Wüst, City Councilor for Economic Affairs, Legal Affairs and Reforms. At the same time, she appreciates that Messe Frankfurt was very agile in taking into account the pandemic-related events and in close coordination with the authorities.
“Back to Business! We are sparing no effort to ensure that the 2nd Frankfurt Fashion Week takes place as a physical event. Even though the pandemic means we can neither hold the overall event in the size and degree of internationality announced nor fully exploit the potential of the planned activities this winter, we are still working flat out on implementing our formats: trade shows, conferences, showcases and events”, adds Detlef Braun, Member of the Executive Board of Messe Frankfurt.
Comprehensive hygiene and safety concept
In consultation with the authorities and safety specialists, the management of Messe Frankfurt and the Premium Group constantly monitor developments in the covid pandemic. They are relying on a comprehensive hygiene and safety concept that takes account of the current situation and the corresponding Covid-19 regulations. The provisions of the current Corona Virus Protection Law of the State of Hesse and the requirements of the public-health authorities of the City of Frankfurt am Main apply to all events and, in accordance with the ‘2G+’ admission regulation of the Protection Law, all participants of the Frankfurt Fashion Week must be fully vaccinated against or recovered from the virus, and present a certified test result on a daily basis (no self-tests permitted).
Accordingly, Messe Frankfurt and the Premium Group are doing everything possible to ensure that the first physical edition of the trade fair can be held in Frankfurt next January. The three fairs that have had a major impact on the European fashion market in recent years will take place within the framework of the Frankfurt Fashion Week (17 to 21 January) from 18 to 20 January 2022:
- Premium, the international business platform for advanced contemporary fashion
- Seek, where the progressive fashion community meets to shape the future
- Neonyt, the leading business platform for fashion, sustainability, innovation and advanced fabrics
Organised by the Premium Group – the Fashion Festival for a purpose-oriented generation presents a preview with first insights into The Ground, which makes its debut in the summer. The première of Messe Frankfurt’s new platform for mainstream quality and lifestyle fashion – Val:ue – has been postponed until July 2022.
In addition to the established fairs, it is also possible to hold showrooms, vernissages, installations and exhibitions, as well as conferences, talks and panel discussions on this basis, especially the Fashionsustain and Fashiontech conferences and the Neonyt Showcase. Also planned is the Frankfurt stage of the Fashion Council Germany (FCG), a competition for designers in which FCG and Messe Frankfurt sponsor the complete production of the best fashion-show concept. Brand showcases are in the pipeline, too. Additionally, the FCG has invited other fashion councils from the EU to take part in a summit in Frankfurt – with the aim of formulating a manifesto that will change the sector permanently.
The numerous activities of the accompanying AAAREA events and the organisers of the official FFW side events are set to generate the initial emotional and physical moments of the Frankfurt Fashion Week throughout the city:
As part of AAAREA, for example, fashion photographs will be exhibited and made accessible to the public in Frankfurt’s ‘Hauptwache’ underground concourse under the title RUNWAY B(eautiful). At a variety of locations, including the Jumeirah Frankfurt hotel, Helmut Fricke FASHION presents works by the Frankfurt-based photographer. His portfolio includes photographs of all the world’s leading catwalks with models such as Claudia Schiffer and Naomi Campell, not to mention stars such as Lady Gaga and Campino. Another highlight will be the Hilton Closing Reception with music producer Shantel. In this case, the majority of tickets will be distributed via a raffle.
The programme will be rounded off by productions from the digital FFW STUDIO. Detailed information about the programme of runways, showcases, conferences and side events, as well as the digital programme of the FFW STUDIO will follow in the near future.
