Street style at Berlin Fashion Week

Source From: http://www.thevine.com.au/blog/alyxgorman/street-style-at-berlin-fashion-week20110711.aspx

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin is always an interesting proposition. Run by IMG and sponsored (as the name suggests) by Mercedes-Benz, the secondary market showcase has a lot in common with Australia's own event. Only unlike Sydney's fashion week, Berlin's does not occur in relative isolation. With Paris and Milan only a few hours away in either direction, and cool Scandinavia just up the road, the city - traditionally known more for its art and music than its fashion industry - faces stiff competition.

Given that the event ran virtually parallel to the Couture shows in Paris (there was a three day overlap), the chance of fashion's big guns turning up was pretty limited to boot.

Relatively inexpensive compared to Western Europe's other capitals, Berlin has a high rate of unemployment, a young population and an extremely strong arts scene.

All these factors combine to create a fashion week that's driven not so much by commerce as expression. This makes Berlin fashion week the perfect scouting ground for unique street style. There's far less money around, so the ubiquitous stripes of this season's Prada, the neon twists of expensive costume jewellery, and the endless array of Hermes bangled arms clutching Celine handbags are all done away with in favour of vintage finds, emerging designers and a DIY approach to getting dressed.

Of course, there will always be fashionistas able to invest in serious labels, but in Berlin, there are far fewer on the ground. This means shooting street style there combines the best of both fashion week style scouting and regular off-the-street fashion snaps: everyone photographed has a hardcore interest in fashion, but they can't afford to channel this interest into head to toe Chanel, so you get a greater variety of more accessible looks.

The parallels between Berlin and Australia don't stop at owners and sponsors either. Held in high summer, Berlin Fashion Week's trends on the street, with their predominance of denim, florals and nineties styling, feel a lot like outfits from Surry Hills or Fitzroy.