25,000 visitors on five days from 60 countries – the digital edition of the new Frankfurt Fashion Week was a huge success. From 5–9 July 2021, the FFW Studio offered topical, forward-looking fashion content in its most concentrated form: three conferences, over 60 panels, more than 72 hours of discussions, talks and presentations with more than 150 speakers and digital contributions from around 20 game-changing brands showed that the fashion and creative world is ready to take the necessary steps to successfully drive forward the transformation of the industry.

Extensive video content available

Over 40 hours, the multidisciplinary, international conference formats “The New European Bauhaus – Werkstatt der Zukunft” and Messe Frankfurt’s Neonyt conference “Fashionsustain” provided live streams of deep dives, debates and insights into the two overarching themes of the new Frankfurt Fashion Week: Sustainability and Digitisation, in combination with the latest trends, designs and styles.

All videos from the FFW Studio will now be made available: successively and on-demand on www.frankfurt.fashion. With valuable insights into the transformation of the industry, this will bridge the gap until the next instalment of Frankfurt Fashion Week.

Frankfurt Fashion SDG Summit:

The first Frankfurt Fashion SDG Summit formed one of the core elements of the digital Frankfurt Fashion Week. Designers, politicians, scientists and climate activists spoke with one voice for the urgently needed transformation of the fashion and textile industry. The topics of the Frankfurt Fashion SDG Summit were aligned with the priorities announced by UN Secretary-General António Guterres for 2021 to achieve the SDGs by 2030.

Keynotes, interviews, panel discussions and performances highlighted the global problem areas of the fashion and textile industry and showed solutions for a sustainable future: sensible business, in harmony with nature, responsible towards people in a globalized world.

Tarek Al-Wazir, Hessian Minister for Economy, Energy, Transport and Housing:

“The conference is a signal to the international textile and fashion world. It is important that the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are high on the agenda of this Fashion Week. Because we need to move from ‘fast fashion’ to ‘fair fashion’. We need to end destructive behavior that destroys the environment and robs people of their livelihoods. Precarious and life-threatening working conditions must be stopped – immediately. We must take responsibility and act – without hesitation. This is the only way we can achieve the goal of Agenda 2030.”

• The conference, which will be held annually in Frankfurt am Main in the future, was presented by the Conscious Fashion Campaign and realized by Messe Frankfurt in cooperation with the United Nations Office for Partnerships. From 2023 onwards, the SDGs will also become a binding condition of participation for all exhibiting companies at the Premium, Seek and Neonyt trade fairs.

January 2022 will be hybrid

Following its premiere, which was forced entirely online as a result of Covid, the Frankfurt Fashion Week will be bringing together the entire industry in Frankfurt from 17–21 January 2022 as a phygital experience for the first time – both on-site and online. The digital FFW Studio will be permanently integrated into Frankfurt’s holistic Fashion Week ecosystem, which consists of contemporary tradeshow concepts, multidisciplinary conferences, innovative runway formats, the activation of public spaces and a connecting platform concept.

Detlef Braun, Member of the Executive Board of Messe Frankfurt.

“The fashion and textile industry needs to find new ways forward. It needs new openings, new solutions and new inspiration. [...] Many successful fashion labels are now vertically integrated, direct-to-consumer and therefore ‘phygital’ retailers. At the same time, retailers are integrating upstream by creating their own brands. A one-dimensional Fashion Week covering just one stage in the value chain – e.g. the end clothing product – is no longer representative. We see the new Frankfurt Fashion Week as a multidimensional ecosystem that recreates the entire value chain – all types of womenswear and menswear from streetwear to luxury – and brings it together under one roof.”

• The next edition of Frankfurt Fashion Week will be taking place from 17–21 January 2022 in Frankfurt on the Main.. In-person tradeshows, conferences, showcases and events are finally being planned again – pandemic regulations and conditions permitting.