Bread & Butter Berlin Fashion Trade Show Illustrates the Vibrant Scene in Street, Denim, SportsStyle, and Urban Superior Attracting the Industries’ Top Brands, Buyers, and Designers

Opening Registration of Bread & Butter Berlin, January 20-22, 2010–Photos by Bread & Butter

Bread & Butter in Berlin, January 20-22, proved yet again that they set the bar for fashion trade show standards, especially when it comes to the industries of denim, street fashion, upper urbanwear, and designer-contemporary. The show is known for attracting top buyers across many of fashion’s most important and growing subcultures, but it also has an innate ability to provide an ongoing source of inspiration for the brands exhibiting, plus attendees such as designers and media, and a growing number of non-endemic industry players and artists who come for the experience and to be inspired.

Starting with attention to details, Bread & Butter puts a great amount of emphasis on the space, structure, and architecture, such as the building of “The Wall” constructed (and filmed) to illustrate just how they enhanced the already amazing and historic Airport Berlin Tempelhof. It was 400 m long and 12m high that winterised the roofed airfield and the Denim Base, plus the “Original Sin Saloon” which was a true highlight. Each show also starts with a theme which then runs through everything it does -from the Charity merch designs and T-shirts and accessories (which are a must-have buy at each B&B show), to the staff attendees’ outfits, and of course each corresponding section, including Denim Base, L.O.C.K., Urban Superior (for men and women), Fashion Now!, Street Fashion, Sports and Street, and Style Society.

Denim Base area–one of the main sections of Bread & Butter

For the Winter show, the theme was The Original, featuring a throwback to the original denim era of American Westerns, utilitarian apparel, and designs which have over the years become the essence of street fashion, denim, and upper-end or “urban superior” as it is today.

Each section also carries its own theme which represents the types of brands and buyers that can be found in a certain area, as well as marking the trajectory of trends based on how each area develops and which brands can be found where (and why). But probably the most popular areas continue to be the Denim Base (which is the foundation of the show after all, and a specialty area for founder-director Karl-Heinz Mueller), Street and Sport, and Street Fashion.

Other highlighted areas included the L.O.C.K.%u2013 Labels of Common Kin. Here, 70 brands and labels were presented that set their focus on craftsmanship-based production techniques. Nearly all brands and labels have a great heritage, authenticity and high demands for their product. The newer brands and labels in this area also act on the same principle. In some ways, this area is reflective of Karl-Heinz’s other project, his store called 14oz. in Berlin which won “Store of the Year 2009” by the German Retail Organization (HDE)..

According to Karl-Heinz Mueller: “The L.O.C.K. is my baby. I have curated this hall myself. I have given top priority to the combination of brands and labels, the design of the hall and the selection of the restaurant. The honest product with traditional production techniques is a big trend in our society. Many brands from this segment succeed recently, although they generally do not have big marketing budgets. Here, there is huge potential %u2013 for us as the organizer, as well as for the brands and labels and the retail.”

GStar Runway show at Bread & Butter

Favorite events included the denim runway shows and G-Star and Diesel did not disappoint. Part rocker inspired, introducing new washes, new takes on boyfriend silhouettes including rolled up cut-off shorts, the G-star show illustrates that denim will be both progressive and retro, with a throwback to more comfortable styles and new types of details including military influences and a new take on grunge.

The Diesel show was also incredibly impressive, taking on more color and themes from the ’90’s then recontextualized for Fall ’10-2011. Check out the pictures for more.

Diesel runway show illustrated neon colors and a throw-back to the %uFFFD90s.

In the opening press conference, Karl-Heinz Mueller introduced Bread & Butter’s theme for the show July 7-9, called the Premiere League based on the fact that every brand is “selected” for the show and represents the top of their league, which then attracts only the top buyers, media, and attendees in general.

Additional plans for the July show include capturing more from the Contemporary Sportswear segment. Karl-Heinz said that “Many Sportswear brands still exhibit at Pitti in Florence. We have already held many talks with brands in this segment that are looking for more internationality. We can offer them this. However, we take good care that the brands fit in our overall portfolio. BREAD & BUTTER should be extended in the existing brand world, the dynamics should by no means be limited.”

For those of with an action sports, street art, and street fashion perspective, B&B is also adding another dimension called the B&B BOARDING HOUSE. In Hangar 1 (Sport & Street), young, creative labels from this segment will be provided a space to present themselves. Karl-Heinz Mueller said that “In the rearward part of the Sport & Street hangar, there are two completely equipped floors of ca. 1,000 sqm each above the ,Showrooms’. They are accessible via several staircases directly from the hangar. These are the former airlines’ offices. The individual rooms are between 20 and 30 sqm big. Here, we want to provide young sport- and streetwear labels as well as Street Art artists with a new home. The prices are considerably below our regular sqm prices, therefore, these rooms are reserved for young start-ups. We will shortly announce the exact building plans respectively the layouts.”

The final tally of the number of attendees has not yet been released, but safe to say, the show was a success and remains the leader in bringing brands together (some 600) across Europe, parts of North America, and Japan, and creating as they put it, a place for both “business and profit.” They might also add an inspiring atmosphere that makes the show an experience in and of itself.

The January, 2010, Bread & Butter Berlin sponsors included: Vente-Privee.com, Sony, Hay, and Audi.

For more stories on Bread & Butter from Label Networks, please do a key word search on “Bread” or “Butter.”

Denim Base