I’m so proud of my baby called Berlin Fashion Week. I’ve been to the first one in 2007 and I’ve seen it grow during the past five years - literally. And I’m not talking about the number of events and designers, which, of course, maximized, too. I’m talking about the Berlin Fashion Week tent which, to my surprise, got a lot bigger compared to 2010. It has two floors now!!! In fact, there are lots of changes concerning the tent. There is now a studio where designers can present their collections in different ways and where journalists and guests can see the clothes up close, which is great. There are more lounge seats, drinks, food, and there’s even a massage corner where you can get free massages! GREAT idea if you ask me! So, first impression this morning: I like the tent.

The first presentation I went to was 1913. Lots of cashmere, knit, sweaters, and shorts. Think comfy but expensive sunday afternoon on the couch. I really liked the make up of the models, orange eyeshadow and lipstick and undone hair.

After that, I went to the Lena Hoschek show, which btw started 30 min late. Thats a little too late for my taste. To make up for it, the show went for 25 minutes and everyone got a big goodie bag! That’s a whole lot of outfits so, well done, Frau Hoschek! The collection was really beautiful as well, the outfits seemed inspired by Paris in the 1940s.

After grabbing some lunch with a friend of mine, I went to the Mariusz Przybylski presentation which was held in one of the most beautiful hotels in the world, the Adlon (yes, that’s the one where Michael Jackson nearly dropped lil Blanket off the balcon). Finding the room was an experience itself, because of the extravagant interior design of the hotel. Mariusz Przybylski showed a collection of suits for men and women. My absolute favorite was a white one, adorned with Swarovski stones. Oh how I love sparkly things.

Speaking of sparkly, Harald Glööckler wore sparkly stones all over his body. On his face, his chest, his pants, everywhere. He was like a disco ball. But see for yourself in the pictures below.

Preparing for Berlin Fashion Week isn’t as easy as one might think. The schedule craziness starts about two weeks before Fashion Week when the PR agencies are sending out invitations and reminders. During this time, I get about four times as many e-mails as usual and let me tell you, it is not easy to stay organized and on top of everything. There are so many events all squeezed into four days, it’s mayhem. So far, my schedule includes 12 fashion shows, 2 showrooms, 1 blogger event, and some after show parties.

So, because those four days will be quite hectic, it is important to have some essentials in your handbag. You can see mine above, I got this pretty suede bag at Mango and it has the perfect size for fashion week! Inside, you will find (from left to right):

A Moschino notebook that I bought during Vogue’s FNO last year, in there I will write down notes about every fashion show, which I will turn into proper articles later on.

The Fashion Rescue Kit, that I got at my very first Fashion Week 4 years ago (geez, I’m old!!!), packed with sewing stuff, hair bands, band aids etc.

Paul Frank Lipsmacker and MAC Lipgloss.

VERY IMPORTANT! My Press ID, without which I would not get inside the tent.

Benefit Concealer and NYX Cream Blusher, two essentials that make me look fresher and more awake than I will actually be.

My wallet, my camera, gum, oh and, what you can see at the bottom is a paper fan that always comes in handy when it gets hot in the tent.

What’s missing in this picture, of course, because I took this picture with it, is my iphone in which I saved my schedule and invitations. VERY important!

So, as you can see, I’ll be carrying around quite some stuff plus goodie bags and giveaways from the designers, but I’m more than happy to carry those ;) Four days to go! I’ll keep you posted.

JOOP! posted the first picture of their S/S 2012 campaign on their facebook page and, well, it’s not that great. The dress is pretty boring, the model pretty dull, the poses quite unnatural, it’s waaaay too photoshopped, BUT, the background is what I love about it. You can see the Berlin skyline with the Fernsehturm and the park inn building. So, as a Berliner, I must like this ad. It’s also making me excited about the upcoming Mercedes-Benz Berlin Fashion Week in 10 days. After two seasons that I missed becaue of bloody exams, I will be there again and go to many fashion shows, showrooms and other fashionable events. Of course I’ll keep you posted on everything!

Aaaaand the third Vogue Fashion’s Night Out is over. Last night, the shopping streets of Berlin were packed until midnight and I was in the middle of it, of course! I tried to soak in as much as possible of the third FNO and went to, what felt like, 50 stores. Starting with Schumacher, which was amazing as always. Dorothee Schumacher greeted everyone personally and handed her guests fortune cookies and lucky charms. After half an hour there, I went into aaaall the participating shops at Kudamm, for example Tommy Hilfiger or Louis Vuitton. Most of them had their own DJ, some snacks, and lots of drinks for the customers. After four glasses of champagne I took the free FNO Shuttle to Friedrichstraße and spent the rest of the night at the Marc Jacobs store - with even more drinks - Oh and, what i bought? Some really nice boots at Zara! Enjoy my pictures…

Finally I have written all my exams for this semester and can now look forward to a week in Berlin, followed by a week in Greece. To reward myself for all the hard exam preparation, I went to Primark a few days ago and came back with two full bags of clothes and accessories. Oh my god…I just can’t resist price tags saying “Buy me! I’m so cheap!”. As you can see, I got a beautiful sheer red dress, a really cool hippie-esque white shirt with fringes and a super cute mint green ruffle dress for only 7 Euros! How can you say no to that? I also got some purple feathery earrings, an owl necklace and brown boots. Yes, I may be addicted to Primark Shopping and it will not get better next year as there will be two new Primarks opening in Berlin! One will be at Schlossstrasse and the other one at Alexanderplatz, the first one is supposed to open in March 2012.

Anyways, tomorrow I am off to Berlin!!! I cant wait to be in my hometown again and walk around Hackescher Markt and Kudamm. And of course… do some shopping. Sigh… I need more money.

Ok, these jeans were not part of the Weekday x Bless collaboration, but I had to take a picture of them anyways, simply because the colors looked so nice, they reminded me of ice cream. But now to the reason I was there… Weekday threw a party for their collaboration with Bless, a designer from Berlin. There were free drinks and muffins, loud music and a lot of stylish people. Sky high platforms ( I wore my Primark ones too ) and cropped shirts everywhere! The Bless designs were quite funky, imagine all colors you could think of on one bathing suit. Not only could you look at the clothes hanging on lemon trees (not kidding), but there were also a few models sitting on a carpet and feeding each other grapes. Besides the Weekday x Bless creations, a Cheap Monday shirt caught my eye. On the front it said “Just cheap” and considering the price of 40 Euros it was everything but cheap. I immediately had to think of some girls from high school that this T-shirt would be perfect for ; ) Anyways, it was a fun evening and I encourage anyone in Berlin to check out the Weekday store at Friedrichstrasse. It’s worth a visit.

It is 1 am now as I am writing this so I will make it short, but sweet. The first day of Berlin Fashion Week is over and it was nice, Lala Berlin was my favorite show. Still, it was the small things that really caught my eye, like the shoe and dress shaped cookies at Jette Joops jewellery presentation, the plant in a boot or the amazing studded high heels that some very fashionable girl wore outside of the tent. I will try to get some sleep now so I will be ready for day two.

Tomorrow night Berlin fashion week will officially kick off with the Grazia party. Tons of shows, presentations, parties, brunches and fun will follow until sunday. One of the most surprising and interesting news reached me earlier today when I was told that Olivia Palermo is expected to be at the Markus Lupfer presentation on friday. Olivia in Berlin? Possible since she has always named Berlin as one of her favorite places. I’ll definitely be there and try to get a look at the New Yorker socialite.

FOR THE SEVENTH TIME IN A ROW, MERCEDES-BENZ FASHION WEEK COMES TO BERLIN AMIDST GROWING POPULARITY

From July 7 to 10, 2010 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin will present an eclectic mix of designers in the German capital. Among the initial brands confirmed are 30PAARHAENDE, ALLUDE, ANJA GOCKEL, ARRONDISSEMENT AQ1, BLAAK, CUSTO BARCELONA, .DIMITRI, KAVIAR GAUCHE, KILIAN KERNER, LALA BERLIN, LAURÈL, PATRICK MOHR, PERRET SCHAAD, RENA LANGE, RISTO BIMBILOSKI, SCHUMACHER, STARSTYLING und THOMAS ENGEL HART with designers BLACKY DRESS, CHRISTINA DUXA COUTURE, DAWID TOMASZEWSKI, and MAVI showing for the very first time. MARCEL OSTERTAG will open Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin Spring/Summer 2011. BOSS BLACK and MONGRELS IN COMMON are showing their collections offsite.

I went back to Berlin over the weekend, spent some time with my friends and family. When I went to Potsdamer Platz to meet a friend on friday, I saw this huuuuuge poster of Natasha Poly for H&M. It’s really huge, it’s like a billboard and it looks great! Just compare the size of Natasha to the people walking around… must be weird to see yourself on a poster like that. Anyways, I thought I’d share it with my readers… I’m at the airport now on my way back to Munich. Everyday life at In Style magazine will continue tomorrow…