Most fashion enthusiasts are familiar with the Big Five. It is a reference to Paris, New York, London, Milan and Tokyo. Fashion weeks in these cities form the axis of the global fashion industry. However, there are many style-savvy platforms around the globe that put a spotlight on visionary designers and bold trendsetters. Fashion School Daily recommends checking out these upcoming fashion weeks for extra inspiration and insight into what the world wears.
Berlin Fashion Week
January 17-20, 2017
Berlin, Germany
From techno music craze to sex positive attitude, whatever originates in the underground clubs and art galleries of Berlin, shortly surfaces worldwide as mainstream cultural trends. Organizers focus on industry sustainability with initiatives such as the Green Showroom, Ethical Fashion Show and #FashionTech. The influential tradeshow Premium Berlin draws trendsetters from across the European fashion market. Meanwhile, crowds gather by the popup tents at the iconic Brandenburg Gate to witness (and Instagram!) some of the best streetstyle in Europe.
080 Barcelona Fashion Week
January 30 – February 3, 2017
Barcelona, Spain
This ancient Catalan city is celebrated for its rich avant-garde heritage: Antoni Gaudi’s architecture, artworks by Picasso and Dali, and films of Pedro Almodóvar. No wonder Barca’s own fashion week, now in its 19th edition, has a reputation of being a fashion-forward spectacle. Thirty-three designers will present their fall-winter 2017-18 collections to buyers, media and critics from all over Spain and southern Europe. No doubt, the heart of Mediterranean fashion beats in Barcelona.
Lakmé Fashion Week
February 1-5, 2017
Mumbai, India
The largest city in India is home to one of the world’s most lucrative and prolific creative industries: Bollywood. It is only fitting that its fashion week (one of several in this vast and culturally diverse country) serves as a showcase for the brightest talent India has to offer the world. Aside from being a style haven for globetrotting trendsetters, this also makes it a great example of fashion diplomacy in action. The highly anticipated five-day event will feature summer-resort 2017 collections.
Mercedes-Benz Kiev Fashion Days
Kiev, Ukraine
February 1-5, 2017
Since its first fashion sponsorship in 1996, iconic automaker Mercedes-Benz has become a “patron saint” of style with over thirty fashion weeks produced worldwide under its titular umbrella. The capital of Ukraine is now vying for a more prominent spot on the Eastern European fashion map. This season all eyes will be on Kiev as it also readies to host the iconic Eurovision Song Contest with an estimated audience of nearly half a billion people around the world. No pressure!
TOM* – Toronto Men’s Fashion Week
Toronto, Canada
March 3 – 8, 2017
One of the newest additions to the industry calendar, TOM* features the freshest menswear talent thanks to its focus on young designers. The sixth season promises to be the biggest and best yet, as the fashion community in this chic metropolis recovers from cancellation of Toronto Fashion Week last year. TOM* organizers have ambitious goals for 2017. They recently announced the launch of TW* (Toronto Women’s Fashion Week). Both projects were met with great enthusiasm!
Vancouver Fashion Week
Vancouver, Canada
March 20-26, 2017
The United States is not the only country that enjoys a popular cultural “rivalry” between the East Coast and the West Coast. From Toronto fashion-focus shifts West to Vancouver. Founded in 1825, it is Canada’s historic maritime gateway to the Pacific and beyond. As such, it has been a melting pot of different Eastern, Western and Indigenous style influences for almost two centuries. Vancouver Fashion Week honors this multicultural legacy with its stellar line-up of designers.
South African Fashion Week
Johannesburg, South Africa
March 28 – April 2, 2017
The sub-Saharan apparel industry is valued at over $30 billion. The growing interest in the continent’s many artisanal traditions as well as passionate patronage of style icons Beyoncé and Michelle Obama have brought global attention to a number of African designers. Johannesburg welcomes fashion lovers to experience the best of South African style during presentation of spring-summer 2017 collections which correspond to the fall-winter season in the Northern Hemisphere.
