Anja Gockel was one of those who expressed skepticism when it was announced in 2020 that Fashion Week would move from Berlin to Frankfurt.

Now she's changed her mind.

Now she says to the Frankfurt Fashion Week: "Let it grow!" The Mainz fashion designer had already shown her collection at the Hotel Frankfurter Hof last summer, while the actual Fashion Week was moved to the digital world and otherwise only Sevinc Yerli with her Fashion Lounge fashionable life brought to town.

On Friday, Gockel presented again in the main courtyard of the Grand Hotel and enthused about the many creative fashion appearances in the previous days.

Patricia Andreae

Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

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Samuel Gärtner, who contributed to the spectacular opening of the Frankfurt Fashion Week with his show on the Iron Bridge based on René Storck in the Stock Exchange, sat in the front row with Anja Gockel.

And the woman from Mainz said she thinks it's great what young talent can be discovered in Frankfurt.

Above all, it is important that the city offers creative people such a stage.

She herself showed her guests a brilliant show with dancers as models, who staged the elegant pieces of the winter collection made of flowing fabrics in excitingly combined Bordeaux and mustard tones, steel gray and camel hair to live music from "The Velvet Catsuit".

The audience applauded the creations, numerous photographers and cameramen made sure that the pictures went around the world.

220 million contacts after the fashion show

Her show last summer brought her more than 220 million contacts, Gockel reported.

In times when digital clicks are an important currency, they are considered an indicator of success.

Oliver Schwebel, Managing Director of the city's business development agency, which coordinated the program for the first city Fashion Week, was also extremely satisfied: "The click rate on the business development agency's website has increased by 680 percent." And all the events he saw were been very well attended.

Schwebel was also impressed by the Neonyt Lab, the presence of the trade fair with a show of 30 brands for fashion and accessories specializing in sustainability in the Union Hall.

Representatives of the fair also described the combination of the Fashion Week with the summer edition of the home textile fair as well as Techtextil and Techprocess as successful.

However, such a combination will not be possible next year.

As usual, Heimtextil will take place in January and the other two trade fairs will be held every two years in 2024.

It is not yet clear whether and when there will be a next Frankfurt Fashion Week.

However, the good response is evaluated as a correspondingly positive signal.

At least the city's economic development agency managed to put together a program with more than 100 points, even if events such as the Life Entertainment Award and Skateweek, which only marginally have anything to do with fashion, were counted.

Nevertheless, organizers from Frankfurt's fashion and creative scene got involved at the last minute and enlivened the programme.

Big enough for two fashion weeks

Economics department head Stefanie Wüst (FDP) also drew a positive conclusion for the city of Frankfurt and added: “The dynamism and power that comes directly from the industry is overwhelming.” Now you have to “evaluate the structure of the Fashion Week 2022 and its impact “.

After all, the city made 760,000 euros available for this.

On the basis of the survey, "a sustainable future concept that builds on the impulses and initiatives of the industry and on the strong expertise of our trade fair" should then be developed.

It is also important to check when and at what rhythm the Frankfurt Fashion Week can take place in the future, according to the head of the economics department.

The main players, above all the fashion entrepreneur Sevinc Yerli with her Frankfurt Fashion Lounge, are convinced that there should be more fashion weeks in Frankfurt.

"It's good that people in our city are beginning to focus more on aesthetics," agrees couturier Albrecht Ollendiek.

Anja Gockel, who also wants to show her collection in Berlin at Fashion Week in September, advises Frankfurt to definitely choose a date other than the capital.

Then the Fashion Week on the Main could grow, because, says Gockel: "Germany is big enough for two Fashion Weeks."