Fashion connects people

USPA NEWS - Stuttgart/Berlin. The MBFW autumn/winter 2019 is taking place from 15 to 17 January 2019 at the ewerk in Berlin. It is the third season of this show format following the relaunch in the historic location in the centre of Berlin. The plan is to present a total of 16 designers on the runway in a pre-opening show and on the three main days. MBFW will open on 15 January 2019 at 10 a.m. with the traditional show by the Mercedes-Benz junior development scheme IDEP (International Designer Exchange Program), which is being presented this season by Amesh Wijesekera from Sri Lanka. MBFW is also celebrating the 10th anniversary of the IDEP with an exhibition in the Pavilion on the ewerk's forecourt.

With the motto FOLLOW MBFW - CONNECT FASHION, at its autumn/winter 2019 event MBFW is once again providing a platform where the specialist audience and all those interested in fashion can meet. 16 designers and brand are expected to present their new collections on the catwalk in the ewerk's Hall F. All fashion shows will be broadcast as livestreams on screens in the Pavilion on the forecourt of the ewerk and at www.mbfw.berlin. So they can be followed in real time by everyone without a ticket for the presentations.

The Pavilion is also hosting an exhibition to mark the 10th anniversary of the Mercedes-Benz junior development scheme IDEP. The development and variety of the scheme is visualised through video clips and text passages and with the aid of creations from several designers who have been supported since 2009 as part of the IDEP and were invited onto fashion platforms outside their home market.

Mercedes-Benz championing the new GFDF e.V.

Mercedes-Benz has been committed to promoting new up-and-coming fashion talents for years. The Group is now widening its involvement in the fashion sector, announcing its membership in the German Fashion Designers Federation e.V. (GFDF e.V.). The newly founded association is a professional organisation of fashion designers in Germany and represents their interests on all levels. The aims include economic growth, the retention, sharing and development of specialist know-how and social safeguards for the profession.

"Reinforcing Germany as a fashion location and promoting German design have long been important to us. This is why we very much welcome the fact that the GFDF e.V., as a newly founded professional association for fashion design, is taking up this issue, wants to create synergies and is giving the designers a voice", says Katja Ohly-Nauber, Head of Marketing Communication Mercedes-Benz Cars Germany. "With our membership in the GFDF e.V.we are extending our support for the fashion industry to include another important aspect."

"GFDF's mission is to support German fashion designers at all stages of their careers", states Eva Gronbach, Chief Executive of GFDF e.V. "Our aim is to empower German fashion designers and to operate together within the political, social, economic and cultural system. As fashion designers we speak for ourselves and are more influential together."

Mercedes-Benz presents Amesh Wijesekera

The Group's in-house junior development scheme IDEP (International Designer Exchange Program) is enabling Amesh Wijesekera from Sri Lanka to present his new collection to the public at MBFW. The designer, who is based in London is a graduate of the Academy of Design Sri Lanka. Discovered at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Colombo, in 2016 he won the renowned International Catwalk Competition Award at Graduate Fashion Week in London. In 2015 he was awarded at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion and Apparel Awards in Sri Lanka.

Amesh has apprenticed at the future Laboratory, Edeline Lee, and Dame Zandra Rhodes London. ““ Which let to his presentation at Fashion Scout during London Fashion Week in September 2018.Traditional handcraftsmanship, contemporary design and "Made in Sri Lanka" infused with his eclectic palette of colour and texture are all combined by Amesh Wijesekera to form a collection which blends the physical and emotional. The knowledge of skilled artisans from his home island, including the art collectives of hand knitting and weaving is fused with industrial print and manufacture. A new voice and celebration of Sri Lankan heritage and design innovation.

23 years of Mercedes-Benz fashion activities

Over 23 years Mercedes-Benz has established itself worldwide as a major player and title sponsor of selected fashion weeks and events. The brand is currently present on more than 60 fashion platforms, including, for example, the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Weeks in Berlin, Istanbul and Sydney or the renowned Festival of Fashion, Photography and Fashion Accessories in Hyères. Mercedes-Benz has made a name for itself in particular in supporting up-and-coming talented designers with the in-Group International Designer Exchange Program (IDEP). And since 2017 Mercedes-Benz has been a member of the Fashion Council Germany (FCG).