Modern knitwear creations by Christian Fayek are among the most cutting-edge items on the fashion scene. Young designers such as this graduate from the Akademie Mode & Design are impressive examples of just how innovative the textile and fashion industry in North Rhine-Westphalia is. And not only that, it is also one of the region’s key industries employing 43,000 people. Alongside large companies such as Peek & Cloppenburg and Esprit, many family-run businesses are based here. Seidensticker in Bielefeld and Falke in the town of Schmallenberg are two examples of family-run companies boasting international success. The region’s many academies of international repute ensure that up-and-coming talents receive proper training.

Chanel, Gucci, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana – the list of designer names to be found on the Düsseldorf’s Königsallee is long. With its luxury boutiques and innovative flagship stores, the “Kö” in Düsseldorf is without doubt North Rhine-Westphalia’s best-known shopping promenade.

Thus, the “fashion capital Düsseldorf” is also the fashionable center for the creative textile industry. This is where the latest trends are created, produced and sold. Around 1,400 companies from the fashion industry have a combined yearly turnover of approximately 14.8 billion Euros. Almost all international fashion designers have their own stores here.

Star designers and newcomers

On top of all this, the region’s capital city has also produced a multitude of designers. Tristano Onofri, for example. Born in Italy, Onofri visited the Rhine region over three decades ago and was so impressed with the city and its people that he packed his bags and moved to North Rhine-Westphalia, where he founded his own label. Today, he is a successful, internationally renowned designer who is constantly setting new standards in the fashion industry.

As well as the usual big names the region is home to many newcomers who in turn provide the fashion scene with a never-ending flow of fresh, creative stimuli. A lively young-designer scene is to be found primarily in the Düsseldorf district of Flingern. Here, up-and-coming designers sell their collections, some even doing so in their own shops. An example of this is Misprint. Susy Hertsch’s label now enjoys success both in and outside Düsseldorf.

International appeal

For several years now, Düsseldorf has been the only German fashion center to share the same level of prestige as Paris, Milan and Florence. And this with good reason: the North Rhine-Westphalian city boasts an infrastructure that is unique in Europe, and an important part of this is the CPD. The International Trade Fair for Womenswear and Accessories is not only a magnet for visitors, but also the biggest trade fair of its kind in the world.

Around 90,000 trade visitors per year travel here to find out about the latest fashion, beauty and lifestyle trends. The trade fair also stages a twice-yearly catwalk at which over 3000 exhibitors are given a platform to present their collections. Another, more recent addition to the trade fair’s catalogue of important fashion events is the HMD, specializing in menswear. The Rhine region is also home to the world’s leading trade fair for the shoe industry, the GDS.

Trends the whole year round

Over 1,300 showrooms have been set up in and around Düsseldorf, all of which are within a ten-kilometer radius of the conference center. Here, large, well-established brands present their newest creations alongside the collections of young, up-and-coming designers. More than 3,000 brands are represented here. This dynamic collaboration between the fair and showrooms generates new trends the whole year round and guarantees an exciting environment for fashion fans.

Students and graduates of North Rhine-Westphalia’s ten renowned schools of higher education also contribute to the constant flow of new and fresh fashion ideas. The creative alumni at the Akademie Mode & Design (AMD) in Düsseldorf for example, receive training in the fields of fashion design, fashion journalism, textile management and media marketing. Christian Fayek is one such former student who, with his collection, is in the process of making an international name for himself. The Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences in Mönchengladbach is another school enjoying high acclaim based on the interesting creations its graduates produce.

Thus, North Rhine-Westphalia provides the ideal conditions for innovation in the field of fashion – and 18 million particularly fashion-conscious consumers to boot.