A Season of Questions, Not Answers

Natascha von Hirschhausen at Berlin Fashion Week 2026

What if design were not a one-way street? That question sat at the center of everything Natascha von Hirschhausen did this Berlin Fashion Week — from an interactive performance that handed the design process to the public, to a candid conversation about building a fashion business on different terms. Here's a look back at how the week unfolded.

Thursday, July 2 — You Must Create

The week opened with You Must Create, our interactive crowd performance that moved the design process out of the atelier and into shared space. Staged within the context of RAUM.Berlin, it wasn't built for watching — it was built for making. Visitors weren't spectators; they became collaborators in the act of design itself.

The exhibition sat with questions Natascha von Hirschhausen's work has long pushed: who gets to think form? Who decides how clothing comes into being — and for whom? For a practice that has consistently challenged the fashion industry's foundational assumptions around sizing, gender, production, and seasonal cycles, You Must Create opened that process up entirely — and made the audience part of the answer.

After Natascha opened the performance by creating the showpiece silk gown, Gitta Connemann — Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and the Federal Government's Commissioner for the Mittelstand — joined the performance and created her own design, starting into the three hours of creating the crowd-design. Learn more about the performance in our exhibition guide.

You Must Create took place within RAUM.Berlin, an event by Fashion Council Germany, supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (based on a resolution of the German Bundestag), and supported by trusted partner cotonea.

In the evening, the conversation continued off-stage at the Metamorphosis Speaker Dinner.

Friday, July 3 — A Day of Dialogue

Friday was dense with conversation, starting at the top of German government and ending in candid exchange between two designers who've built their businesses against the industry's grain.

Morning: Fashion reception at the Federal Chancellery, hosted alongside Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Gitta Connemann (Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and the Federal Government's Commissioner for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises), and Minister of State for Culture and the Media Dr. Wolfram Weimer.

Gitta Connemann had taken part in You Must Create the day before, draping fabric herself alongside the crowd. She was so taken with the experience — and with the zero-waste philosophy behind it — that she wove it directly into her speech at the reception.

The Courage to Rethink the System: Norwegian Rain, Intentional by Design. What happens when a brand challenges the rules that define the fashion industry? Drawing on the experience of Norwegian Rain, founder T-Michael shared lessons on craftsmanship, retail innovation, overproduction, and entrepreneurship — a candid perspective on building a business that prioritizes longevity, independence, and meaningful growth over scale for its own sake. He spoke with Natascha von Hirschhausen about designing with intention, adapting with purpose, and creating value beyond the product itself.

Evening: The colorful New Faces Award Dinner closed out the day. I got to share the red carpet with Charlotte Piller (Lotta Ludwigson) and the table with Annette and Daniela (FelderFelder), Claudia Bothe (La Bande) and Estelle Trasoglu (Plaid-à-Porter).

Saturday, July 4 — FCG Showroom

The week wound down at the FCG Showroom, hosted at Zoo Hotel — a chance to see the collections up close in a more intimate setting for buyers, press and VIPs.

But the story doesn't end with the week. The pieces draped and created together during You Must Create  will be made visible. We are working on it right now: