Le Blog Alexandra: POP UP Fashion Berlin

13th April 2015

Today I had the opportunity to spend some time talking to Katrina and Sonia, who are both working at the`POP UP Fashion Berlin´event. This project is taking place throughout April in the heart of the most fashionable area of Mitte. You can find out more about them in the interview below...

Katrina Marie and Sonia, tell us what is this pop up fashion berlin project about?

POP UP Fashion Berlin showcases Berlin artists, designers and enterpreneurs in a curated concept store. The fluctuating spaces offer an eclectic mix of fashion, design, vintage collections, handcrafted jewellery, film, artwork & design workspaces. POP UP Fashion Berlin also serves as an agent between vendors and established stores.

Why did you start this project?

I started buying vintage pieces in Paris, as my parents live there & I found some amazing pieces for a very low price & started a small label called MARAIS vintage. I also created jewellery out of defect sewing machines and began selling at markets where I met Sonia who is also a vintage collector. We then shared market stalls together.

I was then looking for other platforms to sell my collection and called stores if I could rent a rack in their shop, which they all declined. Sonia and I were also looking for shop spaces, but the financial commitment is very high and we thought it would be too much of a risk. Therefore I thought it would be a good idea to rent a space for a certain amount of time. In order to minimize the costs Sonia and I decided to rent a space together for a week during fashion week this past January and to look for others who would also be interested in sharing the space. At first we were going to rent a small ice cream parlor in Neukölln, but then found this gallery space in Mitte, and due to the better location decided this would be the better option. We then contacted others in our network if they are interested in sharing the space and within 48 hours we had created a concept store in Mitte.

Who are the designers you collaborate with? Where are they from?

The collaborators come from various backgrounds, we have some Berlin based designers, a vintage kimono collector, artists from Paris, UK …

You can find all the labels here.

Is it the same designers all month?

Most of the collaborators stay for the entire month, but we also give them the option to stay for a shorter period of time, so we do have some rotating designers within the month.

What type of products were you looking to show at your pop up store?

We sought products that we love - products that are unique & high quality and that work with the concept as a whole.

Do you have others events like this planned for the future?

Definitely. We have our Gallery Market on May 2nd from 11.00 - 22.00. Here the flyer.

We are currently scouting locations for July. I could also imagine this expanding to other cities in Germany and also globally.

Who is your target client?

We target various clients, as we also offer a selection of products that are very different and unique from each other, in both price and taste so this targets a diverse mix of clients.

If you had to choose only one piece which one would it be?

Very difficult, as we have favorite pieces from every label! But if we had to choose one it would be...

Sonia´s choice: This stunning dress from The Golden Circus her vintage collection