Today we continue our DfT A-Z. Read what stands behind the letters M, N, O and P.

M | Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin
Twice a year, the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin is the stage for the fashion talent award “Designer for Tomorrow by Peek & Cloppenburg Duesseldorf”. Since its start in 2009, the award show is taking place in the tent of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin every July. The following January, the DfT winner will show his new collection in a first solo fashion show presented by Peek & Cloppenburg KG Duesseldorf.

N | Number One – and the winner is. . .
Each July, the DfT award show is taking place during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin. You are able to watch the presentation of the five finalists’ collections as well as the announcement of the DfT winner on our YouTube channel called: Designer for Tomorrow.

O | On to the next show
Immediately after the award show the “Designer for Tomorrow” will be confronted with one question: What is going to be next? The answer: Preparations for the DfT winner’s first solo fashion show will start almost immediately. And there is a lot to do and to organize: finding an own atelier to work in, searching for inspiration as well as acquiring textile and material sponsors. Moreover, the show production has to start: searching for the right models, the right music, the right light and sending out invitations. And in the end, the spotlight will be on the “Designer for Tomorrow” and his new collection.

P | Patron
Since 2011 the expertise of internationally recognized designers adds an important dimension to the DfT project. For the past two years, Marc Jacobs accompanied the DfT award; in 2013 Stella McCartney will supervise the up-and-coming fashion talents as Patron of the DfT award.

More than 300 guests, including Alexandra Neldel, Franziska Knuppe, Julia Malik, Sönke Möhring and Countess Veruschka von Lehndorff, accepted the invitation from Peek & Cloppenburg KG, Düsseldorf to tonight’s “Private Cocktails” in St. Agnes Church in Berlin. Host Katharina Kowalewski greeted the guest of honor, Stella McCartney, the new Patron of the “Designer for Tomorrow” award. Together with John Cloppenburg, a member of the P&C managing board, and the five finalists, she spoke about her commitment and the sponsorship program in place for up-and-coming designers. “I found the DfT award’s aim of long-term support particularly impressive, because success is not only a matter of design skill and creativity, but also of understanding how the business works,” the British designer explained.

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Patroness Stella McCartney (third from left) and the five finalists: Katy Clark, Wei Huang, Hannah Kuklinski, Ioana Ciolacu Miron and Annalena Skörl Maul.

As the new Patron, McCartney has been an integral part of the award program this year. She came to Berlin this morning to view the collection, meet the five up-and-coming talents in person for the first time, and speak with them about the ideas behind their designs. Together with the Jury Board, McCartney selected the five finalists from over 350 applications from all across Europe in the first phase of the program. The finalists will be presenting their collections at the awards show on July 3 as part of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin. They are Ioana Ciolacu Miron (London College of Fashion, UK), Katy Clark (Northumbria University, UK), Hannah Kuklinski (HS Hannover, Germany), Annalena Skörl Maul (HAW Hamburg, Germany), and Jamie Wei Huang (Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design, UK).

The DfT A-Z series continues today: What could the letter “J” mean?

I | Individual, sustainable sponsorship program
Winning the fashion talent award “Designer for Tomorrow by Peek & Cloppenburg Duesseldorf” does not only mean winning a title but also gaining support for the future career as a fashion designer. For one year, the “Designer for Tomorrow” will be provided with an individual and sustainable sponsorship program. The different components of the support will be discussed soon after the award show where the winner has been announced. Possible components of the support are an own atelier, financing for the new collection, acquisition of sponsors and an inspirational trip. As a highlight of the support, P&C will present the winner’s new collection within a first solo fashion show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin in January.

J | Jury Board
The Jury Board consists of experts from the different fields of the fashion business which can be found online on our official DfT-website. Besides the patron, the Jury Board will choose the Top 5 and the winner of the “Designer for Tomorrow” award, who will be selected during the award show.

K | Key to success
The fashion talent award “Designer for Tomorrow by Peek & Cloppenburg Duesseldorf” offers up-and-coming designers the possibility to concentrate on the creative process and maybe even to develop an own signature style. During the year of support, the up-and-coming designer do not need to worry about financing the next collection or acquiring sponsors – they may focus on finding inspiration, following ideas and instincts. Furthermore, the “Designer for Tomorrow” is able to show the first professional collection to a wide audience consisting of fashion press, buyers and other key players. Meaning: They already gain a lot of attention at the beginning of their career and have the possibility to build up a great network – an opportunity, other designers often have to work on for years.

L | Lookbook
Picturing a whole collection, the lookbook is an essential way to present the designer’s creations to a broad fashion audience, may it be buyers or fashion journalists and stylists. Regarding the “Designer for Tomorrow” award, the lookbook is an up-and-coming designer’s first way to get to participating in the fashion talent award by sending it in for application. Moreover, the lookbook may be part of the sustainable, individual sponsorship program.

Camilla made her way to present her applauded black-collection out of Europe to Vancouver, Canada. She has been invited to present her collection during the international day of Vancouver Fashion Week – Canada’s premier fashion event presenting up-and-coming as well as established designers. Always on the hunt for the world’s next hot designers that have been spotted all around the globe in various countries and on various shows. This was, when they kept an eye on Camilla Salgaard and the collection she presented during the award show last July. And this is, where the great story begins.

Cheyenne Dress by Camilla Salgaard

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“I know that some people of Vancouver Fashion Week knew my work already. They had been following my career and that the head of the Fashion Week, Jamal Abdourahman, was wishing to have designers from all over the world in the shows”, Camilla answers on asked how the invitation to the show came about. And as a matter of fact, she was one of the lucky ones to be selected for the international catwalk. Probably, her scandinavian design – minimalist but with a great approach to detail – made her stand out as it already did when the Jury Board and patron Marc Jacobs chose her to be one of the DfT’s Top 5 in 2012.

Saturday, March 23, was the day of the international show. Seats were full and the audience was excited. Showtime for Camilla! In accordance to the music, the first model stepped on the catwalk and paced up and down the runway, stopping at the end until model number two joined her. Perfectly synchronous they walked back. With model number three, everything fastened up and the models came down the catwalk more dynamic and with a static movement. “My collection is feminine but also fairly dramatic, so I wanted the choreography to match this. My idea was to create a graceful and eye-catching beginning of the show by having the two first models walking in slow motion. Then, I wanted to increase the power of the show gradually by having the rest of the models walking fast paced to the beat of the music”, Camilla explains the idea of the show.

Camilla did all the planning herself – from running order to choreography. But she got great support from the team of Vancouver Fashion Week. On Tuesday, March 19, the up-and-coming designer participated in the Opening Gala, where all of the designers have been introduced to the press. During the rest of the week, she was busy with preparations: for example searching for the right music with the DJ and fitting with the models. “I had every model lined up and walking a catwalk for me, after which I got to choose the models I liked”, Camilla remembers “I also had a rehearsal where I got to try my already planned choreography to my music, which confirmed to me I had made the right choice in relation to choreography and music.” Ready and set for the show! “Everything went smoothly and I was very satisfied with the show. The show had the vibe I was searching for and I got such good response afterwards. I could not be happier!”

Vancouver Fashion Week was another amazing experience for Camilla Salgaard and the DfT has helped her to such great success!