Taking place for the third time this year, the #FASHIONTECH BERLIN conference aims to create a long-overdue connection between fashion and technology. As part of Berlin Fashion Week, the one-day event on July 8, 2015, is all about digital marketing and distribution of fashion. Topics include the latest materials and techniques in design, omni-channel strategies for retail and e-commerce, or content commerce and community storytelling in marketing and communication. Guests include experts from Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Amazon Fashion and Drykorn, as well as designers and entrepreneurs like Lisa Lang (ElektroCouture) and Anouk Wipprecht. Numerous start-ups will be presenting their exciting projects.

The new event format was first launched by re:publica in collaboration with the international fashion trade fairs PREMIUM and SEEK. 1,200 participants from the fashion industry attended the kick-off event during Berlin Fashion Week in January and the subsequent event at #rp15. Look forward to the next event during Berlin Fashion Week, where popular brands discuss their trade with digital start-ups, industry insiders and emerging designers.

 Lisa Lang at #FASHIONTECH during re:publica '15 in May; Foto:re:publica/Sara Dacci (CC BY-SA 2.0). 

In retail and e-commerce, it’s about more than just new technologies: One hot topic of the conference are so-called “omni-channel strategies” in the retail sector. Retail and e-commerce are presently being blended together, so that both areas – the web presence as well as the physical store location – can be jointly planned and organized. Retail expert Sergio Bucher of Amazon Fashion and Christoph Lange of Zalando, amongst others, will talk about this topic in detail. And other innovative start-ups are showcasing their projects, including Anna Mazzer from the online fashion trade fair e-Pitti.com, Marco Götz from the online retailer Drykorn, Alexander Köth from the e-commerce analyst Minodes, Anna Rojahn from Fast Forward Imaging (360-degree fashion panoramas) and Gulnaz Khusainova from the tailoring service EasySize.

The omni-channel theme also relates to marketing and communications. Again, the shopping experience is merging online with offline, as part of a larger marketing strategy. Here, too, important impulses come from the start-up scene in particular. Philipp Rogge will be talking about content commerce and community storytelling using the publishing platform Styla, while Maria Sanchez Munoz will tell us about Slickr, a social network with built-in e-commerce functionalities. Marte Hentschel will present new ways of networking and acquisition with an open-source approach called Fashion Sourcebook, and Andreas Rieger will talk about the use of user-generated content for marketing with the Olapic platform. And all the big names are there too: Stefan Edl of Facebook speaking about the transformation of marketing, and exciting talks by Rainer Borchert of Google, Antonia Ward of Stylus, and Annette Bruce of Creative Advantage.

The first edition of #FASHIONTECH was highly attended in January.

The intersection between wearables and design is an important growth factor in Berlin’s creative scene. Dr. Katharina Bredies from the Design Research Lab at the Berlin University of Arts will showcase new materials. Dutch fashion innovator Anouk Wipprecht will talk about the synthesis of fashion and technology. Designer Hristiyana Vucheva of VOJD Studios will present different techniques for jewellery making using 3D printing. Additional impulses come from entrepreneurs Lisa Lang (ElektroCouture) and Martina Pickhardt (Microsoft Services).

Accompanying events, including a networking session and a start-up exhibition, enhance this unique experience all around #FASHIONTECH BERLIN.

#FASHIONTECH BERLIN: July 8, 2015, Kühlhaus (4th floor), Luckenwalder Str. 3, 10963 Berlin

More information: www.fashiontech.berlin and get your tickets here. 

Berlin Wearable IT / FashionTech Award Ceremony During Berlin Fashion Week

The Berlin Award Wearable IT / FashionTech Award will be presented for the first time on the evening of July 8, 2015. The 12 nominees will present their competition projects in advance, in front of the audience and an expert jury. Wanted: the most convincing Wearable IT / FashionTech product from an area like health, wellness, security, entertainment, or fashion, devised by a team from Berlin. The award is a project by the Berlin Senate Department for Economics, Technology and Research / "Projekt Zukunft".

For more information click here and here to register