Report: Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Berlin January 2013

Yes, you heard right: Next Tuesday Anna, Kim and I will be braving the cold January weather at 5AM to board a train and begin our long journey to the capital of Germany, where we will throw ourselves in our best outfits and join Germany's fashion royalty for the most important week of every little girl's life.

Yes, that was a little over-dramatic. Regarding the fact that the so-called fashion weeks were usually invented to increase sales and brand-awareness, their hype can be considered very overwhelming and, well, superficial. But how can you not giggle with excitement when one day, all of a sudden, you're able to pull the beautiful invite of a young, up-and-coming designer out of your mailbox? It certainly is the exclusivity aspect of it all: Not just anyone gets to attend a fashion show.

But you don't even have to have an invite to a certain fashion show: Merely walking the streets during fashion week in any given city gives you the opportunity to see beautifully-dressed people, to attend free fashion events and to even benefit from 'fashion week specials' at local stores, restaurants and clubs. Needless to say, a fashion week helps far more businesses than just fashion companies! It makes any city just a bit more prestigious and increases its tourism.

Oftentimes I get blank stares when I explain to friends which designers' shows I am going to attend in Berlin - most of the designers are simply not well-known outside the fashion crowd. But that is partly what I love most about the fashion week, and the fashion industry in total, in Berlin: It's fresh, it's new and it's exciting. Being invited to a designer who is just starting to gain popularity makes you feel like you're part of the 'avant garde' - 'I knew him before he got famous' - and also, in a certain way, gives you more power as an individual. Your single opinion on the collection of a new label - and what you say or write about it - could actually make a difference, whereas my opinion about, let's say Marc Jacobs' Spring/Summer 2013 collection for Louis Vuitton (which I ADORED, by the way), doesn't mean a lot to anyone.

Schumacher Fashion Show Backstage January 2011 (Sorry for bad quality!)

So, while we are going to feel like fashion queens in Berlin next week, we want to make you our royalty - and keep you posted on everything that we experience: the shows, the after-show parties, the night clubs and just the overall atmosphere. But before we leave, we want to introduce you to the designers whose shows we are going to attend, our survival guide that we are taking with us and other events, exhibitions, restaurants and clubs that we are planning on visiting. We hope you enjoy!