Mercedes-Benz Fashion Days in Zurich, Switzerland – Behind the Scenes With BERNINA
We’d like to share a behind-the-scenes story with you from our BERNINA International team – enjoy!
The Mercedes-Benz Fashion Days Zurich took place from November 7-10 this year with various fashion highlights. From the Opening Night with MSGM di Massimo Giorgetti and Marco de Vincenzo, to the Barbara Bui Show and the Swiss Designers’ Night with Laend Phuengkit, Van Bery, Marc Stone, Little Black Dress, Javier Reyes, Portenier Roth, Claudia Zuber and Kazu Huggler. The International Closing Night presented runway shows of Dawid Tomaszweski, Arzu Kaprol, Dimitri and US designer, Charlotte Ronson.
BERNINA was the official sponsor of the fitting rooms and provided two BERNINA 550 QE sewing machines along with two talented young fashion designers to fit all the garments to the models. The two sewing experts were always in a good mood even when working from 8 AM until midnight.
Our colleagues from BERNINA International and BERNINA Switzerland visited the two young ladies every day and shared their experiences on the German BERNINA Blog. It was a great opportunity to see the behind-the-scenes preparations that go into making a successful fashion show.
DAY ONE
Our colleague Matthias (Communication Manager at BERNINA International) and Steffi (a sales assistant at the BERNINA Zurich Store) helped unpack the two B 550 QE machines.
Steffi loves the new life-sized BERNINA 750 QE bag which we produced here in the U.S.A.
Patricia, one of the two sewing experts cast to fit the fashions to the models, gets a lesson behind the B 550 QE.
DAY TWO
We thought we’d lose our colleague Annett (the BERNINA Brand Manager at BERNINA International) in all the beautiful backstage fashions. These were absolutely stunning dresses made of the finest materials – not just any dresses but MUST-HAVE DRESSES!
Patricia was busy with dress alterations. The difference in height was not only caused by the tall model …
… but also by the height of her shoes.
DAY THREE
Opening night is almost here! Nathalie (Online Manager at BERNINA Switzerland) visited backstage while the runway was being prepped and the carpet smoothed out on the catwalk so the models would have a smooth walk no matter how high the shoes.
Barbara Bui, a French designer, was busy with the final fitting for her show making sure that the models have all the accessories that go along with each outfit. When each outfit is complete with the accessories, a reference photo is taken to help the models and dressers keep track of each fashion during the show.
DAY FOUR
Tanja (Designer for BERNINA Inspiration Magazine) and Claudia (VP BERNINA International Marketing) got a peek at the upcoming trends from the Swiss Textile Association showing new colors, fabrics and fashion outlines for next year’s International Fashion Design, and how these trends are inspired by nature.
Also behind the scenes of the Fashion Days and finally included on the runway, they discovered a lot of parallels to nature:
Natural materials
Clear and reduced lines, combinations of material …
Shimmering, transparent, three-dimensional laces
What an inspiring day!
DAY FIVE
Swiss Designers celebrated the different cultural regions and languages within Switzerland in “Homage to Diversity.”
KAZU, a BERNINA sewing artist, presented her new collection for spring and summer 2013. Born in Tokyo, Kazu Huggler is the daughter of a Japanese mother and a Swiss father, and now lives with her family in Zurich. Her clothes and fabrics are strongly inspired by Japan, where she is also establishing a private aid project with the support of BERNINA to benefit a school, which was heavily affected by the tsunami in March 2011.
KAZU presented her wonderful collection with soft, classical music. A highlight of the show is her giraffe print dress, fabric made by a famous Japanese silk painter.
DAY SIX
The International Closing Night was “An Homage to Glamour and Nightlife” with runway shows of Dawid Tomaszweski, Arzu Kaprol and Dimitri, and as a highlight, the runway show of Charlotte Ronson from the USA.
The heels were even higher and the dresses promised a glamorous evening indeed!
We are already looking forward to be at next year’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Days Zurich!
