Berlin Fashion Week: a moment of silence and solidarity with Ukraine | Culture and lifestyle in Germany and Europe

The opening of the current Berlin Fashion Week began last Monday, March 14, with a moment of silence – in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, in memory of the dead civilians of the country.

Finnish designer Sofia Ilmonen was the first to show her new collection to the public.

Yellow dress from Sofia Ilmonen collection

Blue dress from Sofia Ilmonen collection

“We thought and argued about how to reflect this theme. And can we even hold a fashion week when everyone is terrified and shocked because of the war … And I tell you: yes, we can hold it, especially now !” – emphasized during the opening ceremony, the mayor of Berlin Franziska Giffey (Franziska Giffey).

According to her, with the help of the Berlin Fashion Week, the city sets an example of creative inspiration and freedom, expresses solidarity, and demonstrates its readiness to help Ukraine. A charity auction is planned during Fashion Week: all funds will be transferred to Ukraine. Also on the program are numerous other fundraising and humanitarian events.

Berlin Fashion Week – in the colors of the Ukrainian flag

The designer from Ukraine could not come, but his show will take place

Ukrainian couturier Jean Gritsfeldt is known for his extravagant work. The designer is not afraid to bring the most unexpected ideas to life. Jean Gritsfeldt planned to bring his new collection to Berlin Fashion Week, but the war got in the way. However, 30 colleagues of the fashion designer came together to recreate his work and show them to the public. The couturier himself advised them by phone, Carina Bischof, managing director of the association Fashion Revolution Germany, told reporters.

On Wednesday evening, a video message from Jean Gritsfeldt will be broadcast as part of Berlin Fashion Week, organizers of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week said.

This Berlin Fashion Week is also a political action

The mayor of Berlin stressed: “Fashion, among other things, is political.” Franziska Ghiffay reminded the public about the Phrygian cap – the cap of the Jacobins, a symbol of freedom and independence, as well as the sign of Peace – an international symbol of peace, which is actively used in fashion. According to Giffay, fashion week is a sign of unity.

See also:

Posters, slogans and symbols – in support of Ukraine
Yellow and blue are the colors of solidarity in demonstrations, graffiti and posters; portraits of Vladimir Putin with calls to bring to justice and demands to immediately end the war – here are collected such photographs of recent weeks. Let’s start with a charity concert in London, March 10th.

Posters, slogans and symbols – in support of Ukraine
“War criminal” – “Hands off Ukraine”. Action on Trafalgar Square in the capital of Great Britain.

Posters, slogans and symbols – in support of Ukraine
Protests are also taking place in Russian cities against the hostilities in Ukraine. The demonstrations are brutally suppressed and dispersed. Over 13,000 demonstrators were detained across the country in the first two weeks. Moscow, March 6.

Posters, slogans and symbols – in support of Ukraine
“No more time” graffiti in Gdansk, Poland. On September 1, 1939, World War II began with the shelling of the Westerplatte peninsula near this city.

Posters, slogans and symbols – in support of Ukraine
Demonstration in The Hague – the city in the Netherlands, where the International Criminal Court is located. The competence of this court includes the prosecution of persons responsible for genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, as well as crimes of aggression.

Posters, slogans and symbols – in support of Ukraine
Graffiti in the Syrian city of Idlib – created by two local artists on the first day of the war in Ukraine.

Posters, slogans and symbols – in support of Ukraine
“Blutin go home!” – a poster at a demonstration in Freiburg, Germany, from the German word “Blut” (blood) and the name of the President of Russia in Latin transcription “Putin” (Putin).

Posters, slogans and symbols – in support of Ukraine
Children’s drawings in the Italian commune of Pergine Valsugana.

Posters, slogans and symbols – in support of Ukraine
“Stop Putin Now” – a call to stop Vladimir Putin on the electronic scoreboard of the Bagatelle Theater in Krakow, Poland.

Posters, slogans and symbols – in support of Ukraine
“Mad man Putin” – “Mad man Putin”. A poster for an action in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Posters, slogans and symbols – in support of Ukraine
Near the Ukrainian Consulate in Hamburg, Germany.

Posters, slogans and symbols – in support of Ukraine
Near the Russian consulate in Hamburg, Germany.

Posters, slogans and symbols – in support of Ukraine
The action of the fans of the German football club “Bochum”.

Posters, slogans and symbols – in support of Ukraine
In the German city of Cologne, after the start of the war, several large rallies and demonstrations took place – including, instead of the traditional carnival procession on Monday, February 28.

Posters, slogans and symbols – in support of Ukraine
“Go to hell Putin” – a poster for a schoolchildren’s action in Frankfurt am Main.

Posters, slogans and symbols – in support of Ukraine
Posters at an anti-war rally in the capital of Lebanon, Beirut, March 9.

Posters, slogans and symbols – in support of Ukraine
Demonstration in the city of Skopje – the capital of North Macedonia.

Posters, slogans and symbols – in support of Ukraine
Columns of the National Museum in the Danish capital Copenhagen on March 11.

Posters, slogans and symbols – in support of Ukraine
“Peace donuts” (“Friedenskreppel”) in Frankfurt am Main, one euro each. Proceeds from the sale are intended to help refugees.

Posters, slogans and symbols – in support of Ukraine
Light installation in the South Korean city of Suwon – on the territory of the Hwaseong fortress, which has the status of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There are seven such objects on the territory of Ukraine. After the outbreak of the war, they, too, were under threat, as were schools, hospitals, residential buildings … and people.
Author: Nikolay Permyakov