Hub of All Things: Berlin’s Fashion Space Enables a Co-Ownership Approach

Exhibitions, talk shows, etc, etc, remain just that, more often than not. There is a dialogue for that brief period of time, an exchange of ideas. What steps will be taken to ensure that at least some of that talk actually comes to the workshop?
VORN sees itself as a pre-competitive space providing a physical and digital infrastructure of complementary service supporting our members and partners to help themselves and empower each other. In addition to opportunities for learning and networking, this also includes designer and researcher in-residence programmes such as the currently running VORN Academy Program, in which a group of designers from different disciplines create a circular phygital collection introduced in an immersive showcase during Berlin Fashion Week and thus explore the intersection between physical and virtual fashion in the metaverse and IRL.

In addition, solutions will be piloted in R&D programmes in the Innovation Lab. Topics include micro-manufacturing, in-store recycling, on-demand production and customisation.

Phygital is the new normal. How ‘phygital’ will VORN — The Berlin Fashion Hub be?
Our campus in the heart of Berlin is a meeting place complemented by a digital platform. Technologies are tools that can make dynamic the sustainable transformation of the media industry. Designers can test and present new concepts independently of the restrictions of global material flows and supply chains, consumers can interact directly with brands and manufacturers and complex, technical solutions can be made aesthetic. VORN sees itself as an enabler in these technology fields and provides creative people and pioneers with access to these often inaccessible, unaffordable innovations and organises cooperation regardless of company size, background and origin. The collaboration and the results can be physical, digital/virtual or phygital.

Start-ups and the youth seem to be your focus areas. What will be the process to identify real talent, pathbreaking innovation? This gains significance in light of the first pillar to be live is the online innovation platform.
Many important impulses come from young professionals and start-ups that can scale powerful solutions in the market in a bottom-up approach in cooperation with research, SMEs and industry. Partnering companies can recruit future talent in this pool and get to know different approaches to solutions, as it is often time-consuming and challenging to gain and maintain an overview of the state of development in the various fields of innovation. Results can be focused on R&D projects, intrapreneurship, mergers & acquisitions and strategic investments. The power of design and consumer engagement is often underestimated when it comes to innovation. Empowering the next generations might be the link towards a net positive, regenerative fashion economy.

Will VORN — The Berlin Fashion Hub be open to people outside of Germany? What steps are you taking to rope in people or companies?
Our network is international, even though our physical campus is based in Berlin. Germany is an exciting market with clients interested in sustainability, large investments in R&D, hidden champions and a lot of potential for digital transformation, and Berlin is a melting pot for creatives and pioneers from all over the world to establish synergies in an exciting environment. Many international organisations look to Berlin and Germany as a pilot market for the European region; in addition, Berlin offers a lot of support infrastructure with research and business development and a variety of innovation hubs (like VORN) and accelerators.

You are starting with a grant from the government. What will be the revenue model to make it a profitable space? Will it essentially be a for-profit venture; so, when do you think you will break even?
After preparing a feasibility study and developing a business plan, we were commissioned by the Berlin Senate Department to develop and implement the Fashion Hub starting at the end of 2021. The first programmes and projects, which have been implemented since the middle of 2022, generate additional income, so that we will reach the break-even point in 2023. As a registered cooperative and social business, the profits are primarily reinvested in the further development of the Hub.

How do you plan to interact with other existing organisations in the fashion space, say for instance, Fashion Council Germany, or say any of the big events (those are really big)?
As a consortium of three entities, we have been working for over 20 years in various corporations with Berlin, Germany and international networks and maintain good partnerships with the most important organisations, such as the Fashion Council Germany, trade shows, fashion weeks and leading conferences. We will continue to strategically expand these; as a young initiative we do not want to replace existing offers and formats, but to complement them efficiently and in a goal-oriented manner.

Considering that we are talking about everything sustainable, how earth-friendly will VORN – The Berlin Fashion Hub be? What are the benchmarks that you would be following, and more importantly, how do you plan to keep track?
We have set ourselves sustainability goals that frame all decisions and actions. These include the building and equipment of our spaces, a code of honour to initialise and implement our programmes, and multidisciplinary collaborations as a registered cooperative in a co-ownership approach. After many years in the sustainability community, it is important for us to lead by example and move beyond the debate with tangible actions and accessible results. Continuous improvement and learning from best practice examples is part of our DNA and motivates us to challenge the status quo in and beyond the fashion industry.