Berlin Fashion Week gets more diverse

Although he was born in Hannover and studied in Arnhem, Netherlands, designer William Fan chose Berlin as home for his eponymous label when he founded it in 2015. Selected in 2016 to be part of the Vogue Salon Germany, William Fan fuses his Asian heritage (his parents emigrated from Hong Kong in the 1960s) with his European upbringing to create modern clothing that is simple, ageless and unisex.

Founded in 2013, Aline Celi is a fashion label named after its Brazilian designer. The designer combines European minimalism in the cuts of the clothing with the passion and strength of her homeland. With a focus on sustainability, the brand employs fair labor and supports social engagement. Her runway show at this year's Berlin Fashion Week was staged as a protest action.

Born in Gdansk, Poland, Dawid Tomaszewski divides his time between London and Berlin, where he is presenting his latest collection as part of the Der Berliner Salon showcase at Berlin Fashion Week. The award-winning designer has collaborated with numerous brands, including Swarovski crystals, accessories brand Roeckl and furniture house Rolf Benz.

French designer Odely Teboul had already been in Berlin for six years, working with a partner on the label Augustin Teboul, when she decided to branch out and form her own label, Lou de Betoly. "What you create always comes out of the background of where you come from," Teboul told the authors of the book, Traces: Fashion & Migration.

Ivan Mandzukic grew up in the former Yugoslavia. "My parents lost everything in the war," he told the Berliner Zeitung in July 2018. "I never asked myself if I could do something, I just went out and did it." The designer behind Ivanman certainly has done it, creating colorful menswear with crisp lines and attention to detail. He's showing his latest at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin.

"I am entirely an Iranian," Leyla Piedayesh says in the book, Traces: Migration & Fashion. The Berlin-based designer came to Germany with her family in 1979 at the age of 9. But the time she spent in Tehran as a child and her foreign heritage have heavily influenced the designer. She uses mosaics and rug patterns in her textiles and makes a traditional Arabic head covering into something new.