Bread & Butter's location trump

Never before has Bread & Butter been so small and quiet. Where there used to be aching long lines of visitors patiently waiting to enter the trade fair, this season saw visitors waltzing in without any wait. The exhibitors that did not jump ship and swap their stands at Bread & Butter for another trade fair in the city or skipped out on Berlin altogether are the loyal ones. "We always go to Bread & Butter," is their slogan.

The stand from Lonsdale, set up like an old pub is empty. 'Barman' Dennis Schaumburg, who is responsible for the brand's sales, says he was surprised that he did not have to wait in line this morning. "But let's be honest here. It's a miracle that there is even a trade fair this season, the organization was still bankrupt in January."

Karl-Heinz Müller, managing director of the Berlin fashion fair Bread & Butter, originally wanted to move the winter event to Barcelona. However, later when it turned out that he was unable to move the trade fair to Spain for the January edition he was also faced with very little enthusiasm to host the event in its former location at the Tempelhof airport and eventually had to file for bankruptcy. A painful but necessary call, he called it.

Bread & Butter returns after bankruptcy

Although the company has made a new start, it became apparent during the first day of the trade fair that that many brands have lost their faith in Bread & Butter and Karl-Heinz Müller. In a hall that used to be filled with stands from over 600 brands, some more impressive than others, featuring skating rinks or large dance performances, was half empty with only 200 stalls. This number included the exhibitor service stands, such as photography for webshops and a stand offering dental hygiene products for children as well as childrenswear.

Over 50 brands were present at the childrenswear section at Bread & Butter, named Cookies. On an old fashioned blackboard was a sign that asked visitors to share their recommendations for the next Cookies show. But the only response written so far on the sign in chalk was: 'Will there really be another?" Perhaps the timing of the trade fair is just off. Several brands, including Noe & Zoe were still busy building their stand on Tuesday night. The brand had just come over from showing at Playtime in Paris and had to quickly unpack their collections and mannequins.

'Tempelhof is much better than a convention center, right?'

For some brands, the main motivation behind their decision to return to Bread & Butter was because of its unique location. "Other trade fairs have a completely different atmosphere. Bread & Butter has, or had, a truly urban party feeling, partly due to the building," said Angela Thomas from the denim label Mavi. It is busy in the brand booth and those who have a question or inquiry for the brand have to wait up to fifteen minutes between the pastel colored pants. "Yes, all our important clients, potential clients, press relations and bloggers are here," said Thomas, who is in charge of the brand's digital communication. "We are present were our customers are."

Schaumburg from Lonsdale also speaks highly of Bread & Butter's location. "This is so much better than one of those convention centers, right?" he asks rhetorically. The brand has been attending Bread & Butter for "eight, nine, ten years" - and Lonsdale fits perfectly with the event, adds Schaumburg. However, he does admit that there is not much of an alternative for the brand to show in Berlin. "In the past, this was the biggest trade fair. But we hope, now that a number of big brands have moved to Panorama, visitors will have gone there first and that the buyers will come visit us here tomorrow."

For many brands, exhibiting at a trade fair is quite the investment. Will is pay off for the brands to show at Bread & Butter? A spokesperson for the German brand Kujo believed so. The brand is a regular customer at Bread & Butter, although it made a slight detour last winter to exhibit at Panorama. "Their trade show was much bigger than this. But it is not going too badly here, we have the biggest stand here so all the visitors come to see us."

Bread & Butter's new investor Zalando will make things grand again

The responses to Bread & Butter's new investor, online retail giant Zalando, at the trade fair vary. Although there is some good news to be heard - thanks to the fashion etailer Bread & Butter's insolvency proceedings will be completed by October 1, 2015. However, Zalando's plan to open up the trade fair to the end consumer is still met with much skepticism by the brands at Bread & Butter.

Lonsdale does not seem very keen on the idea and having to bring excess stock which can be sold immediately. Kujo on the other hand is happy to wait and see what the exact plan is first. Thomas from Mavi is also not put off the idea and responds with enthusiasm. "From a marketing perspective, I find it very interesting that consumers will attend. I think that they will go very big with their plans, maybe have a concert or two. It sounds like good fun to me, because Bread & Butter has never been as small as it is now."

Original by Yasmine Esser for FashionUnited NL. Translated and edited by Vivian Hendriksz