Mercedes-Benz joins forces with Fashion Open Studio to support the next generation of designers

For quite some time now, there's been an ongoing conversation about the direction in which collaborations in the fashion industry should go in order to remain relevant, and one of the winning solutions could be cross-sectoriality, a principle that Mercedes-Benz knows well and that first used in many of its projects. 

On the occasion of the 35th Hyères Festival, an international festival of fashion, photography and fashion accessories, Mercedes-Benz announced its collaboration with Fashion Open Studio (FOS), a British, global non-profit organization committed to a more sustainable luxury industry, to support a new generation of designers. For this year’s edition of the festival, Mercedes-Benz and Fashion Open Studio have launched a digital mentoring program on eco-sustainability for all the finalists competing in the fashion category. 

Under the direction of Mercedes-Benz, Fashion Open Studio has developed a roadmap on eco-sustainability to stimulate the global markets of Mercedes-Benz to adopt responsible behaviour in fashion. This partnership emphasizes the need to track the environmental impact of its fashion business, explore new forms of mobility and climate compensation measures. The ambition is to transform Mercedes-Benz fashion weeks into places where consumers, young designers and established brands share innovations, techniques and information on the supply chain to improve the industry as a whole and not the individual brand. 

As foreseen by the mentoring program, Mercedes-Benz and Fashion Open Studios recognized Emma Bruschi as the designer who best integrated responsible practices into her work, inviting her to participate in one of the upcoming Mercedes-Benz Fashion initiatives in 2021. This year the Grand Prix du Jury Première Vision was awarded to Tom Van Der Borght, who won the prestigious award in the fashion category for young talents. In addition to the cash prize and the support of prestigious fashion houses, he will be invited by Mercedes-Benz to present his collection in a stand-alone fashion show during the Mercedes-Benz Fall / Winter 2021 Fashion Week to be held in Berlin from 18 to January 20, 2021, as part of the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Talents program. 

Finally, Mercedes-Benz presented The Shortlisted Showroom presented by Mercedes-Benz, as an exhibition space for this year’s finalists in the competition, highlighting the constant commitment to support the next generation of extraordinary fashion talents globally.