Daily Front Row

2012 January 23

From The Daily Berlin: Premium At Its Prime

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Anita and Norbert Tillmann of Premium
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(BERLIN) In 2003, Anita Tillmann and Norbert Tillmann (no relation) revolutionized Berlin with Premium International Fashion Trade Show, staged in a train tunnel under Potsdamer Platz. In the years to follow, the Tillmanns showed no sign of slowing down: spearheading Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin, establishing the Premium Young Designers Award, and opening F95 The Fashion Store. The Daily caught up with Anita to discuss Premium then and now. BY MARIA DENARDO

What’s your background prior to starting Premium?
I started modeling early on, and later obtained a Master’s in engineering for textile and fashion. I worked for big German brands in production, sales, and marketing.  In 2003, my business partner Norbert and I started Premium.

Why?
At that time, the premium sector didn’t exist in Germany and trade shows didn’t run the way we do. Usually, they sell by square meter instead of caring about the content. The size of the booth didn’t matter to us—we wanted to take care of the brands. We’re the first trade show worldwide, as far as I know, to break that mold. Plus, we put together men, women, accessories, sportswear, and denim. Before, all of the shows were separate. We started the first trade show underground in a tube station in the center of Berlin!

Why Berlin?
Berlin is developing differently from other cities, and there’s a lot of potential here. We had the chance to set up a revolutionary concept since there was no competition at the time. To break rules, you need space. Premium wouldn’t exist in Paris or Milan.

How has it changed over the years?
It’s gotten a lot bigger! We opened with 70 brands, but now have more than 1,000. When we started, we had a member’s club platform where we curated the brands to a very select group of buyers such as H. Lorenzo from LA and Colette from Paris.

And you have your own store?
In the beginning, people didn’t understand what we were doing. How can you put Givenchy next to Lala Berlin? So we opened a pop-up store called F95 in 2006 to show the retailers how to buy. We were only going to do it for a year, but since it was so successful, we turned it into a proper store.

How do you scout new designers?
We have quite a big team that travels around the world to garages, showrooms, and ateliers. The challenge is to make selections relevant to the buyers, so we make sure to have 50 percent of global brands that everyone knows; 25 percent of nationally strong brands that might not be internationally known; and 20 to 25 percent new, unknown brands.

What’s your biggest challenge?
For a long time, it was difficult to get people to Berlin, especially the Germans! It was much easier to get the international crowd. We’ve also been heavy supporters of the young designers, but it’s not in the German mentality to do so. The biggest challenge right now is finding a way to grow and bring the creative capital together with the commercial capital.

Which buyers or editors would you like to see this season?
There’s a long list, but more Americans! We are really happy that H. Lorenzo is coming back.

What emerging brands do you have your eye on?
In womenswear: MCM, Rena by Rena Lange, and Liebig Berlin.

What’s your advice for young German designers?
Work hard, play hard.

What’s the biggest difference between designers in Berlin and New York?
Berlin doesn’t have haute couture ateliers or tons of fashion houses, so young designers have to open up their own stores. No one is going to finance you, but this way you get direct contact with your customers. You know what they’re looking for, and how to alter your designs accordingly. The time when designers could hide away in their ateliers is over.

How do you plan to grow Premium?
We can’t grow in square meters since we own the building now, but we can always grow in quality. We’re also helping out a new trade show this summer in Berlin called Panorama, which will cover the high-volume, middle-priced section of fashion with brands such as Guess.