BERLIN: PAVING ITS RUNWAY TO THE FIFTH GLOBAL FASHION CITY?

Berlin has emerged as a multicultural, diverse, and cosmopolitan city, attracting creative entrepreneurs from around the globe. Renowned for its creative and open atmosphere, Berlin has positioned itself as a thriving hub for the creative and cultural industries. Despite the city’s remarkable growth driven by its strengths in innovation and creativity, it has yet to establish itself as an established fashion center comparable to other global fashion capitals such as Paris, London, New York, or Milan. This thesis investigates the factors that contribute to the locational behavior of fashion entrepreneurs in Berlin, while giving insights on place-specific factors that foster fashion entrepreneurship in the city. Furthermore, this study focuses on the spatial formation of the local fashion industry with specific emphasis on the creative clusters in Mitte, Kreuzberg, Neukoelln, and Prenzlauerberg. These neighbourhoods are particularly known for their high density of creative entrepreneurs and workers. To gain insights into the reasons behind fashion entrepreneurs choosing to locate and cluster in Berlin, qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted to understand their unique motivations, experiences, and perspectives, the appeal of the city as an attractive location for fashion entrepreneurship, and how this facilitates economic and regional development. By examining Berlin's evolving fashion ecosystem, this research aims to enhance our understanding of the phenomenon of clustering in the creative and cultural industries. The findings of this study contribute to the growing literature on clusters, creative placemaking, the geography of fashion and the symbolic power of place, providing insights into the factors that attract and sustain fashion entrepreneurs in Berlin. Furthermore, the study raises awareness of the supporting mechanisms that promote and nurture local entrepreneurship, ultimately assisting policymakers, industry stakeholders, and aspiring fashion entrepreneurs in strengthening Berlin's fashion industry and further propelling its growth.