Exciting debuts, a growing international guest list and stronger commercial potential from the city’s strongest brands: the latest edition of Berlin Fashion Week (BFW) drew to a close on Monday as organiser Fashion Council Germany (FCG) continues to invest in the event with the hopes of competing on the global stage.

This season, there were a few brands missing from the schedule. Shayne Oliver’s Anonymous Club, who brought in a large audience from the international fashion community last season (Kanye West showed up), dropped out of the schedule. Namilia’s spectacle of a show was also sorely missed. Founders Nan Li and Emilia Pfohl decided to focus on the business and switch to showing once a year, instead launching a capsule collection with Playboy that was displayed at Der Berliner Salon (a public exhibition in Berlin’s Kulturforum, which is on until 23 February). Up-and-coming brand Kitschy Couture hosted a showroom-meets-community event to present the brand’s new capsule collection (primarily consisting of thongs and lingerie). The brand made a splash last season with a runway show hosted in a public swimming pool. Founder Abarna Kugathasan says the brand is getting ready to launch an online store.