Daydreaming of meeting like-minded people and brands who love fashion and care about our home planet, people and animals under one roof? Well, dream no further, because yet again, NEONYT Berlin is making this dream a reality: the international hub for sustainable, innovative fashion marked its 10th anniversary with the best of fair fashion at Kraftwerk Berlin and had the honor to be there with my lovely Nuuwaï family.
This wasn’t my first time in NEONYT: I was there exactly six months ago for the very first edition of NEONYT, and I can say one thing for sure- the people behind this hub know exactly what they’re doing. Apart from continuously growing (the place was fully packed!), NEONYT’s July edition was a breakthrough: the hub featured an even better selection of sustainable, innovative brands, that left me, as usual, mind-blown.
The New Era of Fashion
For those who don’t know, NEONYT Berlin the world’s most exclusive global hub for fashion, sustainability and innovation with 170 international labels, making it the world’s biggest hotspot for progressive, sustainable fashion and technological innovations. In its latest summer edition, NEONYT put the spotlight on conventional retailers in order to bring the topic even closer to the end consumer.
NEONYT isn’t “just” a hub: it is a community of forward-thinking curious people that fills everyone not only with knowledge but also with a lot of hope and positivity: being surrounded by lovely people simply makes you feel like you’re doing good in this world. Driven by the desire to change in the fashion industry, NEONYT creates a conversation from which companies, as well as people and the environment, will profit: that’s why when visiting there, you should be prepared for loads of interesting panels, talks, and conversations in both the Prepeek and FashionSustain conference and new people that might be your future best-friends:) You can also rock the dancefloor in the fun NEONYT party, that was bigger than ever!
It’s Showtime! NEONYT Fashion Show: Denim Spotlight
This was my first time attending a fashion show: it took me a bit of time to get used to the street photographers near at the entrance (oh come on, how can anyone get used to it, lol ;)), yet somehow, my awkward face ended up being featured in Vogue Germany (wearing my Lica bag by Nuuwaï! woohoo!). After a short wait, the lights were doomed and the show started: It was a great experience watching the beautiful outfits from 80 different sustainable brands. Curated by the lovely Claudia Hofmann, who I met in NEONYT, the show featured a great mix of styles, from timeless elegance and endless romance to cool street style, with a special spotlight on different shades of blue.
Apples with Smiles: Noa x Nuuwaï
The reason for my arrival at the lovely German capital was my collaboration with my Nuuwaï family: my friendship with Svenja (aka my “wife”, or the woman behind Nuuwaï ) started just in NEONYT back in January. We got to meet and chat, kept in touch and became such good friends: Svenja came to TLV, we got to hang out and further connect (now you understand why I love NEONYT so much? 😀 ).
We decided to take our collaboration outside of the screen and I supported them while in NEONYT, talking about the brand’s gorgeous apple bags and accessories with the press, buyers, and of course: so many of you! it was such a pleasure to meet my readers in real life and it was such a blast to spend three days with Svenja, Gunnar and Michael, my epic Nuuwaï fam. Did you visit us in the booth? let me know in the comments below!
What’s Up, NEONYT? The Instagram Takeover
Apart from working with Nuuwaï, I worked with my awesome NEONYT family and took over their Instagram, together with my lovely new friend Patrick Duffy: we interviewed vegan-friendly brands, chatted with leading fashion figures, chased vegan ice cream (hmm, don’t ask… 🙄 ), embarrassed ourselves and had so much fun: I couldn’t ask for a better partner to share this experience with and enjoyed sharing NEONYT with everyone.
Picture by Vaiva Hawkins for NEONYT Prepeek Picture by Vaiva Hawkins for NEONYT Prepeek
#Prepeek Moments: Say (Vegan) Cheese!
The Prepeek area is the heart of bloggers, where we all can share our passion for fashion, try on the best of eco-fashion AND take part on a professional photo-shoot (thanks to the lovely photographer, Vaiva Hawkins). Since NEONYT are thinking about everything, there’s also a touch-up area, featuring cruelty-free, natural makeup brand Benecos. Take a moment to choose your favorite outfit and say cheese, Vaiva Hawkins.
The Future is Now: Brand Highlights
From banana shoes, yoga pants, beauty products and water bottles, to jeans shredders and laser textile machines: everything has a place in NEONYT. The innovative, sustainable brands are sharing the same goal: making the world a better place. All the brands featured in NEONYT are part of the eco-conscious, fashion revolution movement, creating earth-friendly fashion in carefully selected, transparent manufactures, assuring good working conditions and fair wages. You’d be happy to hear that most brands are vegan-friendly, too, making NEONYT even more sustainable!
Nuuwaï: Turning Apples to Bags
My favorite brand from NEONYT is, of course, my Nuuwaï, a German, vegan and innovative brand that turns the waste from the apple-juice industry into lovely, high-quality bags. The bags are lined with EcoAlf, another brand who attended NEONYT, saving the oceans and marine life by reusing ocean plastic waste and fishnets. You can read all about them right here.
VEPSI: New Sustainable Marketplace
Behind VEPSI, you can find a girl-power duo: Eilean and Leslie- they are such inspiring, hard-working ladies, that actually took me to NEONYT last time. VEPSI is An agency-marketplace for ethical brands only, supported by fashion impact ambassadors (aka influencers) all over the world. The good news is that they has just launched their new social sustainable marketplace, supporting brands from all around the world and for each purchase we make, VEPSI donates to our school project “A light for Africa”.
Banana sneakers by Indianes Footwear Vegan rose sneakers by NAT 2 Footwear
Nat-2 Footwear: Surprising Innovations, All The Time
If you want to be mind-blown, you need to say hi to Sebastian Thies, the man behind some of the most unbelievable fashion innovations in NEONYT and founder of Nat-2: a German brand producing innovative textiles. I met Nat2 back in January, with their unique coffee and grass leather shoes, and yet again, Sebastian surprised me with his new innovations. Ladies and gentleman, have a look at the most romantic pair of sneakers, made from real roses! The original smell and unique look of roses all in one, fully vegan shoe, that contains, apart from roses, glass leather, a cork insole, and anti-bacterial and antiseptic bio-ceramic lining. The brand also launched vegan shoes made from cannabis and real moss, directly from the forests!
Indianes Footwear: Shoes Made from Bananas
From Barcelona with love, Indianes Footwear is an innovative brand with a mission to develop comfortable, stylish shoes using natural, eco-friendly materials, such as hemp and vegetable leather. The brand has recently launched its new, vegan banana sneakers made from real banana fibers: this is the first time a brand using it, and it was very interesting!
MUD Jeans: Circular Jeans
If you heard a girl screaming “wow” in NEONYT, it was probably me while looking at the huge jeans shredder that MUD Jeans used. This Dutch brand is turning old jeans, into new ones by shredding and dissolving the fibers of old pairs of jeans and reassembling them with organic cotton. With sustainability in its core the brand offers repair services for free, so customers can keep the jeans for as long as they want.
Mama Tierra bag: picture from Pinterest MUD JEANS Picture by NEONYT Berlin
Mama Tierra: Helping Indigenous Women
Mama Tierra is Swiss-Colombian non-profit organization working for and with indigenous people in their strive for self-determination. By commercializing ethnic accessories they support the financial independence of indigenous people, especially women.
Rhumaa: Supporting the planet, people and Young Artists
This timeless, modern and sophisticated Dutch brand is focused on creating fashion with purpose: with their new, beautiful print collection, the brand aims to give young artists a platform and a voice and features their work through the art print. When you buy a Rhumaa garment, you are also donating into the Rhumaa Foundation, helping multiple wonderful causes.
Rhumma Fashion Sassy Laptop bay by Bag Affair
Bag Affair: Bags From Businesswomen to Businesswomen
Ever wondered why there aren’t any nice-looking practical work-bags for women? the founder of Bag Affair did too, and since she couldn’t find such a bag, she went ahead and designed it herself. the bags are made of cork, huge and vegan, too! my favorite one is Sassy, can you tell why? 😉
Lana Organic
Lana Organic is a GOTS certified family-owned German brand focusing on organic, ethically made sustainable fashion. Their beautiful patterns from the recent collection are hand-made and they only use biomaterials, most of them are vegan-friendly. I love the fun colors and timeless, feminine cuts, that will never go out of style.
Dress by Lana Organic Skirt by JAN ‘N JUNE
JAN ‘N JUNE
This is one brand that I think anyone would find something they like from- the brand produces chic, minimalistic, eco, fair and affordable fashion for men and women. JAN ‘N JUNE‘s recent collection really caught my eye with the beautiful colors, especially the lovely Lavender skirt, that might resemble silk but is completely vegan 🙂
I hope you enjoyed reading and following me through my NEONYT Adventures! You can still find all the stories on NEONYT ‘s Instagram. Special thanks to Svenja and all the Nuuwai team for making this all possible: I love you so much!
Thank you to all the wonderful NEONYT team, to my lovely friend Rebecca, to my dear Thimo, to the wonderful brands and people who came to say hi, and to my NEONYT partner in crime and vegan brother, Patrick!
See you in January!
Noa
For more outfits, inspiration, and updates follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Bloglovin‘
READ ABOUT NEONYT JANUARY 2019 HERE
TRAVELING TO BERLIN? READ MY ULTIMATE TRAVEL GUIDE (PART 1, PART 2)
SUSTAINABLE HOTEL IN BERLIN? READ HERE
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