An invitation-only evening uniting fashion leadership, AI innovation, and the AI Fashion Design Award. Closing with a DJ set by Nikka Lorak
BERLIN, Germany (January, 26, 2026) – Fashion-tech platform yoona.ai will host the yoona Fashion Summit: Digital Couture & Fashion AI on January 29, 2026, positioning the event as a cultural and strategic opening moment on the eve of Berlin Fashion Week. Designed for fashion leaders, designers, and technology builders, the summit reflects a broader industry shift as artificial intelligence moves from experimentation into the core infrastructure of fashion.
The event will take place exclusively in the Cinema Room on the 5th floor of CIC Berlin, in collaboration with Venture Café as part of its Thursday Gathering. The private, high-definition cinema provides an intimate setting overlooking the city, designed for focused exchange, curated conversation, and high-signal networking on the eve of Fashion Week.
On Stage at the CIC Cinema: Fashion, AI, and International Industry in Conversation
The on-stage program opens with welcoming remarks by Ewa Gerez and Anna Franziska Michel, followed by a keynote from Sylvia Heisel, offering a forward-looking perspective on how creativity, technology, and new digital tools are reshaping fashion design, development, and market relevance.
Two core themes define the evening’s conversations. The first explores colour as a strategic commercial asset, with insights from Doug Bynum (natific) and Caitlin Kakoti (SwimUSA), joined by Janet Best, formerly of Marks & Spencer. Together, the speakers examine how colour decisions, supported by data and expertise, impact value creation across the fashion value chain.
The second focus turns to holistic digitisation in fashion, with Thomas Knick (nikkisfaktur) presenting his vision for connected digital systems, followed by a discussion with Clare Tattersall (NY Digital Fashion Week) and Stefan Gertsch (Gertsch Consulting) on how technology is already transforming fashion organisations today and their vision, from workflows and decision-making to long-term competitiveness.
AI Fashion Design Award: Live on Stage
At the centre of the yoona Fashion Summit, the AI Fashion Design Award, supported by natific, Gertsch Consulting, sustaineurs.de and yoona.ai, will be presented live on stage as part of the cinema program. Conceived as a global open call, the award recognises designers who work with artificial intelligence as a creative collaborator rather than a novelty.
Three Selected finalists will pitch their work during the event to an international jury, with the winner announced the same evening.
The AI Fashion Design Award is evaluated by an international jury spanning fashion leadership, education, editorial, and fashion-tech, including Sylvia Heisel (Fashion-tech Innovator, NYC), Scott Lipinski (CEO, Fashion Council Germany, Berlin), Bianca Lang-Bognár (Brookmedia, Hamburg), Nikka Lorak (Fashion Photographer & DJ, London), Julian Guthrie (Parsons School of Design, NYC), Christoph Bergmann (Senior Partner, natific, Basel), and Andrea Talic & Lisa-Jasmin Tomm (Betty Barclay Design Team, Heidelberg).
Closing: Networking, Music, and Momentum
Following the on-stage program and award presentation, the evening transitions into curated networking, concluding with a DJ set by the Award Jury Member Nikka Lorak, marking a high-energy cultural prelude to Berlin Fashion Week.
Registration
Attendance is limited. Early RSVP is recommended.
Event RSVP: https://luma.com/n44pf8k2
Award details: https://www.yoona.ai/bfw-ai-design-award
About yoona.ai
yoona.ai is an AI-driven platform enabling fashion designers and retailers to create smarter, faster, and more commercially successful products and seamlessly bring them to e-commerce or production.
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