B2B case study · Berlin Fashion Week
Marc Cain at Berlin Fashion Week: two shows, two architectural icons, 540 seats by vonRock
When Marc Cain shows at Berlin Fashion Week, nothing about the seating is left to chance. The premium label from Bodelshausen in Swabia picks a venue with real character every season and stages its collection so that space, light and fashion work as one. We at vonRock Events supplied the complete guest seating for two of these shows: in July 2025 for “A Quiet Rebellion” (Spring/Summer 2026) in the Pei Building of the German Historical Museum, and in January 2026 for “Echo of Now” (Fall/Winter 2026) in the Great Recording Hall of Funkhaus Berlin.
300 transparent acrylic chairs in amber in summer, 240 gold Lucy Wire chairs in winter. In this article we tell the story behind both shows: who Marc Cain is, what defined the collections, why the venues are so special and how we organised the logistics for a fashion show in the German capital. And of course we show you which chairs you can rent from us for your own show, product presentation or brand event.
- Client
- Marc Cain GmbH
- Headquarters
- Bodelshausen, Germany
- Event
- Berlin Fashion Week
- Seasons
- SS26 & FW26
- Venues
- Pei Building · Funkhaus Berlin
- Seats
- 300 + 240
- Chairs
- Acrylic chair amber · Lucy Wire gold
- Rentals
- vonRock Events, South warehouse
The label
Who is Marc Cain? Knitwear, colour and “Made in Germany” since 1973
Marc Cain’s story begins in 1973 in Carpi, a historic knitwear centre in the Italian province of Modena, where Helmut Schlotterer founded the label. He borrowed the name from a friend he had met in Carpi in the early 1970s. In 1976 Schlotterer returned to Swabia to support his father’s knitwear factory in Bodelshausen, which soon produced mainly for Marc Cain. Ever since, the small town between Tübingen and Hechingen has been the brand’s headquarters.
What still sets Marc Cain apart is its own production. In Bodelshausen, knitting, finishing and printing run in three shifts, and the machine park is regarded as one of the most modern in Europe. Since 2013 the company has used 3D Knit & Wear technology, where a garment comes off the machine in one piece, and it has done its own digital printing since the late 1990s. That explains why knitwear and bold prints remain part of every collection’s DNA.
The knitwear specialist has long since become a lifestyle label with several lines: the main line Marc Cain Collections (since 1981), Marc Cain Sports, Essentials, Bags & Shoes, Pants and, since Fall/Winter 2024, the occasion-wear line Marc Cain Glam. According to FashionUnited (June 2026), Marc Cain employs around 850 people and is present in 57 countries with more than 1,000 points of sale. The Bodelshausen campus, often called “Cain City”, includes an office building with a glass atrium, an outlet and a logistics centre for around half a million hanging garments.
There have been changes at the top, too. Marinela Oglan leads the collections as Creative Director; she previously headed the Glam line. Since 1 June 2026, Dr Patric Spethmann, formerly COO of Marc O’Polo, has been the company’s CEO. Founder Helmut Schlotterer continues to support the brand as Chairman of the Board.
Marc Cain in Berlin
Marc Cain and Berlin Fashion Week: a fixture since 2012
Since July 2012, Marc Cain has been one of the labels Berlin looks forward to. The debut, “Magical Birds”, took place in the Opera Court of the Hotel de Rome. Since then the team from Bodelshausen has taken over a new, often surprising venue almost every season, from a subway tunnel to a palace park. What the shows have in common: the venue is never just a backdrop but part of the story the collection tells. And the guest list is international. Romee Strijd, Candice Swanepoel, Jerry Hall, Alessandra Ambrosio and Andie MacDowell have all been guests or walked for Marc Cain in recent years.
- 2012“Magical Birds” (SS13), Opera Court of the Hotel de Rome – the Berlin debut
- 2017E-Werk in Berlin-Mitte
- 2018Disused U3 subway tunnel at Potsdamer Platz
- 2023“A New Journey” (AW23) in the old terminal hall of Tempelhof Airport; in August a 50th-anniversary show at the headquarters in Bodelshausen
- 2024“Blend Boundaries” (AW24) at Arena Berlin with the debut of the Glam line, “Pure Radiance” (SS25) at the colonnades of the New Palace in Potsdam
- 2025“Parallel Universe” (AW25) at Kraftwerk Berlin, “A Quiet Rebellion” (SS26) in the Pei Building – seating: vonRock
- 2026“Echo of Now” (FW26) at Funkhaus Berlin – seating: vonRock
For a rental company, this means every show is a new challenge: different floors, different access routes, different time slots, a different colour concept. That is exactly what makes working with Marc Cain so exciting for us.
Spring/Summer 2026 · 1 July 2025
“A Quiet Rebellion”: quiet maximalism in the Pei Building
On the evening of Tuesday, 1 July 2025, during Berlin Fashion Week (30 June to 3 July 2025), Marc Cain presented its Spring/Summer 2026 collection “A Quiet Rebellion”. The guiding idea: quiet maximalism. Instead of volume and speed, the collection relied on flowing silhouettes and carefully chosen details, a response to a loud, fast world. The official Berlin Fashion Week recap described the show as a quiet counterpoint in an age often defined by volume.
“A tribute to the power of restraint.”Marinela Oglan, Creative Director Marc Cain (translated)
Colours, materials and silhouettes
The palette was delicate yet confident: soft powder tones, pale blue and elegant jade green formed the base, while monochrome looks in orange and red added contrast. Lime, yellow and fuchsia joined in, alongside all-white casual looks and soft greys for business outfits. For materials, Marc Cain chose flowing linen, silk blends and fine knitwear “Made in Germany” from its own production.
Skirts and dresses came in maxi, midi and mini lengths, paired with relaxed wide-leg trousers and lightweight suits in white, silver, tan and lemon yellow. The prints told of summer by the sea: romantic florals, maritime motifs, shells, a lemon print and a subtle animal print. Sequins sparkled for evening, and the accessories included hats, visor caps and an oversized straw hat.
The staging: golden hour across three levels
The show was timed to the light just before sunset. 60 models walked across three levels of the Pei Building and came down the glass spiral staircase. Warm light, shadows cast through the glass façade and an ethereal soundtrack. Top model Romee Strijd opened the show in a wide white look with a silver jacket and closed it in a marigold co-ord. Hair and make-up were by La Biosthétique: soft waves with a centre parting and bronze-golden skin.
The front row included Candice Swanepoel, Ronan and Storm Keating, Sylvie Meis, Frauke Ludowig with her daughter Nele, Leonie Hanne and Jessica and Johannes Haller. Helmut Schlotterer said the staging in the Pei Building showed the brand’s close ties to art, architecture and aesthetics.
The venue: the Pei Building of the German Historical Museum
The Pei Building is the exhibition hall of the German Historical Museum in Berlin-Mitte, right behind the Baroque Zeughaus on Unter den Linden. It was designed by I. M. Pei, the architect of the Louvre’s glass pyramid. It is his first building in Germany and opened on 23 May 2003. The triangular building combines yellowish-beige exposed concrete and French limestone with granite and a great deal of glass. Its landmark is the glass stair tower with its spiral staircase, and a full-height glass foyer connects it to the Zeughaus. For a fashion show, that is a gift: daylight, sightlines across several levels and architecture that becomes a stage in its own right.
Our part in the Pei Building
300 transparent amber acrylic chairs for “A Quiet Rebellion”
For the guests in the Pei Building we supplied 300 transparent acrylic chairs in amber. The choice was deliberate. A transparent chair blocks no sightlines and lets the architecture speak, especially in a building defined by glass, light and lines. The warm amber tone picks up the golden evening light, works beautifully with the pale limestone and matches the powder tones of the collection. In the sunlight the chairs cast amber shadows on the floor. The photos by simonthon show how much the seating becomes part of the picture.
The chairs stood in long rows along the runway, on the galleries and in the front row. Because they are light and stackable, they can be set up quickly across several levels and cleared just as fast.
The logistics: Mollergasse loading zone, 7 pm
A museum in central Berlin is not a warehouse with a loading ramp. Our truck was loaded at our South warehouse at 4 am on Monday, 30 June 2025, and taken to Berlin by a freight forwarder. Delivery took place at 7 pm at the loading zone on Mollergasse, corner of Hinter dem Gießhaus, after the museum had closed for the day. The Helping Hands crew on site carried and set the chairs. Collection followed on Wednesday, 2 July, between 6 and 7 am, before the museum reopened. In total, around 1,050 kilograms of chairs plus two chair trolleys travelled across Germany.
That is everyday life at large brand events: tight time slots at the edge of opening hours, access via loading zones and an on-site team that knows exactly how many chairs go where.
Rent transparent acrylic chairs in every colour
Transparent acrylic chair, amberRent from €9.90Reserve
Transparent acrylic chair, clearRent from €9.90Reserve
Transparent acrylic chair, smokeRent from €9.90Reserve
Transparent acrylic chair, ecru whiteRent from €9.90Reserve
Transparent acrylic chair, blackRent from €9.90Reserve
Transparent acrylic chair, sage greenRent from €9.90Reserve
Transparent acrylic chair with armrestRent from €15.90Reserve
Fall/Winter 2026 · 30 January 2026
“Echo of Now”: fashion that resonates, at Funkhaus Berlin
Six months later, on 30 January 2026, Marc Cain moved east across the city to the Great Recording Hall of Funkhaus Berlin. The Fall/Winter 2026 collection was called “Echo of Now”, with the tagline “fashion that resonates”. The idea: music and fashion merge into one concept about the rhythm of the moment. It is hard to imagine a better setting than a hall originally built for orchestral recordings.
Berlin Fashion Week ran from 30 January to 2 February 2026. It is organised by Fashion Council Germany on behalf of the Berlin Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Business.
“With Echo of Now, we wanted to make the moment tangible.”Marinela Oglan, Creative Director Marc Cain (translated)
From Cloud Dancer to dopamine dressing
The show opened in light tones: cream white and grey, inspired by “Cloud Dancer”, Pantone’s Colour of the Year 2026. The collection then moved through warm, earthy shades and grey with soft pink, ending in bold combinations of orange, aubergine, pink, “limonello” yellow and grass green. Marc Cain called it “dopamine dressing”. The 1970s and a touch of “old money” ran through it as influences.
Materials included faux fur in orange and pink with a seventies feel, leather and suede for an urban look, satin, faux pony skin and soft knitwear with an ocelot pattern. Add animal prints in ocelot, cheetah and leopard, plus paisley. The silhouettes: masculine tailoring with strong shoulders, softened by brooches and bows. Accessories were deliberately over the top: Jackie O-style pillbox hats, ties, scarves, sunglasses, long gloves and two bags at once – “overaccessorizing”. The finale belonged to the Glam line in sparkling midnight blue.
A runway like an equaliser
The set picked up the music theme: glowing blue LED rods of different heights stood behind the runway like an equaliser, with blue carpets laid out in a semicircle. The catwalk was more than 70 metres long, and the models emerged from between the light rods. The show opened with a live performance of “Feeling Good”, and the vocal trio MVX sang through the show and the finale. In the front row sat Jerry Hall, Elizabeth Jagger and Kelly Rutherford, as well as Sylvie Meis, Bettina Zimmermann, Anja Kling, Bruce Darnell and many more. Grazia UK wrote afterwards that Marc Cain had brought maximalist energy to Berlin.
The venue: Funkhaus Berlin
Funkhaus Berlin on Nalepastraße in Berlin-Oberschöneweide was built between 1951 and 1956 as the home of GDR state radio. Its architect was Franz Ehrlich, who had studied at the Bauhaus. More than 2,500 people worked here for stations such as DDR 1, Radio Berlin International and DT64. The recording rooms were built on the “house within a house” principle, with their own walls and foundations so that no sound travels between rooms. The Great Recording Hall (Saal 1) has more than 900 square metres of floor space, a barrel-vaulted ceiling and wooden slats on the walls. It is considered one of the largest purpose-built recording halls in the world and is famous for its acoustics. Today Funkhaus is a listed building and a concert and event venue where Depeche Mode and Nils Frahm, among others, have performed.
Our part at Funkhaus
240 gold Lucy Wire chairs for “Echo of Now”
For Funkhaus, the choice fell on a completely different chair: 240 Lucy Wire chairs in mesh look, in gold. The delicate wire chair suits the design language of the hall with its wooden slats and lines, and echoes the graphic idea of the equaliser set. In the blue show light, the gold shifted between warm and cool metallic depending on the angle. Each chair carried a royal blue seat cushion with a seat number and the Marc Cain logo, perfectly matched to the blue carpets.
Because the hall is a listed building with a wooden floor, we fitted every chair with white plastic chair glides: 240 sets of four. Details like these decide whether a venue lets you back in.
The logistics: our own truck to Oberschöneweide
This time we drove ourselves. Our team brought the chairs to Berlin in our own box truck with a box trailer, around 1,440 kilograms in total. Delivery was around midday on Thursday, 29 January 2026. The Helping Hands crew on site carried the chairs into the hall, which went quickly with two chair trolleys. After the show on Friday evening, we collected everything at 8 am on Saturday, 31 January. In between, our team stayed overnight in Berlin, so we were close by in case anything was needed at short notice.
Summer 2026
“Palazzo Dreaming” and an event at the Bodelshausen headquarters
In summer 2026 Marc Cain took a different route. The label did not stage a show at Berlin Fashion Week in July. Instead, the Spring/Summer 2027 collection “Palazzo Dreaming” was presented as a digital show, filmed without an audience at Palazzo Ca’ di Lista, a 16th-century villa between Padua and Venice: 45 looks, colours from raspberry, fuchsia and royal blue to green and orange, with sheer fabrics, openwork knits, silk and linen.
For us the collaboration continued anyway, just in the other direction. At the end of July 2026 we delivered directly to the headquarters in Bodelshausen: 560 transparent amber acrylic chairs – the same model as in the Pei Building, in an even larger quantity – and 100 large ostrich feathers for an event on the Marc Cain campus. It is great to see a single show order grow into a partnership across several seasons.
Fashion show seating
What a fashion show demands from a rental company
A wedding with 120 guests and a fashion show with 300 guests have more in common than you might think. Still, there are differences worth knowing if you are planning a show, a launch or a product presentation. Here is what we learned working with Marc Cain:
Every row gets photographed at a show. The chair has to suit the venue and the collection: transparent if the architecture should shine, graphic if the set has a clear line.
Museums and listed buildings have opening hours. Evening delivery, early-morning collection, on time. We plan loading, freight and crew backwards from the time slot.
300 chairs have to look identical. We supply the same model from one stock, clean and sorted, with chair trolleys and floor protection on request.
When seating is set up on several levels or the crew has to switch layouts quickly, every kilo counts. Acrylic and wire chairs are light and stackable.
Parquet, natural stone, heritage buildings: with chair glides and careful handling, floors stay undamaged.
Quantities, delivery address, loading zone, time slots and collection should come together in one place, so nothing gets lost when schedules are tight.
Event furniture rental
Rent chairs for fashion shows, brand events and launches
You can rent every chair featured in this article from us, whether for a fashion show in Berlin, a product presentation in Munich or a company anniversary at your own site. We deliver across Germany from our South warehouse in Elzach/Waldkirch, with our own trucks or by freight forwarder. For quantities like Marc Cain’s, it pays to ask early so we can reserve the number you need in one colour.
Are you an event agency, rental company, venue or decorator who would like these chairs in your own inventory? Then take a look at our B2B shop The Fine Collection, where many of our rental items are available to buy.
How it works:
Date, venue, quantity and preferred model are enough to start. A floor plan or mood board is welcome too.
You receive a quote including transport, time slots and options: delivery only, delivery with carrying in, or with set-up and take-down.
We deliver on time to the loading zone and collect after the event. Cleaning is on us.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Marc Cain and fashion show seating
Marc Cain & the shows
Where does Marc Cain show at Berlin Fashion Week?
Marc Cain has shown in Berlin since July 2012 and picks a new venue almost every season. In July 2025 it was the Pei Building of the German Historical Museum, in January 2026 the Great Recording Hall at Funkhaus Berlin. Earlier venues include Tempelhof Airport, Arena Berlin, the colonnades of the New Palace in Potsdam and Kraftwerk Berlin.
What was the theme of “A Quiet Rebellion”?
The Spring/Summer 2026 collection stood for quiet maximalism: flowing silhouettes, powder tones, pale blue and jade green, linen, silk blends and fine knitwear. It was shown on 1 July 2025 in the Pei Building, opened and closed by Romee Strijd.
What did Marc Cain show in “Echo of Now”?
The Fall/Winter 2026 collection combined music and fashion. It started in Cloud Dancer white and moved through earthy tones into colourful mixes of orange, aubergine, pink and grass green. Faux fur, animal prints, strong shoulders and pillbox hats were typical. The show took place on 30 January 2026 at Funkhaus Berlin.
Who is Marc Cain’s Creative Director?
According to Marc Cain, Marinela Oglan leads the collections as Creative Director. She previously headed the Marc Cain Glam line. Dr Patric Spethmann has been CEO since 1 June 2026, and founder Helmut Schlotterer is Chairman of the Board.
Did Marc Cain show in Berlin in summer 2026?
No. Marc Cain did not stage a show at Berlin Fashion Week in July 2026. The Spring/Summer 2027 collection “Palazzo Dreaming” was presented digitally and filmed at Palazzo Ca’ di Lista in the Veneto.
The venues
What is the Pei Building in Berlin?
The Pei Building is the exhibition hall of the German Historical Museum in Berlin-Mitte. It was designed by I. M. Pei and opened in 2003. Its signatures are the glass stair tower with a spiral staircase, the glass foyer linking it to the Zeughaus and the mix of limestone, exposed concrete and glass.
What makes Funkhaus Berlin special as an event venue?
Funkhaus on Nalepastraße was built between 1951 and 1956 for GDR radio and is a listed building. The Great Recording Hall has more than 900 square metres of floor space and famous acoustics. Today it hosts concerts, shows and events.
Renting seating from vonRock
Which chairs work well for a fashion show?
It depends on the venue and the collection. Transparent acrylic chairs let the architecture shine and come in many colours. Graphic wire chairs like the Lucy Wire chair make a statement. Both are light and stackable.
How many chairs can vonRock supply?
For Marc Cain we have supplied up to 560 chairs for a single event. Availability depends on model, colour and date. For large quantities, it pays to ask early.
Does vonRock deliver to Berlin and other cities?
Yes. We deliver across Germany from our South warehouse, with our own trucks or by freight forwarder. For Marc Cain we delivered by freight forwarder to the Pei Building and with our own truck to Funkhaus Berlin.
Does vonRock handle set-up?
You can choose: delivery only, delivery with carrying in, or delivery with set-up and take-down. For the Marc Cain shows we delivered to the loading zone and the on-site crew set up the seating.
Is floor protection available for delicate floors?
Yes. On request we fit the chairs with chair glides, as we did at the listed Funkhaus Berlin.
Can I buy the chairs as well?
Yes. Event agencies, rental companies, venues and decorators can find many of our items in our B2B shop The Fine Collection.
Photos Pei Building and Funkhaus detail: © simonthon · Photos Funkhaus Berlin: vonRock Events · Collection details based on Marc Cain press releases and reports by FashionNetwork, TextilWirtschaft, Leadersnet, DSCENE and Grazia.
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