German fashion designer Dorothee Schumacher opened on Tuesday Berlin Fashion Week 2017 with an elegant and playful collection for the coming autumn and winter. The biannual fashion event, hosted by Mercedes-Benz, is expected to attract some 200,000 visitors including buyers, industry professionals and many fashion enthusiasts to the German capital until tomorrow (Friday) this year. Dorothee Schumacher, who tends to give a touch of sportiness to the female silhouette, presented in the opening runway show her latest ready-to-wear clothing under the label of the same name with some eye-catching loops on jackets and dresses, which can be seen mostly in black and white as well as warm yellow. The follow-up Munich-based label Holy Ghost showed, however, its spring and summer collection for 2017 with a mixture of delicate, airy, feminine and sporty style. Instead of as usual in high heels, the designers send the models in sneakers and slippers onto the runway. Using soft fabric in earth tone colours, Laotian born designer Hien Le delivered a fashionable and functional collection with a scent of simplicity and construction both for women and men. In addition, leading fashion designers including Rebekka Ruetz, Perret Schaad, Michael Sontag and Dawid Tomaszewski, as well as leading German fashion label Laurel, will return to the stage with their new collections, while smaller fairs for trade visitors will take place, showcasing trends from streetwear to eco-fashion across the city in the next four days. For Berlin, the fashion industry has become an important economic factor in recent years, as the fashion week brings the capital an additional sources of income of around 120 million euros per season, according to the figures from Berlin Fashion Week.