Although he was born in Hannover and studied in Arnhem, Netherlands, designer William Fan chose Berlin as home for his eponymous label when he founded it in 2015. Selected in 2016 to be part of the Vogue Salon Germany, William Fan fuses his Asian heritage (his parents emigrated from Hong Kong in the 1960s) with his European upbringing to create modern clothing that is simple, ageless and unisex.

Founded in 2013, Aline Celi is a fashion label named after its Brazilian designer. The designer combines European minimalism in the cuts of the clothing with the passion and strength of her homeland. With a focus on sustainability, the brand employs fair labor and supports social engagement. Her runway show at this year's Berlin Fashion Week was staged as a protest action.

Born in Gdansk, Poland, Dawid Tomaszewski divides his time between London and Berlin, where he is presenting his latest collection as part of the Der Berliner Salon showcase at Berlin Fashion Week. The award-winning designer has collaborated with numerous brands, including Swarovski crystals, accessories brand Roeckl and furniture house Rolf Benz.

French designer Odely Teboul had already been in Berlin for six years, working with a partner on the label Augustin Teboul, when she decided to branch out and form her own label, Lou de Betoly. "What you create always comes out of the background of where you come from," Teboul told the authors of the book, Traces: Fashion & Migration.

Ivan Mandzukic grew up in the former Yugoslavia. "My parents lost everything in the war," he told the Berliner Zeitung in July 2018. "I never asked myself if I could do something, I just went out and did it." The designer behind Ivanman certainly has done it, creating colorful menswear with crisp lines and attention to detail. He's showing his latest at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin.

"I am entirely an Iranian," Leyla Piedayesh says in the book, Traces: Migration & Fashion. The Berlin-based designer came to Germany with her family in 1979 at the age of 9. But the time she spent in Tehran as a child and her foreign heritage have heavily influenced the designer. She uses mosaics and rug patterns in her textiles and makes a traditional Arabic head covering into something new.

While Berlin Fashion Week has become a semi-annual tradition, it's not yet on par with the Big Four. "Vogue" Germany's editor-in-chief Christiane Arp is OK with that, saying she'd like to focus on promoting the talented designers Germany has at home. This week's schedule reflects that, with a majority of labels showing in Berlin coming from around the country.

After spending several seasons in the shadow of the Brandenburg Gate, the runway events on the official Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week schedule have moved. The autumn/winter 2017 collection showings are now held in Berlin's bustling Mitte neighborhood at the empty department store, Kaufhaus Jandorf. It's the former home of the GDR's "Haus der Mode," which has recently been reopened for events.

Among the big-name designers on the official Berlin Fashion Week schedule is Holy Ghost, a label launched in 2010. Started by two friends with Yugoslav roots, Sedina Halilovic and Jelena Hofmann, the label is based in Munich but shows in Berlin twice yearly, including here at the AW2017 shows taking place in Kaufhaus Jandorf. Holy Ghosts sells their upmarket womenswear in 12 countries.

Inspired in her designs by the shape of the dirndl, traditional womenswear in Germany, designer Lena Hoschek appeared to be flouting the all-black aesthetic that's become something of a trademark in Berlin with a bubblegum, balloon-filled show on Tuesday.

Designers, like many artists in Europe, may be feeling creative pangs due to the unstable political climate, but that isn't showing up in their work. Here, Hoschek appears to be counteracting the doom and gloom with a springy gown that looks a bit bare for the autumn/winter weather.

Danny Reinke's show at the me Collectors Room also veered away from the signature black-and-white, featuring styles in maroon, burgundy and pale pink. Reinke, a lecturer at the Fahmoda Academy for Fashion and Design in Hannover, is the recipient of the 2011 Golden Charlie innovation prize in the category "Gala and Festive Fashion" and the 2014 European Fashion Award.

This fondness for color also showed up in the Malaikaraiss show at the Berliner Mode Salon on Tuesday. Berlin-based designer Malaika Raissis is behind the label which, according to the Berlin Fashion Week website, offers "sophisticated yet casual women's wear with a fun-feminine twist."

With her monochromatic styling, Esther Perbandt presented a return to the much-loved all-black look at her show at the Volksbühne on Tuesday evening. Perbandt, who was born and raised in Berlin, has also lived in Moscow and Paris, where she completed a master's degree in fashion and textile design and did postgraduate work at the Institut Francais de la Mode.

The Sportalm runway show on Wednesday was a high-energy affair, with models showing off the latest sporting fashions. The Tyrol company, which focuses on traditional costumes, activewear and ski outfits, is based in Kitzbühel, Austria, and led by creative director Ulli Ehrlich.

Sportalm took the week's autumn/winter theme to heart. The show at the Kaufhaus Jandorf showcased the latest in ski apparel, perfect for hitting the slopes or simply strutting down the streets of Berlin (ski goggles optional).