“Reference was a gift to, and celebration of the city’s creative community amid the “parallel reality” we have come to inhabit.” — Victoria Camblin

“As part of the festival, which combines a mix of fashion, art and music performances and installations, GmbH will debut its autumn/winter 2021 runway collection, while 032c will host a special presentation to mark its 20th anniversary.” — Tamison O’Connor

“If you found time between the Paris’s fall 2021 men’s shows to tune in to the Reference Realities site, you would have been shocked at the high-touch of the virtual reality presented. (I was and I’ve experienced a number of video games, alternate realities, and surreal fantasies during recent digital fashion weeks.)” — Steff Yotka

“Reference Festival is a purpose built platform that encourages expression beyond format.” — Hans Ulrich Obrist

“The festival will cover a range of different fields, with fashion and the arts all represented over the course of the event. Themed around the idea of “Navigating Parallel Realities,” two physical locations will be used to create digital content to be shown through the Reference Realities [virtual] platform.” — Jack Stanley

“They’ve tapped Anne Imhof, Eliza Douglas, Mowalola, GmbH, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Honey Dijon… and that’s just for starters. Glastonbury might be cancelled, but this festival won’t disappoint.” – Mahoro Seward

“The future of fashion weeks is a much-debated topic and, although Paris and Milan’s catwalks aren’t going anywhere, the industry is crying out for agenda-setting alternatives that keep people engaged. Reference Berlin blends fashion with other disciplines and taps into what the German capital excels at – music, art and all-hours fun.” — Jamie Waters

“Even as [Reference Festival] continues to evolve, by maintaining its policy of being free of charge and open to all, it will always exist as an apt reflection of the open-minded, permissive values that are at the heart and the soul of Berlin.” — Liam Hess

“Reference was a rare pure space for creative expression and interaction. Perhaps the wider fashion industry should drop by Berlin more often.” — Ashley W. Simpson

“It’s important for us to be able to connect local talent with international players, so it can be seen as a networking platform to exchange and share information” — Mumi Haiati, Tamison O’Connor

“A 24-hour festival entitled Reference Berlin with a stellar line-up of creatives across the worlds of art, fashion, and film – and it’s totally free and open to everyone.” — Dominic Cadogan

“It becomes clear that this festival is both an ambitious and very promising event that depicts fashion and related forms of expression on a level that has not at all been possible or common in Germany until now.” — Adriano Sack