Summary
It is a jersey that has everyone in Germany talking right now: With the start of the new season, adidas has launched a retro collection for the DFB national team, one that is making waves well beyond football circles. The campaign strikes a chord because it combines nostalgia with current club and national pride, arriving at a time when many brands are struggling to build emotional bonds with their customers. While adidas sets the tone for the day, it is clear that Germany's fashion market has been set in motion on several fronts at once, from the sports field to the runway to the optician around the corner.
Details
Things get particularly interesting in the eyewear segment, where three major players, Fielmann, Mister Spex and Apollo Optik, are engaged in a spirited race. Fielmann maintains its market power through sheer presence and an industry debate that the company is currently helping to shape, while Mister Spex is countering with store expansion, improved figures and aggressive discount promotions, showing that the online pioneer also wants to play a role in brick-and-mortar retail. Apollo Optik, as a traditional competitor, is pushing back and remains a fixed part of every market analysis. This three-way contest makes the dynamics of Germany's optical industry tangible. At the same time, a second showdown is raging in the sports segment: Nike is positioning fresh performance and basketball products, PUMA is using Berlin Marathon week for wide-ranging running activations, and adidas is seizing the emotional upper hand with its DFB initiative. These three sports giants have long been fighting not just for revenue but for cultural relevance in Germans' everyday lives. In the luxury and handbag segment, Mulberry is generating buzz with a new creative direction and a return to its British heritage, while DeMellier is frequently cited in the German fashion press with its Hudson and Stockholm models, and Miu Miu continues to shape the conversation as a constant reference point for the 2026 handbag trends. Not to be forgotten is C&A, which holds its own in comparisons of German retailers and their digitalization strategies and proves that traditional store chains can keep pace with change.
- 1It is a jersey that has everyone in Germany talking right now: With the start of the new season, adidas has launched a retro collection for the DFB national team, one that is making waves well beyond football circles.
- 2The campaign strikes a chord because it combines nostalgia with current club and national pride, arriving at a time when many brands are struggling to build emotional bonds with their customers.
- 3While adidas sets the tone for the day, it is clear that Germany's fashion market has been set in motion on several fronts at once, from the sports field to the runway to the optician around the corner.
- 4Things get particularly interesting in the eyewear segment, where three major players, Fielmann, Mister Spex and Apollo Optik, are engaged in a spirited race.
- 5Apollo Optik, as a traditional competitor, is pushing back and remains a fixed part of every market analysis.
Conclusion
On the whole, today's picture is of a fashion market being negotiated on several levels at once: nostalgia and team spirit among sportswear brands, a battle over prices and service among opticians, creative repositioning in the handbag segment, and the ongoing balancing act of traditional houses between their stationary heritage and digital ambitions. Anyone talking about fashion in Germany today cannot avoid these lines, which show how closely sport, luxury and everyday retail are now intertwined.