As a founding member and the president of the Fashion Council Germany, Arp is campaigning hard to build the profile of the German fashion industry, which — relative to its 100 million-strong population — remains under-represented at an international level. Arp’s ‘day job’ as editor-in-chief of Vogue Germany has made her one of the leading influencers in Europe’s biggest and strongest economy.
Arp is credited with rejuvenating the European publication’s relevance to international fashion. In 2011 she established the Vogue Salon, a biannual platform held during Berlin Fashion Week, to promote emerging German designers. As founding member and president of the Fashion Council Germany, she fulfils a broader national role of raising Germany’s profile on the global fashion stage.
After studying fashion design at the Hamburg University of Design, Arp embarked on a career in magazines, with roles at a number of periodicals and publications including Brigitte, Viva, Stern and Amica.
The Fashion Council Germany features prominent fellowships and mentorship programmes between young fashion professionals and industry veterans. The Council is now a nominating body for the International Woolmark Prize 2016/2017, and will select two designers from within its membership to represent Germany in the competition.
In mid-2016, the Fashion Council Germany collaborated with the US Ambassador to Germany through the Vogue Salon-funded “Sustainability and Style” cocktail party, which endeavoured to connect German designers with prominent American designers. In the same year the Council announced a two-year mentorship programme in partnership with H&M, to support German designers with exceptional potential.
In 2020, Arp stepped down from her role at Vogue Germany after a 17 year tenure.
