The Berlin fashion world has ambitious goals. It’s not about measuring yourself against Paris and emulating other fashion cities, but about establishing the German capital as its own fashion metropolis, according to the frequently emphasized and often repeated goal of the Fashion Council Germany, which holds the patronage of the Berlin Fashion Week.
In order to restore the old splendor of Berlin as the epicenter of German fashion, but above all to put the city in the international spotlight, the Fashion Council Germany, together with the Berlin Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Businesses, is focusing on the promotion of young talents – maybe also to tie them to the German capital, because recently former Berlin talent, such as GmbH and Ottolinger, were drawn to the Paris Fashion Week.
What does the fashion of the Berlin School stand for?
“Berlin has its very own narrative,” emphasized FCG Chairwoman Christiane Arp at the opening event of fashion week, underscoring what the first day of fashion week already proved: Berlin thrives on style plurality and contrast. This applies to both the artistic performances and the architecture of the city, which here and there managed to steal the show from the real main attraction, fashion. In addition to lots of fashion, the Fashion Week offered a sightseeing tour through Berlin, which, thanks to the full program and coach, took on the character of a fashionable class trip and set the mood for a varied and sometimes contradictory Berlin Fashion Week on the first day.
The core of the Fashion Week was formed by the winners of the concept competition “Berlin Contemporary”, which was initiated by the Senate and the FCG in January. The 18 award winners, including four Ukrainian brands that have been helping to shape and politicize the face of fashion week since last season, each received 25,000 euros to put on a show during Berlin Fashion Week.
The Berlin Fashion Week was opened by the Ukrainian label Bobkova by the designer of the same name, Kristina Bobkova. In the heart of the Museum Island, in the garden of the Kronprinzenpalais, they presented a delicate, albeit unspectacular, collection of delicate pastel nuances with floral prints and soft, flowing dresses in contrast to silhouettes with a masculine touch. Anyone who thought afterwards that this first show would set the optical tone of the week was wrong, because from pretty everyday clothes in the historical monument on the boulevard Unter den Linden it went into a prefabricated building backyard. On a catwalk that seemed a bit shaky, Melisa Minca, winner of the Platte Award for sustainability, presented a provocative and very conceptual upcycling collection that was bursting with ideas, but faltered a bit in terms of processing – a tendency that could be observed in some places , because in some collections technology and tailoring gave way to the concept.
After a mini rave at Lucas Meyer-Leclère, who was dedicated to choreography and couture this season, Otto Drögsler and Jörg Ehrlich from Odeeh rounded off the first day of Berlin Fashion Week with a colourful, sequined collection at the James Simon gallery and thus brought a day to an end, which gave an idea of the contrasting program of the coming days.
Commercial radiance and conceptual statements
Shows with obvious commercial appeal, such as the collection by the Ukrainian label Podyh, met performances during the fashion week that made a name for themselves, especially because of their basic idea and their staging, such as Acceptance Letter Studio or the designer Irina Dzhus, who also comes from the Ukraine. The latter presented their literally convertible collection in the Feuerle Collection, a renovated bunker from the Second World War. The show of her compatriot Lilia Litkovska in the power plant was comparatively unspectacular – however, both in the staging and in the choice of location.ie collection, which is characterized by clear lines and impeccable craftsmanship, turned out to be one of the favorite shows among the visitors: inside . And that without much frills, or any seating.
Collections like Litkowska’s prove that Berlin can do more than the already outdated stereotypes of the techno temple Berghain, even if these have of course not been forgotten but have been refined this season. The designer duo behind the Richert Beil brand, Jale Richert and Michele Beil, present a collection that questions gender roles and wraps them in latex and leather without necessarily evoking the connotations usual with the materials – especially thanks to impeccable workmanship and incision. “Father, Our”, the name of the collection, which was presented in an old supermarket branch, not only effortlessly combined pinstripe suits, rocker outfits, BDSM elements and grandma’s lace doilies, but also made the combination desirable. The title of the collection may be a nod to the “fatherly” elements of the collection, such as said pinstripe suit, but the religious undertone was not absent, albeit far less provocative than the religiously infamous collection by Nan Li and Emilia Pfohl, their brand Namilia caused a stir and outcry – both with enthusiasm and outrage.
While the small crowds at most shows would not give any indication that the fashion of the coming season will be presented behind closed doors, the Kronprinzenpalais was swarmed by the brand’s disciples before the Namilia show. Fans clad in the brand’s clothing and interested onlookers are a familiar sight in other fashion metropolises, but still a rarity for Berlin this season, because only Namilia managed to trigger such a hype – even if other local designers did at least the same amount deserved attention. The diverse audience of trade press, local celebrities and fans of the brand was presented with an incredibly clever, entertaining but also extremely provocative collection in the halls of the Kronprinzenpalais.
With “In Loving Memory of My Sugar Daddy,” the commendably diverse Namilia models paid homage to their seemingly deceased patron. The distinctive name of the collection said it all, and so trademarks of the “new rich”, such as jogging suits inspired by Juicy Couture, met classics of the “old money”, such as the iconic Birkin bag from Hermes, which was quickly converted into skirts and tops. According to the show notes, up to 50 of the designs were inspired by “couturier legends like Cristobal Balenciaga and Christian Dior,” but these were lost in the sea of latex, bare skin, and Catholic iconography. However, the salacious slogans and theatrical performance always caused enthusiasm among the visitors, because no other show was celebrated with so much bawling, heckling and applause.
Young talents lick blood: Berlin’s promising future
While Namilia caused a sensation in January with diversity, inclusion and provocative fashion, the Berlin Fashion Week was an impressive premiere for the Milk of Line label. The designer duo, who studied together at the Royal Academy in Antwerp and then demonstrated their skills at Givenchy in Paris, literally took guests to the stars at the Zeiss Major Planetarium. The earthy color palette and mix of leather and sheer, flowing fabrics of her catwalk debut “Dozen” combined idyllic countryside flair with the gloomy big city. Some of their designs were somewhat reminiscent of Ludovic de Saint-Sernin’s first and only collection for Belgian fashion house Ann Demeulemeester, but it’s inconceivable that this collection will be the duo’s last.
One of the most promising hopes of Berlin fashion is Rosa Marga Dahl and her label SF1OG. The name of the brand may present many international guests with an almost unsolvable puzzle, but the potential of the sustainable label is crystal clear as soon as the first piano sounds echoed through the Ludwig-Erhard-Haus. Dahl’s design language combines a certain darkness that so many associate with the aesthetics of the German capital and gives it lightness and a touch of nostalgia, especially through the mix of materials such as hundred-year-old lace and upcycled leather. The “21:16-3-1” collection presented in the former Berlin Stock Exchange was dedicated to equestrian sports and the designer’s childhood memories, but the result was anything but childish – despite the wooden horses as handbags. The brand’s logo, a sort of inverted G, was more prominent than ever in this collection, foreshadowing a commercial but no less creative direction for SF1OG – and Berlin fashion.
Even before the start of Berlin Fashion Week, designer William Fan presented at the Delphi Filmpalast to debut his documentary “William Fan – In Between”. The film has since been available in the ARD media library and gives a glimpse behind the scenes of the colorful world of the designer, who presented a subtle Pride collection at the Gropius Bau during Fashion Week. The fact that the fans show was one of the most elaborate of the fashion week was already clear when entering the building, because here there was a photo wall for guests, which is rare in Berlin, and a flurry of flashbulbs followed the celebrities present. Like the entire fashion week, Fan was sponsored by Mercedes-Benz, but even without the lucrative partnership, the designer’s collection would probably have gone down in the annals of the Berlin Fashion Week for SS24 as one of the most emotional, colorful and subtly political performances – because Fan was the swinger almost secretly the rainbow flag.
Under the title “Ceremony”, the fashion designer presented a collection dedicated to the Pride movement, but took away any optical clichés and dismantled the well-known flag into its individual parts. Total looks in the colors of the rainbow, a logo shirt that reads “Are you a friend of Dorothy”, a nod to the character of the Wizard of Oz, prints that became bridal bouquets for grooms and fashions that celebrated every occasion met one Lavishly choreographed show to the sounds of Guns’n’Roses “November Rain”.
The entire Fashion Week under the umbrella of the Fashion Council Germany was also a celebration of the young Berlin talent. The fashion designers proved that Berlin, with all its corners and edges, definitely has the potential to become a fashion city, especially for all those who are looking for fashion, who capture the zeitgeist and do not see diversity as a trend, but as a matter of course.
It remains to be seen whether Berlin will join the fashion calendar and in the distant future not only be perceived as the fifth wheel on the wagon behind New York, London, Milan and Paris but also as a serious fashion metropolis, but the young talents of the capital definitely deserve it.
FashionUnited was invited to the Berlin Fashion Week by the Fashion Council Germany.