After eight years, designer Vladimir Karaleev is back at the Berlin fashion week. The label, founded in 2010-shows the Dis/Play capsule collection during a pop-up in the NBB Gallery on Wednesday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. In the interview, he talks about the reasons for returning to Berlin and how he explores the limits of shape and function in the intermediate collection.
Why did you decide to show again in Berlin?
Vladimir Karaleev: I always showed off-school school, but this time the right moment had come. I had the opportunity to realize my collection and installation DIS/Play together with and supported the Fashion Council Germany.
Why with a capsule?
A capsule collection allows me to work more freely and to devote me more to the experiment. Individual parts are to be created – a kind of “Swatch Book” in which I try out different ideas. For me, these intermediate collections are often more exciting in development than the main collections, which are more geared towards the commercial showroom.
So the SS26 collection will continue to be shown in Paris in September?
Yes, the regular SS26 collection is then presented in a showroom in Paris.
Does this mean that as a label you no longer do a catwalk look?
I am generally totally open here, I find all the presentation formats very exciting! The showroom in Paris works very well for me.
What ideas did you explore in the Sketch Book and how do these intermediate collections behave on the main collections? Are there any continuations of thoughts that still require open experiments?
In the intermediate collection, I generally deal with the design of areas through textile, first of all regardless of the reproducibility of the clothing. I would like to test my limits myself – how far can you extend the form and function in relation to the body, when is a piece of clothing without purpose? I always go two steps further so that I can come back and restore the balance. This process becomes visible in the collection. The basis is always important: the starting point is the portability of a piece of clothing, the practical application.
Therefore, the assumption is correct – there are continuations of thoughts, which do not have to meet any commercial purpose. These fragments and ideas can then be adapted to the commercial claims of the main collection later.
How did the Fashion Week develop?
Great! It is exciting what happens every season and how much good fashion can be seen in a wide variety of formats – this is an enormous development. Berlin has now established itself with its very own profile.
What is the Berlin Fashion Week for a brand like Vladimir Karaleev?
She is part of me because I was there very early, witnessed a lot and hopefully could do something. The Berlin Fashion Week remains important – both for the local market and for our community. With that I can identify well. It means a lot to me to stay authentically present here.
Is that a one-off this time?
Certainly not – I’m looking forward to the next season in February.
What makes you so sure that you will return?
I am very much looking forward to being able to present the Capsule Collection Dis/Play to the specialist audience and also directly interested buyers this week: inside. This anticipation alone suggests that if I am now active part of the Berlin Fashion Week again, I would also like to continue working directly on the next format.
Is the Berlin fashion week an interesting context for you to contact buyers: to establish inside stores where they have not yet been represented?
The context of Berlin Fashion Week is still becoming more interesting, since important international stores are now represented and the fashion scene is positioned more and more clearly here. I found my most important partners of 16 years directly in Berlin. At that time I was still in my studies, but I have already done collections, a Japanese buyer scouted small edges here and so one of my most important partnerships was created. I often see buyers: very overwhelmed in Paris with the amount of brands. Here I have the feeling that you can take more time to discover brands.
Would a show with presentation of the full collection also be imaginable?
Everything is conceivable. From a creative perspective, a show format currently appeals to me: I am interested in smaller formats and special places where you can work conceptually and present fashion differently. At the same time, there are labels that reinterpret the catwalk excitingly – I also find that inspiring. Only the classic large show format currently seems to me. More has to happen. I would want to show what this can look like in the next seasons.
Which restrictions or conventions of the classic show format are counted for you?
The classic catwalk format must be reconsidered, as well as the effort and consumption of resources. Large sets are often set up that are scrapped afterwards, I don’t necessarily find that in a contemporary way. Here I think of large luxury houses that have a large budget and therefore also a great responsibility.
In the future, this means that you will show more experimental formats in Berlin and the main collection in the Paris showroom in the future?
That would be a very exciting division!
How many Stockists does the brand currently have?
Currently ten.
Could you give some examples?
No6 and Assembly in New York, Una in Portland, Shine in Hong Kong, Destination and Desperado in Tokyo
This interview was led in writing.