From Sex Clubs to Castles, Latex to Upcycling

BERLIN — There was something for everyone at this season’s four-day iteration of Berlin Fashion Week, which ended last Thursday.

The offerings included ingenious ideas by recent graduates in specially curated shows; slick, smart presentations by homegrown talent like GmbH and Richert Beil, and the commercial savvy from the likes of Blumarine creative director David Koma, who showed his eponymous menswear line for the first time in Berlin, Berlin-based brand Ottolinger, who had musician Kim Petras modeling and designer Stefano Pilati sitting in the front row, and German designer Johannes Boehl Cronau, with his brand Ioannes fresh off a collaboration with Kylie Jenner.

In between there were art projects, pop-up stores, studio openings and parties, including one at Berlin’s legendary sex club, Kit Kat. Venues ran the gamut from midcentury-modern convention centers to historic breweries, sweaty underground bunkers, sex clubs, construction sites and some of the German capital’s vaunted galleries and charming castles.

There was also politics in the form of talks on the future of fashion and sustainability, 58 seconds of silence observed at the GmbH show in memory of all those killed in Gaza, and a show by Kampala, Uganda-based label Buzigahill, focused on upcycling discarded garments and what it called “textile colonialism.”

It’s true that Berlin isn’t seen as particularly relevant on the international fashion media and buyers’ circuit. Audiences at Berlin shows have tended toward enthusiastic influencers, brand fans and excitable fashion students. But this season it was clear the professional, international contingent was growing, with the event counting around 60 international visitors.

“There’s much more of a feeling that this is an international showcase, that this is serious business,” said Stavros Karelis, the founder and buying director for London concept store Machine-A, who was in Berlin for the third time. “There’s more and more talent coming and clever selections being made,” he told WWD at the end of the week. “From an international perspective, the shows started in early June — so it’s been a month of travel so far — so for somebody to add this [Berlin] as the last part of their trip, that means they’ve found something to see here.”

“Berlin Fashion Week is doing a wonderful job of establishing itself on the global circuit,” agreed Chloe King, director of fashion and lifestyle for Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus, who was at the event for the first time.

“Opportunities to encounter truly unique emerging brands are quite limited,” Shihoko Okuda, a buyer for the Isetan Shinjuku womenswear department in Japan, focused on international creators, told WWD. “Paris Fashion Week is outstanding but since it is already a well-established field, we were seeking something more unique so we can bring freshness to our market.”

Speaking after the event, Okuda said her first visit to Berlin was a success. “Unlike a typical fashion week, it offered a presentation style that fused fashion with Berlin’s unique cultural context. … this allowed us to discover fresh and creative new perspectives,” she noted.

“Berlin is definitely starting to compete with Copenhagen [fashion week],” one international visitor told WWD; as a regular visitor to Copenhagen, which is often described as the “fifth fashion capital” after Paris, Milan, London and New York, they asked to remain anonymous in order to speak freely. “Personally Berlin is much more my style. Copenhagen can be a little boring sometimes.”

The event is “getting bigger and more exciting,” agreed Milan-based artistic director and former Bottega Veneta creative Edward Buchanan; Buchanan spoke about fashion’s future at the week’s “Metamorphosis” series of talks and also modeled for Buzigahill. “I like the independence of the designers here. I just like being here and seeing how artists here in this niche are working and surviving.”

It’s true that for many of the designers showing in Berlin, outright commerciality still seems lower down on their list of motivations. But that more freewheeling, artistic bent could well be part of Berlin’s growing attraction.

Doubtless the fact that the Berlin city senate supports fashion week to the tune of around 4 million euros ($4.7 million) annually helps support those attitudes. Designers selected to participate in the Berlin Contemporary section can get up to 25,000 euros to help fund a runway show as well as easier access to venues.

“Maybe there’s not as much business done here but Berlin is a playground for artists,” explained designer Esther Perbandt, who showed exquisitely crafted clothing in her signature black at an installation in central Berlin. “And that’s so nice. Berlin is part of my inspiration too,” said the designer, who rose to international prominence after coming second on the reality show “Making the Cut” in 2020. Around 60 percent of her customers are still from the U.S., she said, adding she eventually hopes to collaborate with a retailer in New York or Los Angeles who will understand her less commercial outlook. 

“I just feel so relaxed here,” Georgia-born, London-based designer Koma explained after the first showing of his menswear collection in a Berlin trade fair center, the Palais am Funkturm. Koma’s show was part of a series called “Intervention,” organized by Berlin-based agency Reference Studios. “Because this was so personal to me, I wanted to go somewhere I could feel really good,” Koma said. “I actually asked my commercial team to give me the space to do this.”

A glittering thread ran through Koma’s distinctly preppy looks. Inspired by a love of “David” — that’s Michelangelo, Beckham in his paparazzi era, and himself — the clothes weren’t wildly challenging for well-dressed men to wear. But the use of glittering appliqué flowers, satiny fabrics and Lurex pinstripe suiting gave the smart-casual a subtly flamboyant edge.

Designers of GmbH, Benjamin Huseby and Serhat Isik, were showing in Berlin for the third time after multiple outings in Paris.

“Berlin is our home,” Huseby explained. “It still fuels our creativity.”

GmbH’s new men’s collection again riffed on sportswear, including a more formal, very wearable take on satin boxing shorts, and also referred to the designers’ familial roots, with embroidered slogans like “Mashallah” (which means something along the lines of “beautiful, as God willed it,” in Arabic). But the most sublime aspects of their work were found in the designers’ light touch and playful creativity with menswear staples. Models came down two opposing, curved staircases at the Palais am Funkturm. But it was only when they went past that you saw a sleek shirt transform into a sheer, diaphanous capelet and a slim formal jacket tie elegant knots at its back.

“It’s necessary to be here to represent, to create a space for our community,” Isik added, when asked why the label was still showing in Berlin and not back in Paris. “Especially in this political climate,” he said, referring to the German government’s much criticized repression of protests around Palestinian rights in the country.

Despite the show in Berlin, GmbH still does most of its sales in Paris, the pair said. They had a showroom in Paris during men’s fashion week there.

For designer Kasia Kucharska, it was the opposite. Standing in a central city exhibition space, as her gold and pale yellow dress and colorful clutch bags made completely out of the signature “latex lace” she and her team invented, drew cameras and interest, she said a lot of her buyers had actually been in Berlin this time.

“I was quite surprised,” she said. “Usually they only travel to Paris but this time, we got emails asking where they could meet us in Berlin.”

Meanwhile, Berlin brand Richert Beil remains focused on making a living at home and chose a smaller venue and smaller guest list this season. “We see ourselves very much as a niche brand,” Jale Richert said. “But hopefully a successful one,” she added, laughing.

Designers Richert and Michele Beil hosted a smaller salon show in what will be their new store and studio in a former 135-year-old pharmacy. Their wares — with a mix of dark humor, handcrafted latex, bondage kink, genderless flavor and on-trend Y2K stylings — could be described as the most quintessentially “Berlin” brand of all those at the event.

By the end of Berlin Fashion Week, it was clear there are still improvements that could be made. Almost every show was delayed (and due to locations spread around the city, this meant missing out on other important shows). Some designers also seemed to think they were opening a nightclub, not putting on a runway show.

“We have lots of homework to do,” Mumi Haiati, founder of Reference Studios, confirmed. “And there’s always the question of how to make it economically relevant. Berlin is building image and buzz, which is a great starting point.” But Haiati can imagine including more direct-to-consumer events in the future. He’d also like to see the largest German brands, like Adidas or Hugo Boss, getting involved somehow.

Isetan buyer Okuda would like to see the focus on business turned up. “From a buyer’s perspective, while many brands showcased impressive creativity, I feel there’s still room for improvement when it comes to the business side,” she argued. The creativity and culture are there, she said. Now Berlin designers need to start thinking more about things like product balance and production infrastructure, Okuda concluded.

Buyers’ Picks

Stavros Karelis, Machine-A: So many highlights but off the top of my head, GmbH, Marke, Sia Arnika, Richert Beil, Buzigahill, Ioannes. The biggest highlight might have been the “Berlin Curated” show though. The industry is going through tough times and a lot of people here were asking, “what’s important about fashion? What should we be doing now?” That show was a great answer. Recent fashion school graduates doing really incredible work, with craftsmanship and design skills and cultural connection — all things the industry is looking for.

Chloe King, Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus: One of the headlines of the week was Ottolinger, who showed a late-night resort collection in between its Paris outings. The brand’s signature sporty-undone-nonchalance looked cooler than ever — especially that rubber goo-dipped bowler bag. Additional highlights include Marke, GmbH, Richert Beil and SF10G. It was also quite special to see Nigeria’s Orange Culture on the schedule… a voluminous black jacquard suit with raffia hat and tie was one of my favorite looks of the week. 

Shihoko Okuda, Isetan Shinjuku: Many brands had concepts deeply rooted in culture, showcasing a strong sense of individuality. The collections of Richert Beil, Balletshofer, and Milk of Lime were highly polished, and these brands left a particularly strong impression.