Our highlights from Berlin Fashion Week 2019

From rollerskating models to Sri Lankan sunsets, fashion tech to tinsel, this January’s edition of BFW provided a smorgasbord of stylish offerings.  Here are our picks from the week that was.

Marina Hoermanseder

Marina Hoermanseder mixed roller derby with western wear on Thursday for her good-humoured AW19 collection.  The Austrian designer combined jewel-toned furs with neutral leatherwear, and even sent one model down the runway on roller-skates. A standout piece was a moulded leather tan evening gown, cinched to perfection with the help of multiple belts.

Lou de Bètoly

The Vogue Salon always showcases unique Berlin designers and this year was no different as Lou de Bètoly presented her  AW19 collection on Wednesday. The French-born designer, who works out of the German capital, specialises in high fashion knitwear and included mature models in her lineup this year. Unlike in other shows, where designers choose conservative pieces for non-standard models, Augustin Teboul chose the same sultry and transparent pieces for the mature models as for the younger ones.

William Fan

Tuesday evening, Berlin showed up to Knutschfleck to see William Fan’s latest collection.  Models used the bar of the kitschy cabaret as the catwalk as Fan juxtaposed daytime suits of head-to-toe corduroy with satin and sequin looks to the beats of classic pop songs by the likes of Abba and Madonna.  The tailored looks played off the over-the-top, tinselled interiors and made the show feel more like karaoke night than a serious fashion experience.

Neo.Fashion 2019

On Monday night, we checked out Neo.Fashion 2019 — the graduate collection showcase from four German design schools: FH Bielefeld, Haw Hamburg, HFK Bremen and HTW Berlin —at Umspannwerk, Alexanderplatz. The first school on the bill, FH Bielefeld, presented heavily deconstructed looks — shredding, gaping holes, zips, pockets, a shirt tacked onto a top, shorts sprouting from trousers — clearly more than inspired by the disruptive aesthetic of Rei Kawakubo and Junya Watanabe. One of the highlights here was Marcel Rosenberg’s martial arts-influenced puffers in banana yellow and plummy purple. From HFK Bremen, Eileen Bokelmann presented garments that were assured yet apocalyptic: an orange mottled sweater, finished with a huge scarf and soft baby blue sweat pants are the type of clothes that you do actually want to wear; moments later a model turned up in a voluminous foil tracksuit — a forewarning, surely, but for what we’re not quite sure. At HTW, entertainment was brought by Tatjana Brumund’s dancing models (one which included the designer herself), whereas Myriam Hofmann brought full on sexiness with bikinis and nipple tassel festooned body suits. In contrast, Vanessa Werner served sheer-finished garments that made us remember there’s still a place for prettiness in Berlin, despite all your protestations. 

Odeeh

Odeeh marked a dramatic opening to Berlin Fashion Week at Berliner Festspiele: a corrugated iron screen went up to reveal a collection of models standing still as statues in place of the audience. Meanwhile, the onlookers flanked the sides of the stage as the models, dressed in characteristically feminine, flowy, and elegant garments, made their way to the platform. The looks were subtle, tasteful, grown up: shimmering dresses laid over tasselled tops, billowing trousers, lengthy A-Line skirts, sea greens, navy, a shock of magenta. A reminder that there’s more to Berlin fashion than mesh, monochrome and cross body bags. 

Amesh Wijesekera

On Tuesday morning, we were treated to the warm-hearted, gold-drenched collection of Sri Lankan designer Amesh Wijesekera, and what a treat it was. Colours rained down as he brought a palette — and textile expertise — straight from his homeland to cold, grey Berlin. Read our interview with the designer here.

Neon YT

Running for three days during Berlin Fashion Week, Neon YT is the global hub for fashion, sustainability and innovation. We headed over to Berlin’s Kraftwerk for the Neon YT trade fair, conferences, showcases and parties, which were all united by the desire to promote change in the fashion industry.