Charlottenberg pedestrian by Daniel Gebhart de Koekkoek.
The fancy West Berlin neighbourhood of Charlottenburg is neither known for being trendy nor does it want to be. Instead, it’s proud to be the grand district of the German capital, known for its leafy boulevards, lavish shopping malls, and magnificent palace. For his latest photo series exclusively for SLEEK, photographer Daniel Gebhart de Koekkoek turned his lens to the grandiose neighbourhood, capturing a grown-up side to the Berlin populus that gets up before the club kids go to bed.
De Koekkoek is far more interested in the detailed and quirky style of the Charrlottenburgers than the ‘anything goes’ vibe of the cool young things hanging out in, say, Neukölln and Kreuzberg. “The average young person look is not very appealing to my eye,” the photographer tells SLEEK. “I would feel bad for wasting film on that. I know it’s hard not to follow trends and to find your very own style, but that’s what I really like to collect in my pictures.”
Between the district’s famous monuments like the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church and the Ku’damm, de Koekkoek caught pedestrians who are not afraid to stand out for their put-together approach to style. “Older people are very self confident and don’t care about trends too much,” says de Koekkoek. “I adore them for being able to dress up in nice suits and wear them as everyday dress without being judged by other people as a poser. I can’t wait to be old enough to dress up in a nice suit everyday.”
Check out the full series below.
All photos by Daniel Gebhart de Koekkoek.