Berlin has always been the capital for culture, art, techno – but fashion? In a fashion landscape, where the fashion weeks outside the big four have increasingly more eyes on them, the one in Berlin still seems to be overlooked. The lack of talent isn’t the issue, the German capital holds a roaring creative scene that is yearning to be acknowledge. After all, Berlin is still the place of refuge for everyone trying to live out their visions.
With rising designers in the city, SLEEK selected 10 Berlin labels you don’t want to miss.
Image Courtesy of Anne Isabella.
Anne Isabella
Seeing Anne Isabella’s designs feels like flipping through a vintage photo book. Colourful playful prints and intricate tailoring evoke feelings of nostalgia while remaining modern. With a scanner as part of her design process, the clothes move outside of the 2D realm of print to a third dimension. The new SS23 collection “Gleam”, inspired by the Kinetic Art Movement, incorporates standout techniques including pleated pieces forming a multidimensional stripe and exaggerated plays on stitching on top of soft wool and denim. Each piece is handmade, reminiscent of times in fashion when the focus was on craftsmanship. The Central Saint Martins graduate launched her eponymous label in 2020 and has now established a world of optimism and comfort in modern luxury.
Image Courtesy of Helena Stölting.
Helena Stölting
You can’t look away even if you wanted to. Helena Stölting blurs the lines between disgust and fascination, having both exist simultaneously within her designs. Exploring the body, the UdK graduate intends to deepen the bond we have with ourselves by utilising our emotions. Shoes and bags are completely reinvented in material and colour, using the fashion accessories as an artistic medium.
Image Courtesy of Olivia Ballard.
Olivia Ballard
Für Olivia Ballard, it is more so about the body than the clothing. Always trying on her own designs, Ballard focuses on the comfort of wearing her mesh dresses, tops and pants, with the aim of showing off the individual body of each wearer. Seemingly feminine, the product range includes everyone, with the mesh pieces dismantling society’s binary gender roles. The transparent flexible material perfectly fits to the body and exposes it with no labels stitched inside, leaving the way in which the dress is to be worn completely down to the individual.
Image Courtesy of Kasia Kucharska.
Kasia Kucharska
Squiggly lines made out of liquid latex form clothes that are meant to be worn on the body. Kasia Kucharska and her close friends Wanda Wollinsky and Reiner Törner, whom she met during university, are the trio behind her eponymous label. Pouring the truly unique latex material into accessories, pants, tops and underwear, Kasia Kucharska’s designs redefine materiality in fashion. Inspired by traditional lace production, Kucharska and her team replicated the technique with a lot of research, using the natural biodegradable material latex, producing zero waste. With the material also comes the benefit of flexibility, making the garments easily adaptable to anyone’s body.
Image Courtesy of Katharina Dubbick.
Katharina Dubbick
Focusing her work around body consciousness, Katharina Dubbick, under her same name design studio, creates contemporary knitwear by combining modern silhouettes with craftsmanship. Bold colours mixed with traditional knitwear symbolise empowering garments that still maintain a timeless aesthetic. Dubbick started in the world of scents before moving onto sculptures and eventually fashion. Her knitwearcarries her core message of reinforcing her wearers’ individual characters.
Image Courtesy of Horde.
Horde
With slow fashion written in capital letters in their instagram bio, Horde doesn’t go after the seasonal fashion calendar but makes its own rules. Sensual intricate tops and pants reminiscent of bondage wear paired with Horde’s up close social media appearance, the label brings clever playfulness into the fashion scene.
Image Courtesy of Trolli Couture.
Trolli Couture
Ever wished to have a handful of slime as your handbag? Trolli Couture‘s got your back. Bags in different shapes are poured out of silicone, resulting in a spiky textured surface you immediately want to touch when you see it. Seeming like only slime, the bags are intricately thought through and are a satirical take on traditional designer handbags.
Image Courtesy of Avenir.
Avenir
Promoting circular fashion, Avenir up-cycles deadstock fabric into subversive basic pieces that are made to last. But sustainability doesn’t necessarily mean a limitation to design, the pieces are timeless yet modern; everyday wear but still interesting with unexpected twists.
Image Courtesy of SF1OG.
SF1OG
As a way to break out of the restrictive system at university, SF1OG was born. Rosa Dahl, founder of the label, uses deadstock material as a starting point to her designs, never making sustainability an afterthought but a part of her design process. Connected with personal memories and a strong interest for craftsmanship, two collections already took on actual form, presented during Berlin Fashion Week. Like a fresh breath of air, SF1OG is the designer on everyone’s radar.
Image Courtesy of Gerrit Jacob.
Gerrit Jacob
Returning back to his home to Germany to launch his own namesake label after working for brands like Martine Rose, Yeezy, Balenciaga and Gucci, Gerrit Jacob explores themes of class-based identity and German kitsch in his collections. “Raised by Wolves” reflects themes around teenage disenchantment and the tormenting process of growing up while using his signature airbrushed style to incorporate his feelings of being misplaced with vivid memories of attending the Hamburg funfair. Jacob captures the bittersweet mix of kitsch German working class aesthetics and the awkwardness of adolescence with a neon, distorted fun chaos and ill-fitting, oversized silhouettes.