Welcome to Berlin Fashion Week, one of the youngest Fashion Weeks in the world, but one of the most innovative.  Berlin is the new and hot up-coming fashion pool.  It’s a mix of high-fashion, young up and coming designers, tradeshows and artists.  Berlin is not comparable to Paris or New York, here fashion and the city will be discovered together in delightful moments to enjoy fashion and it’s special lifestyle woven throughout the city.

TREND:  Berlin as a fashion city shows even stronger than other locations and events with its special spirit of fashion, here fashion and art are going hand in hand, it’s more about the streetstyle, architecture and the amazing lifetsyle in this new evolving and structured city.

The 3rd season of the Mercedes-Benz Berlin Fashion Week, 17th July – 20th July 2008, took place at the tent at the historical place “Bebelplatz” surrounded by the Opera, Humboldt University and the glorious boulevard “Unter den Linden” not far away from the “Brandenburgertor”.

On Wednesday night the fashion week was opened by the welcome party of projektGALERIE showrooms and the exhibition opening of Fumi Nagasaka in the heart of Berlin in Mitte, the creative center of Berlin.  Projektgalerie showrooms were established last summer with the concept to consolidate fashion and art. Their main idea is to show international audiences the real Berlin, far away from cold and modern showrooms. Hence, the avantgarde designers were shown in art galleries, a conversation between the designer, artists and the special ambiance of the galleries.

projektGALERIE showrooms@AB project gallery

projektGALERIE showrooms@AB project gallery

Fumi Nagasaka, photographer based in NYC, was last year so inspired by the film and novel “Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo-Christiane F.” (English:”We Children from the Zoo Station”), that she did a photoshoot about it. Her exhibition was shown during fashion week at j&b-galerie.

opening party projektGALERIE

Fumi Nagasaka with Leo, model of the story

main pic of "Bahnof Zoo" by Fumi Nagasaka

The opening-show by Hugo was based in a landmarked warehouse in the Berlin West harbor with its willful and urban esthetics.

Eva Padberg, Mischa Barton, Kim Cattrall@Hugo

Veruschka von Lehndorff and Jörn Jacob Rohwer@Hugo

Kim Cattrall, Rupert Everett, Eva Padberg@Hugo 1st row

The Belgian designer Bruno Pieters, art-director of Hugo, was inspired by the classic-modern architectur of  the “Bauhaus” and the german aviator legend “Elly Beinhorn” from the 1930’s, with her love of adventure, crossing borders and her flights thru savannas, oceans and deserts. The combination of safari elements and clear lines, simple forms and functional details resulted the theme of the collection: safari meets avantgarde.

Hugo Show s/s 2009

Hugo Show s/s 2009

On Friday the young and upcoming label C.Neeon from Berlin presented their newest collection at the outdoor location in front of the Arts-and Crafts-Museum at Potsdamerplatz.  Sitting outside in an amazing and special ambiance with a lovely dark red raspberry cocktail in your hand watching their newest creation and hoping it’s not starting to rain…the difference of Berlin.  The duo Clara Leskovar (textile designer) and Doreen Schulz (fashion designer) founded their label in 2002, and by 2005 they won the prestigious Grand Prix at the Hyère International Fashion and Photography Festival-France. The distinctive look of C.Neeon design are extensive prints always related to the pattern and silhouettes with intriguing volume and architectural, asymmetric shapes.

C.Neeon s/s 2009

C.Neeon s/s 2009

C.Neeon s/s 2009

On Thursday and on Saturday the SEVEN STAR GALLERY had brilliant events.  At the beginning in 2008 this gallery opened in Berlin,Mitte. The gallerist Thorsten Heinze is presenting unicums international known photographers of the new avantgarde as Joachim Baldauf, Donata Wenders, Helga Kneidl, Detlef Lövenich and Jürgen Nürnberg.  The gallery concept takes you on a trip into the nearly forgotten and lost world of Berlin. The exhibition spaces of the corner house were used as a hotel and cathouse in the 1920’s, laid open and brick-lined walls tell the story of this historical house.  The topical exhibition “Private Collection View Number 2” shows photography unicums of  famous peoples in a really private moment. The Seven Star Gallery was one of my personal hot-spots this season, from important art partons to stylish youngsters, to VIPs and just interesting people in beautiful esthetic moments…personally from Thorsten I know that Mischa Barton herself came into the gallery at Thursday at 3 am in the morning.

Seven Star Gallery@ Berlin-Mitte

Seven Star Gallery with David Lynch

Ringo Starr, 1962 by K&K Archiv Hamburg

Klaus Kinski, 1962 by Peter Nürnberg

Seen as well in the exhibtion: Ray Charles, Sophia Loren, Veruschka, Romy Schneider, R.W. Fassbinder, Hildegard Knef and many more.

The galerist Thorsten Heinze in conversation with his art

Seven Star Gallery

On Saturday night the Seven Star Gallery hosted the closing party from “projektGALERIE-showrooms” and Thorsten Heinze started a new project and collaboration with Campbell McDougall, shop owner.  In the room at the corner, the “Guerrilla Shop Version 1.0” called “Darklands” opened with high fashion and avantgarde designer as Damir Doma, Julius, Carol Christian Poell, Undercover and many more, designers who are uniquely sold just in Berlin.

Campbell McDougall@Darklands@Seven Star Gallery

Paul-model, Fumi Nagasaka, Jonas-model and Venus@Closingparty PG

Kai Kühne, known from the label “As Four” showed his collection at the last day of Berlin Fashion Week at the tent at Bebelplatz, inspired by Catherine Deneuve in the film “The Hunger” bladerunning to Fassbinder’s “Marriage Of Maria Braun”, kissing Joan Crawford goodbye and falling into Brian Ferry’s arms in his dream: Kai is playing with the elements of a very elegant classic 1940’s silhouette, sharpening its outlines, by accentuating the shoulders and the waist in a very body-concious design. The show was opened by a laser writing Kai’s label on the wall, perfectly underlined with hard electro- music by Portishead mixed by Babak Radboy, an artist from NYC, the strong wet look of the hair and the double pack walk of the models looking like warriors in a modern fashion era.

Kai Kühne

Kai Kühne opening look

Kai Kühne

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Berlin Fashion Week’s closing show on sunday was Vivienne Westwood’s “Anglomania”. The last event for Berlin Fashion Week was really packed, everyone wanted to see her newest creation, the atmosphere was really tingly and energized and kind of sad  because of it being the closing show.  The inspiration for S/S 2009 was Greek antiquity, draped column dresses in palin and striped jersey echoing Greek statues while a grape print alluded to Bacchanalian festivals. Motifs from vases adorn tee-shirts and dresses. The look is given a twist with touches of 1950’s couture present in prom dresses and sexy suits.

Vivienne Westwood and Kim Katrall 1st row

Anglomania s/s 2009

Anglomania s/s 2009

Anglomania s/s 2009

crowd after the westwood show

Berlin Fashion Week 2008 says goodbye until next season.

Read more about Berlin and it’s special lifestyle im my next personal Berlin report part 2.

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written by Simon Heeger