bits of final berlin fashion week finale

here’s a bit of the finale from the 3rd mercedes benz berlin fashion week. vivenne westwood’s post 1970s retrospective closed the show. you can view a short video of her 80s flash and 90s style that completely dominated the urban landscape the last 2 decades of the 20th century. both kim cattrall and the winner of this year’s germany’s next top model featuring heidi klum also turned up.

berlin fashion week day 4 part 1

the big show for the day is vivienne westwood, the closing catwalk show of berlin fashion week. the second posting will include ms. westwood’s new line. as for this morning….

the berlin based designer with an irish given name, kilian kerner, launched his show with a band called spinter x. an anorexic man all in white with a white pleated shirt and white droopy trousers tied together with a wide white belt, sauntered across the stage clutching a microphone bellowing yaz-like 80s music complete with synth. oh yeah, and of course he was blond and well, white.

hunger men

the show was an endless parade of 80s retro all in grey, black, beige, and well, white. one hesitates to attach the word chic onto retro in this instance as that just might validate the whole show. and who would want to do that. the designer might want to have a sit down with a p.r. person. he or she would probably tell mr. kerner that well, white, light greys, and beige don’t photograph well. after the show, i could see photographers from major news agencies having a helluvatime shifting through the photographs trying to find ones that weren’t completely over-exposed.

this berlin trend of anorexic clothing for men with cigarette-sized legs and pre-pubscent bodies, typified by mr. kerner’s line, is nothing less than scandalous. let’s hope this trend does not catch on. while arnold schwarzenegger type muscles shirts are so out, the polar opposite is even worse. in germany, such anorexic guys are called ‘hunger men.’

berlin fashion week day 3

day 2 took us from the gorgeously texturous louis xiv style of basso & brooke to a catwalk show focused on backpacks and suitcases to finally loads of light, flowing backless silky ‘the spy who loved me’ 70s style dresses. the heavily inspired diana von furstenberg unrath and strano show was packed to the rafters. and motorola and vanity fair germany threw the dynamic duo a fabulous party at weekend in berlin. but i have to admit, their winter line seemed more geared toward december in australia or southern california rather than in say, london.

you can watch bits from the shows here.

berlin fashion week continues upward trajectory

now in it’s third season, berlin fashion week continues to steadily grow. although it’s not quite paris or new york, it has a vibe that’s all it’s own.

Lac et Mel at Berlin Fashion Week

the event kicked off this morning with hugo boss. followed by the coco chanel inspired designs of gregor clemens for lac et mel, a leipzig based fashion label. later in the afternoon designer suzana peric, who has a penchant for tie dyed and bohemian prints, gave a much stronger show than last january.

suzanne weibe, whose conservative lines fit snuggly with german department stores, was cheered on by a couple of cross-gender fans in the front row. she rounded out her show with a parade of middle-aged female german stars. that was the most daring part of her event. which is not a dig. she probably does quite well with mainstream consumers who might get slightly adventurous every few years.

joop tied up opening day of the event. i emailed the german label a couple of weeks back asking for an invite as you can’t enter a show with merely a press pass, you also need a hard ticket, which you can only get from the label. someone from their p.r. office emailed me a few days ago saying well, basically ‘no.’ so the press office says, ask the designer. and the designer replies, basically we can only give you a ticket if you were personally invited by us.

earlier in the day i accidentally got a ticket to sissi wasabi, the berlin based label that’s i guess inspired by either japanese culture or merely sushi. when i asked for an invite to their gig, i was basically informed that loads of people had asked for tickets and i just might get on their list. and i thought, what does that mean? who emails someone to tell them, you just might be on our guest list?? with the exception of one or two pieces, the show was rather impressive. lots of detailed stiching with orange and gray leading the charge as their dominate theme.

here’s a short video from day 1.