Many consider Berlin to be the fashion capital of the world. With two annual dates marking the city as an international location for couture and lifestyle events, this year’s mixture of outlandish collections and eco trends have made the German capital stand out as a source of inspiration to designers, who have come to perceive Berlin as their muse. The week consists of around 39 exhibits, most of which are open to the public.
Berlin Street Fashion Raises Eyebrows
Bringing a provocative edge to the July festivities, the Chevrolet Underground Catwalk exhibition brought fetish fashion to Berlin’s subway. Pushing the boundaries of the week’s somewhat eccentric standards, the “underground catwalk” is traditionally used by young designers to show off their classic couture designs without the costs of renting a temporary structure.
This year’s event saw the collaboration of 17 Berlin fashion designers, who took to the streets to exhibit their work. Sending their models to dangle from subway polls and parade across trains, the catwalk performance was attended by 600 people, and made tabloid headlines for making costumes entirely of artificial blonde hair – which was seen as parody of Marilyn Monroe.
Using the underground metro as their catwalk, the models took to showing off their bizarre ensembles by walking across the length of the train amongst their passenger audiences. Alternative right down to their Antoinette styled hair and makeup, the outfits on show also included leather bodysuits, ornamental metallic sculptures as well as models draped in neon tulle. Perhaps the most interesting of the lot, the latex wear and “spirit hoods” took the Underground special to a new level of vibrant.
Berlin Fashion a Show Stopper
A summation of what Berlin Fashion Week is all about; the Underground Catwalk is a wild culmination of pulsating colours and loud music. A poster event for life imitating art, the design featured on Berlin’s public transport system is burlesque in aesthetic, and manages to incorporate the vivaciousness that is often lost in large-scale haute couture events like Paris and Milan Fashion Week.
For style aficionados who aren’t content sipping on champagne while sitting in the clinically chic environments of high fashion, Berlin is able to bring the poignant undertones of beer and whiskey to the equation. Built on the innovative passion of less-focussed young design, the concentration of culture in the German capital is contagious and the style exudes the hipness that the city is well-known for.
Bella Gray is a fashion blogger who has a weakness for boutique dresses. A lover of haute couture and all things related, Gray is the perfect go-to-gal for all your style trends and celebrity gossip.