LONDON CALLING
LONDON CALLING
AUGUST 2010
EVENTS:
BERLIN
What’s hot in the city right now…
Okay, so this may be the London report… But sometimes, cool things happen in other European cities too. One spot gaining a lot of attention in London and the stylish world is Berlin. Here’s a quick run-down of some of the most interesting aspects of fashion and style in Germany’s capital city right now!
Berlin-based brands that made strong showings in the Spring/Summer 2011 season include Thomas Engel Hart, whose menswear collection incorporated both strong black patent shapes and suiting in swirling prints, C.neeon, with a cute open-air picnic-style womenswear showing, and Kilian Kerner, who advocates luxe silver sheen for men and women.
www.fashion-week-berlin.com/en/
On the local fashion scene, whether or not they wear the labels that show during Berlin Fashion Week, young Berliners are very stylish. Just take a look at the street snaps on facehunter.blogspot.com, whose creator often travels to the city for fresh inspiration. The look is a quirky minimalism that, instead of the plain austerity of the Belgians, is infused with humour and zest. There is a reaction against over-done designer get-ups and a return to local labels and vintage, or the now worldwide formula of “high street + luxury items.”
Also check out the blog, stilinberlin.blogspot.com, which features street-style snaps as well as shots of the subject in their home. It seems the creatives there not only have the pick of European vintage, new clothing and design, but also huge, light-filled apartments to arrange their favourite things in!
In the more grown up, luxury market, Berlin is maturing and catering to a new constantly traveling clientele. Visitors must pop into the new Soho House, opened in May. The latest location — joining London’s Soho flagship, plus another huge venue in Shoreditch, as well as one in New York — the successful British brand certainly debuted in Europe with flair.
www.sohohouseberlin.com
Overall, Berlin has been blossoming out of any dreariness that might be associated with its cold-war past. Perhaps due to the gaps still left to fill because of that past, there is plenty of space for young creatives to use the city as their base, as well as to shape a future as progressive as its oppressive history.
As JFK once said, “Ich bin ein Berliner!” After a short visit, you may find yourself wanting to become one too…
Soho House, Berlin
PEOPLE & TRENDS: STEVEN SEIGEL
The brainchild of Steven Seigel, who is committed to both ethical fashion and keeping young designers inspired, Not Just A Label is an exciting, fresh PR and retail concept that showcases the avant-garde fashion designers of today while nurturing the upcoming talents of tomorrow.
Never heard of it? NJAL is a London-based online platform for emerging graduates and design talents, providing them with an equal footing to both publicise and sell their wares. The clothing and accessories collections for sale are all often one-offs, or made especially for the site.
"Fashion finds its freedom in the art of individuals," Seigel says. "Not Just A Label is a place for those to find their way off the beaten track, allowing them to express themselves in a community where everything goes, they can break the mould, redefine the expected, re-colour the palette, inspire and be inspired."
The online shop revolutionises the way retailing works, giving designers the opportunity to cut out expensive middlemen (NJAL takes a commission off the retail price for all sales made through the platform). There’s certainly new hope for all young designers yet…!
www.notjustalabel.com
shop.notjustalabel.com
TATTOOS and TATTOOISTS
The art of ink
Summer always brings out more bare flesh. But recently, much of that flesh has been more pleasing to the eye than usual. Hoards of fashion-forward men and women have been investing their money in more permanent decorations of their arms, torsos, back and that strange area under the armpit and above the rib. That’s right, tattoos.
Streetstyle Tattoo Sleeves
Yet, not just any old tattooist will do for these new fashion tattoo aficionados. Legendary star tattooists, in the mould of Japan’s master Horiyoshi III or New York’s young Scott Campbell, are the only ones who will be inking the special skins of young "it" things.
YSL’s Stefano Pilati, always aware of what’s happening in street culture, even had video artist and Purple magazine contributor Ari Marcopoulos make a short film about LA tattoo legend Mark Mahoney. Dressed in a perfectly pressed YSL white shirt and dark trousers, Mahoney tattoos his clients in a style that perfectly blends gentlemanly charm with rock’n’roll dandy.
Are tattoos undergoing a fashion-led resurgence? Or, are they simply summer’s must-have fad? Either way, permanent ink is definitely the most addictive trend of the season.
