Between utopia and dystopia: Highlights of SS27 Berlin Fashion Week

The commitment is slowly bearing fruit. Berlin Fashion Week concluded on Sunday evening with the final show by GmbH. The event is increasingly establishing itself as an internationally relevant fashion destination for designers and brands, as well as for buyers and the media. Even the chancellor acknowledged the industry.

Almost five years ago, the Fashion Council Germany (FCG) began developing a strategy for the future of Berlin Fashion Week in collaboration with the Berlin Senate. The central question was how to position Berlin on the international fashion calendar and what its unique selling point should be.

“Our answer was clear: Berlin should become the platform for emerging talent. Young designers in particular face enormous challenges today and need visibility,” said Christiane Arp, chairwoman of the Fashion Council Germany.

That the concept appears to be working is evident season after season in the development and professionalisation of the labels that use the Fashion Week platform.

“Seeing this growth is fantastic,” Arp continued. Berlin is not only impressive because of the participating brands; the international guest list of buyers and media professionals also underscores the event's importance. For example, buyers from Antonioli, H Lorenzo, Hankyu, Isetan, Printemps, Roadsign, SVRN, Takashimaya, United Arrows, Velvet and Voo Store accepted the FCG's invitation, as did numerous international journalists and content creators. “Orders are now also being written,” added Scott Lipinsky, CEO of the FCG. “The international stores are important multipliers – what hangs there is noticed worldwide.”

It is also clear on the part of the labels that the commitment is paying off. “For a young brand, there is currently hardly a better place than Berlin Fashion Week and the chance to grow with the FCG,” said Mario Keine from the menswear label Marke. He presented his own show and then spent a day in the Fashion Week's hotel showroom, where the international guests of the event were also staying. “The visibility we get here would hardly be possible in Paris. There, as a small label, you would have to fight for the attention of buyers and the media among many others. The concept is slowly bearing fruit.”

The Berlin-based label Haderlump also appreciates the location: “As a fashion label in Berlin, we have a lot of freedom to implement ideas that might not even get noticed in other cities,” said the Haderlump team. “Berlin is both hard and soft, open and closed, slow and fast. The city thrives on contradictions that are perfect inspiration for bold fashion – it never gets boring. Unlike other cities that seem more ‘finished’ and established, Berlin is unfinished, and that suits us.”

Even politicians are looking favourably on the colourful fashion industry. On Friday, the Federal Chancellery invited the industry to a reception. Here, Wolfram Weimer, minister of state for culture and media, and Gitta Connemann, parliamentary state secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, paid tribute to the economic and cultural importance of the sector. Chancellor Friedrich Merz himself briefly honoured the industry before receiving the minister-presidents of the Baltic states.

It is just a shame that there is still little response from the German retail sector. Many labels first establish themselves in Asia or the US before they are noticed in Germany. “I only sell my collection in Japan and in the US,” said Berlin-based designer Vladimir Karaleev, speaking for many other labels. He also presented his collection in the Fashion Week showroom.

William Fan: between protection and lightness

In his SS27 collection, Berlin-based designer William Fan once again demonstrated his understanding of how to handle a wide variety of materials and textures. His designs featured flowing silhouettes with numerous pleats, swinging ruffles and extra-long sleeves, which lent the looks a great deal of dynamism, while elaborate layering provided depth and volume. The colour palette remained restrained, with a lot of black meeting earthy tones and the occasional soft yellow or light green.

The details are striking: baggy trousers with a double waistband appear deliberately unconventional, while ruffs as a recurring detail frame tops and dresses sculpturally. Fan's characteristic combination of tailoring and flowing shapes creates silhouettes that play around the body rather than accentuate it. Overall, the collection seems less interested in a close-to-the-body presentation than in protection and covering. The cuts are generous, conceived inclusively and work across a wide variety of body shapes, from classic model proportions to plus-size silhouettes.

The boundaries between classic menswear and womenswear are also dissolving. Looks from the menswear collection appear naturally on women, and skirts are also worn by men.

Taskin Goec: fashion in the digital space

Designer Taskin Goec has been working with digital fashion for years. With his fashion show Black Eye, he consistently developed this approach further, presenting an audiovisual installation in which fashion, AI and digital imagery merged, instead of a classic runway show. This was all done without a catwalk and without any models present, everything only via screen.

And it became clear that this renunciation was a gain, as it opened up new possibilities for presentation. Here, the designer himself directed the viewer's gaze, determining what the audience should pay attention to: individual details, surfaces, material structures and workmanship. Movement also became a design element. The wind made fringes, ribbons and layers of fabric swing, making the materials seem almost alive.

Latex, leather straps, dresses made of fabric strips, coarse knitwear and elaborately layered fabrics come together in his collection. Fringes, ribbons and studs enhance the dynamism of the designs and at the same time raise the question of whether they are even intended for physical production.

Andrej Gronau: playing with expectations

In the neoclassical ambience of Friedrichsfelde Palace, designer Andrej Gronau presented a much younger, more eccentric collection. Gronau's designs celebrate fashion as an expression of individuality – sensual, humorous and deliberately beyond classic dress codes.

The focus is on strong material contrasts and striking prints. Printed leather with a watering can print or cat and mouse motifs meet shimmering metallic surfaces, Lurex yarns, and jackets and skirts with drawstrings and matelassé.

The silhouettes also play with expectations. Knitted dresses and pink satin shorts for men underline the casual approach to gender codes. For womenswear, Gronau borrows from the 1950s. However, wide, flat collars, short bolero jackets and feminine proportions are not interpreted nostalgically, but are transferred into a contemporary context. The result is a collection that combines vintage references with a playful, almost theatrical signature.

Marke: tradition meets present

With an impressive presentation, the Cologne-based menswear label Marke made time the central motif of the show. A polyphonic ticking opened the presentation, momentarily transforming the futuristic space at the Berlin exhibition grounds into a place of almost sacred silence.

This tension between past and present also characterises the collection. Designer Mario Keine takes historical clothing references and translates them into contemporary menswear. Pleated Renaissance breeches appear as voluminous sleeves on a bomber jacket, while a 19th-century tailcoat and cummerbund are combined with wide jersey trousers.

The formal severity of the classic men's wardrobe is repeatedly broken up. Wide trousers, shorts and culottes lend movement to the silhouettes, while classic tuxedo trousers meet sleeveless silk shirts. The colour scheme of the collection remains minimalist: white and cream tones dominate, complemented by grey, bordeaux and traditional pyjama stripes. In this way, Marke combines historical codes with a modern, natural lightness.

The accessories deserve special attention: made from commemorative coins, they take up the leitmotif of transience and translate time into wearable objects.

Unvain: Berlin coolness with a biker attitude

Founded in 2020 by Robert Friedrichs, the label Unvain celebrates strong looks for men and women in its new collection, playing with self-confident sexiness.

Slim-fitting leather dresses, the surface of which is broken up by finely cut strips, give the otherwise heavy material a surprising sense of movement. In addition, bright red looks with references to classic biker wear set striking accents in the menswear. A dress made of black feathers is impressive, opening up to transparent mesh in the stomach area and thus skilfully playing with the interplay of concealing and revealing. Translucency remains a recurring motif, for example in a white, transparent coat that lies over the silhouettes like a light veil.

Denim is another focus of the collection. Washed-out jeans meet shimmering metallic finishes. Motorcycle codes – leather, utility details and robust silhouettes – are not quoted literally, but translated into a contemporary, urban wardrobe. Also characteristic are trousers without a classic waistband, which accentuate the hips in both the women's and men's looks and give the looks a casual, unconventional attitude.

Barragán: provocative and disrespectful

Barragán's show at the Mexican embassy was the talk of the town. Bathed in deep red light, Mexican designer Victor Barragán staged a performance that was as disturbing as it was energetic, blurring the line between fashion show and art performance. Models with blood-smeared wounds, men with clown noses and half-naked, glistening bodies ran or staggered through the room.

The collection was just as experimental. A hoodie for three people, arm warmers connected with zips that tie the arms behind the back, colourful briefs for men and T-shirts with the word “Meth” questioned common ideas about clothing and function. Hoodies and sportswear were charged with a queer, subversive and disrespectfully playful aesthetic. Barragán understands fashion less as a wearable wardrobe and more as a form of social expression: provocative, exaggerated and against any form of convention.

Milk of Lime: flowing silhouettes and new proportions

For the German-Belgian designer duo Milk of Lime, the focus seemed to be less on the body and more on movement. The collection develops through flowing silhouettes, multi-layered layering and expressive materials that change shape with every step. Earthy, natural tones meet black and underline the almost sculptural effect of the designs.

The silhouettes remain deliberately elusive. Wide trousers with a low-slung crotch, generous volumes and asymmetrical cuts dissolve classic proportions and give the looks a flowing quality. Nothing seems rigid; the flowing lines are constantly changing.

The accessories played a central role. Asymmetrically draped chains set striking accents, while corsets over dresses structure the silhouettes. Wrap elements made of leather bring tension to the flowing shapes and create new contrasts.

Rebekka Ruétz: between military and glamour

At Motorwerk Berlin, designer Rebekka Ruétz showed a clear, almost sculptural womenswear collection. White forms the central starting point, with black acting as a consistent counterpoint, right down to individual statement pieces such as a coat in a black-and-white look. The materials are also rich in contrast: stiff materials such as taffeta and leather are complemented by transparent knitwear, for example in tops and long knitted dresses.

For the patterns, Ruétz uses marbled velvet, which is used for an evening dress, among other things. The silhouettes are voluminous: wide, swinging skirts made of white satin or black leather, broad shoulders, extra-long shapes – such as trains – and floor-length skirts made of taffeta and leather dominate the look.

Between these strong volumes, deconstructed elements set accents – knitwear with a laddered-stitch effect, knotted shirts as skirts and collar-like constructions on the waistband. Military allusions remain subtle, for example in the form of khaki coats with gold buttons. This is complemented by chain-like accessories that give the collection a celebratory, flowing feel.

Dagger: cheerful streetwear with many references

Numerous outfits with Dagger logos could already be seen in the show's audience – a sign that the label has already gathered a fan base behind it.

At the centre of the collection is a playful, unusually colourful streetwear collection with a strong focus on men's looks. Sweatshirts, shirts and jackets are combined with a wide variety of colours and prints, creating a deliberately overloaded, collage-like aesthetic. Shirts made of red-and-white dirndl fabrics with perforated structures meet colourful shorts, turquoise military jackets, surf shorts and hibiscus prints. Tracksuit jackets, shirts made of paisley lace and checked suits in white and bright blue complete the eclectic picture.

The collection consistently plays with contrasts between form and colour, tradition and streetwear. In the menswear context in particular, this creates an ironically fractured view of masculinity that deliberately detaches itself from classic codes. Tiaras as accessories further enhance this exaggeration and set a playful accent.

Haderlump: modern historicism

At the Hotel Adlon, the designer label Haderlump showed a multi-layered collection that combines classic tailoring with historical-looking references and new looks. Transparent wool coats made of white mohair provided a light, almost floating start, while holey knitwear and classic cloths created exciting breaks.

The womenswear, for example, features floor-length, voluminous dresses made of grey cloth, which are sometimes wrapped over the chest or tailored narrowly to the upper body. Wide skirts and long trains emphasise classic feminine forms, while moiré prints and denim create exciting contrasts. Historical echoes run through the entire collection without tipping over into costume-like territory.

Menswear is dominated by complex constructions: crinkle blazers with many buttons whose structure is not immediately apparent, half-length jackets with shawl collars and tie belts, and floor-length robes with hoods. There are also heavily pleated sleeve and shirt sections.

The elaborate workmanship is characteristic: many buttons, fastenings and wrap elements create an almost architectural complexity. Haderlump is thus working on a form of fashion that only fully reveals itself at second glance.

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