photos: Sebastian Reuter/Getty Images for Nowadays.
When I met Esther Perbandt back in 2010, she was one of the already quite established Berlin Designers that decided to join Designer Scouts – the runway show event at Berlin Fashion Week for avantgarde and upcoming designers that we hosted as a sister project to iHeartBerlin. I was pretty much at the start of my involvement in the creative scene of Berlin and I remember I was especially in awe of those who had already made a name for themselves in the city. I admit that I was a little nervous at first. But Esther was so approachable and kind, there was this instant familiarity that she builds with you that made her so many friends over the years.
Esther was always a bit of a wild child in Berlin. She rarely joined the official runway of Berlin Fashion Week, rather making her own shows and events, in the streets of Berlin, or in one of Berlin’s biggest theaters, the Volksbühne, and one time even as a concert where she performed herself. She never really fit in with the other designers, because her designs were always beyond any current trends or established aesthetics, nor were they particularly compatible with pop culture. Esther has always designed for the type of individuals that want to remain individualistic. She was always bending gender norms and mixing up male and female silhouettes and details – long before genderless fashion became a trend. She always stayed faithful to the avant-garde and artistic side of fashion.
Read on…
by Frank | Fashion
One of the major highlights for me this year was watching our good friend Esther Perbandt, the iconic Berlin fashion designer, succeed on the new designer competition show Making the Cut by Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn. It was the first time for me to see someone I personally know on a hit TV show and it was such a thrill to follow her through the lens of American reality TV.
Those of you who have been following us now for a long time, know that Esther is very closely connected to us as we organized one of her early runway shows with our sister project Designer Scouts back in 2010 and co-hosted the two aftershow parties of her spectacular Volksbühne fashion shows in 2014 and 2017. She also curated one of our city guides for us showing her favorite places in Berlin. It is always so amazing for us to become part of her black avantgarde universe and we feel so proud of all of her accomplishments as a designer in all those years.
Read on…
by Frank | Fashion, People, Videos
Sadak / Hien Le
Berlin has found its place in the global fashion circus. Not in the realm of the big four yet (New York, Paris, Mailand, London), but has made a name of itself for crazy, edgy and experimental fashion designs. No matter where, with fashion the focus mostly lies on women (for a change). However, especially Berlin offers some fine designers showcasing that there is more to menswear than pants and a T-shirt. And, that Berlin can do more than all-black-everything. Here is a collection of our favorite brands making the men of the capital look good.
Read on…
by Andy | Fashion
Esther Perbandt won Fashion Week! I said that to her after her spectacular show on Tuesday, well aware that Fashion Week was not a contest to be won. She laughed and said, “but it’s only the first day”. And I responded: “Who do you think is going to top that?”
The show – her second one on the main stage of the historic theater – was a true happening that will be spoken about for years to come. We all knew that we were in for a treat when we waited in anticipation for the show to begin. The stage is just too exquisit and larger than life for it to be only a simple runway show. And it wasn’t and that’s what’s so great about Esther. She got it, as one of the few designers in Berlin (maybe even the only one) that to properly present a vision you have to do more than just send some models down a runway. You want the people to feel something, you want these feelings to be associated with your designs and your brand. As a designer you have so much more to say than the design of one garment could ever express. There is a whole vision attached to it, something that I guess is really hard to materialize. But Esther gave us a great look into her vision with this show. She proved to be more than a designer, she’s a true visionary.
As you can easily guess from my words above I am still quite in awe about the event. But I promise you, I was not the only one. After the curtain fell the people left the hall with glowing eyes full of excitement. I have never seen a crowd leave a fashion show with such enthusiasm. And you could feel it also in the after party because this was much more than the usual standing around, looking good and sipping on drinks affair. The people were still ecstatic and joyfully danced the night away. Of course the delicious drinks by World Class and Belsazar Vermouth also had something to do with the good mood 😉
I feel privileged to call Esther my friend, I feel proud to have been involved in this amazing event. I can’t wait to see the video of the show and relive these breath-taking moments (stay tuned for that). For now let’s enjoy the photos of the party. Here’s to Esther Perbandt!
Read on…
by Frank | Fashion, Party
photo: Maxime Ballesteros
A great way to express your identity to the outside world is definitely clothing. Berlin’s community is extraordinarily supportive of people sporting clothes that are anything but appropriate, genuinely individual and often mocking the standards of what’s considered trendy. Get a little heads-up on where to shop the real Berlin Designers in our latest guide.
Read on…
by Michalina | Charlottenburg, Fashion, Kreuzberg, Mitte, Neukölln, Shops
Esther Perbandt is Berlin’s number one avant-garde designer and with her label operating way over 10 years now she leads one of the most established fashion brands in Berlin. The sophisticated, androgynous style of her designs is unique – worldwide – and has gained her a fanbase that includes not only international avant-garde lovers but also the local creatives from the worlds of theater, cinema, art and music.
In anticipation for her next big show that will happen in the coming week at the impressive Volksbühne theater we met with Esther to speak with her about her favorite places in Berlin. If you want to be part of the big celebration of her 13th collection on January 17th you should join us for drinks (kindly supplied by World Class and Belsazar Vermouth) at the official after show party that starts at 21h in the Sternenfoyer of Volksbühne.
Read on…
by Frank | Bars, Cafés, Kreuzberg, Mitte, Museums, Restaurants, Shops
For me 2016 was actually a great year, even though I almost don’t dare saying it out loud. A lot of sad and terrible things happened in 2016, yes, but there still was a lot of good stuff that I think needs some more attention: Small and big moments in Berlin that showed what a great city this is and what amazing people live here. We should focus more on these things, at least for a moment, and take these positive memories and feelings with us into the new year.
Here are the most happy moments and amazing happenings of 2016 in photos and videos.
Read on…
by Frank | Photos, Stories, Videos
photo: Thomas_k
I’ve been in Berlin for a year now. It’s been a great adventure involving a good deal of self-exploration, and I’ve already covered some aspects of it on the blog. And, quite ironically, that’s the part I find most exciting – the fact that I’ve slowly started to carve out my path as a writer. And I can’t complain about the lack of inspiration. As a matter of fact, Berlin is home to quite a lot of amazing, independent women who have a clear vision of themselves and work hard every day to make it their reality. Following the tradition of previous years we want to recapture the past year by honoring the amazing women that have done great things in these past twelve months.
Read on…
by Michalina | People
Shih Chien University Show, photo: Alicia Kassebohm
Another Fashion Week season is in the history books and with it another week that has been accompanied by bickering and ridicule about our Berlin-version of the world-wide industry event. It’s been going on for years now, it never really got better. The articles trashing it, the comments on social media making fun of it. It’s almost like a sport to spit on Berlin Fashion Week and getting high-fived for it. I personally prefer to look on the bright side: The amazing fashion talents that are presented here!
Read on…
by Frank | Fashion, Photos
Esther Perbandt AW16
Another Berlin Fashion Week starts today! And what’s hot this season? Our avant-garde favorite is collaborating with contemporary dance at Radialsysteme V, Dandy Diary teamed up with adidas for their popular Fashion Week party, the Berlin Fashion Film Festival is getting together with the LNFA store and YDL Fashion Network, there is gonna be another #FASHIONTECH conference about the future of fashion and Kaltblut Magazine is presenting a couple of labels at Happy Shop. This and more in our Berlin Fashion Week Guide.
by Frank | Events, Fashion, Party
