photo: IVY Berlin.
It only takes one look around the dance floor to know that Berlin is a city of absolutely fire clubwear. Harnesses, latex, collars, ass-less chaps, platform shoes, and fishnets are a Berliner’s bread and butter. And it’s not just the people in Berlin who wear these clothes, but designers, labels, and shops craft and sell these unique pieces that are handmade and often from sustainable materials.
Here are iHeartBerlin’s top picks for the best spots to update your techno wardrobe in Berlin.
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by Adri | Fashion, Top Guides
photo: SCANROULETTE @herpeslabial_
The lockdown has really put a damper on the sexual expression of Berliners in a major way. Unless you are lucky to live with your partner or with a flatmate with benefits your sex life most likely had to take a back seat in the last weeks. No Tinder or Grindr dates, no hooking up in bars, no kinky adventures in Berlin’s nightclubs. You really have to get creative to get your sexual kicks these days or at least seek some inspiration on any sex toy site of choice.
Our friends from Pornceptual were struck really badly by the pandemic. Their parties are on hold until further notice, and the WHOLE festival which they co-organize has been canceled for this year. But like many creative people in the city, the quarantine has also created new ideas and opportunities for them to make the best of the situation. One of those ideas that recently saw the light of day is their new platform Isolation Porn which is an extension to their Pornceptual blog dedicated to artworks and creations that have been produced in response to the lockdown.
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by Frank | Art, Pandemic
Spyros Rennt’s intimate and voyeuristic images archive an excessive queer reality. He flashes his very personal light on brief moments in between Berlin dance floors and bedrooms, on silly fucks, hard dicks, and cold fries.
Hailing from Athens, Greece the self-taught image creator made his way to the German capital in 2011, inspired by the city’s hedonistic lifestyle, brutal architecture and, for a Greek, unusual grey skies. “Of course, Berlin has changed since the first time I visited in 2005 as a young tourist. But it still attracts interesting and open-minded people from all over the world and offers them unique creative opportunities,” Spyros explains in our interview. Coming from a background in engineering, the now 34-year-old seized these opportunities and turned his own passion for photography into a profession.
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by Andy | Art
These ten women and men aren’t afraid to expose their naked bodies to fight against stigmas around sex, gender, and sexual orientation.
It’s a struggle for freedom of expression on a slippery slope. With their work these brave ten blur the lines of art, pornography, sex work, political activism, or what’s considered “professional” work. They face the dangers that come with the openly sexual nature of their work or digital persona. Their explicit representation on and offline is not a green card to sexual consent, what sounds like a no-brainer is something many people do not understand. “I’ve found myself in some very dangerous, and uncomfortable situations,” our cover model Sam Morris told Gay Times, “I have been sexually blackmailed, assaulted, verbally harassed, and raped. These situations have involved photographers, prolific magazine editors, and other gay men I’ve met along the way.” Physical harassment, slut-shaming, and tensions in personal relationships are something all of them have encountered but they found ways to deal with these situations. For erotic filmmaker and performer Anarella Martínez-Madrid, it’s as simple as this: “If being a slut means being able to enjoy your sexual life, and get to know yourself better, then I am a slut”.
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by Andy | People
The girls and guys from Pornceptual never cease to stimulate us with their creative erotic output – no matter if it’s with the photos on their blog, their magazines or the videos for their parties. They’ve given us flowers in spring, Mad Max futurism, surrealism, and horror porn. Now they’ve opened their Avant-Garde era with a new photo series by Yu-Liang Liu and a video by Pornceptual co-founder Chris Phillips.
With fashion having borrowed heavily from the aesthetics of pornography and fetish wear, it was a matter of time until the exchange of genres also happened in the opposite direction with porn integrating elements of design and fashion into its aesthetic. The new works from Pornceptual are just a few examples of that. It was about time that porn also exists with a sense of style – it’s all the more stimulating!
Don’t miss the upcoming edition of the Pornceptual party on April 13th, 2019. The new theme is called “Porn Forrest” and you can expect quite a lot of sex behind the bushes…
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by Frank | Fashion, Party, Videos
photo: Hannes Gade
Berlin might not have a reputation for being the place where the most beautiful men reside, but that’s only because we have to wear coats seven months of the year. So Rio, you can officially pack your bags! Since Berlin men are so open-minded, liberal, and often don’t even mind stripping it all down on social media, we now have visual proof: Berlin’s got it! And, Berlin got dem boys! So, while you might be alone in bed, possibly building prince charming out of pillows and blankets, or maybe you have a sadomasochistic moment and want to destroy your self-esteem, go ahead, and look at the following divine selection of Berlin specimen – And just imagine all the rest … That is awfully superficial, I am aware. But it just happens, you know. Suddenly, you find yourself staring at your screen. These men just upload too many well-lit photos. So, let’s all be honest with ourselves and indulge in this short, shallow moment of social media desire. Knowing, these men might wait just around the corner and not at the Copacabana. Enjoy…
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by Andy | People
photo: Ana Hell & Nathalie Dreier
Absurd, sexual, melancholic, poetic… the photography of Ana Hell evokes many reactions. But, it definitely stimulates us. The Spanish photographer who works a lot in Berlin loves to take normal, ordinary situations and just give them a ‘lil twist. A twist that might make the viewer go like: “Wait what? I don’t get it. What’s happening here?” And isn’t it exactly that what makes a great picture? We collected some of her most captivating, uncanny visuals.
Body parts in odd positions, confusing vantage points, absurd compositions, or stunning textures and colors – there is always that one thing sucking us into a picture by Ana Hell. As absurd, or puzzling the content might be, the composition and distinct play of colors is so calming and balanced that we just wanna keep on looking at well, … this woman, legs spread across the couch, looking at her… Uhm… or this cat, apparently chilling on a sink with her mummy in nothing but turquoise fishnet. Or two beautiful naked women intertwined on a huge …cactus?! Where else would you be naked, right?
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by Andy | Art, Photos
photos: Andrea Galad
The Italian born photographer Andrea Galad creates dark visual worlds. He shows flawed creatures, demons, angels, beautiful beasts and monsters. Yet, Andrea’s world is as dark as it is warm, always moving between the poles. Since, ultimately, what are we? We are imperfect creatures, never just one thing, we are many-faced, conflicted and illogical.
The Berlin-based artist could be called a Neo-Romantic but that would simplify his work. His early influences vary, from a classic cultural upbringing, formal piano lessons to art history and Victorian literature. While his photographs are reminiscent of romantic paintings, ancient greek statues, and classical mythology alike. All these influences are visible in his art. As a child Andrea realized that he could not recreate the perfect images in his mind with paint. So, he decided for photography. But, rather than just depicting reality he is fascinated by creating an altered one. His photos are purposely manipulated and open visual doors to another world. His latest work reminds us of medieval icon paintings fused with dark contemporary photography. We see halos on unholy figures, disembodied arms and wings growing out of human shoulders.
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by Andy | Art
photos: Maxime Ballesteros
Ever since the French photographer Maxime Ballesteros got his first camera when he was a teenager, he hasn’t stopped taking pictures. Carrying a camera always with him, in order to be ready for when he sees something interesting to him, rather than documenting everything, Ballesteros uses photography as a tool to visualize his own subjective view of the world. His first monograph, Les Absents was released this month by Hantje Cantz Publishing, and produced in cooperation with the visionary culture and fashion network Sang Bleu in London, including various texts and poems by the artist himself. It takes us on a strong, emphatically physical, and a bit surreal journey into the artist’s world.
His photographs show a section of the world where day and night, dream and nightmare, the subjective and the objective are of equal importance. He compares his conception of his photography to the way our brain keeps both reality as well as dreams and nightmares in the same space; the same way, the artist’s imagination takes shape and comes into existence through the camera, making it real. He shoots in the moment, following his protagonists to wild parties, private apartments, and the beach at dawn—shimmering and excessive, sharp and always in style. Read on…
by Stella | Art, Books
Berlin loves fusing things. We thought it couldn’t get any better than last year’s Beer-Yoga trend. But never mind, Berlin is always good for a surprise, and apparently, so is Yoga. The next big thing is just around the corner: Kink Yoga. Get into it.
Inspired by the recent video from Reflective Desire, a kinky collaborative united in their love for latex, Madeleine White, Yoga instructor at Kreuzbergyoga, decided that it’s about time for a new Yoga movement. So, you can get on your finest Latex / Kink outfits and get into some sexy, sweaty Latex Yoga – Wait what? But then again, why not, right?
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by Andy | Videos
