Impressions from the Fashion Week: IT couture in trends

Berlin fashion is always a special way of being. It might not be as glamorous as in Paris or Milan or bold like in New York City, but it has its own branding and can be easily recognized by the knowledgeable eye. With the Fashion Week in the making the last days, I decided to pay attention to something more specific, beyond the usual catwalks presentations (not that I don't like it). My evening journey lead me to the Microsoft Eatery special presetation, the Bikini Berlin pop-up stores and ended up in my favourite shopping place in the West: KaDeWe.

At the Digital Eatery on Unter den Linden, a special experiment was in the making: an exhibition of fashion items inspired by the IT industry. As my last extensive fashion experience covered the green side of the fashion, I was curious to find out what it is about in this case: From the entrance, I was welcomed by necklaces and rings inspired by the neuronal system. Totally unexpected, I may confess.

The aim of the event was to award the best fashion projects inspired by tech. The approach is part of a larger city branding idea labelling Berlin as both an IT and fashion center of the world. In its advantage is playing the (still) affordability and good location as well as the various incentives given by the local authorities. 

As for the host of the evening, the Microsoft Office in Berlin, it shows another example of smart adaptation to the needs of the city. The Digital Eatery - that I visited two years ago, when was a fresh entry in the foodie landscape of the centrre of Berlin - tries to turn into a creative brain-storming venue - an art exhibition inspired by Excel tables will be open soon as well as series of seminaries dedicated to the transatlatic relations. 

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The projects nominated covered a lot of medical applications - such as the emergency apparel by Katharina Boedies, featuring a jacket with a button that can help you get the first aid, activity tracker for kids (Dongji), special cloth item aimed to help the patients with dementia (Spur by Julia Danckwerth that received one of the first prizes). The fashionable distance control jacket (in image) by Gabriel Platt is another ingenious combination of practical ideas and fashion: the jacket helps the woman wearing it to prevent a possible attack, by issuing a high voltage wave. 

Fashion-wise, I did find fascinating all the projects combining technology and elegance, such as the warm scarf by ElektroCouture (what you need in Berlin during the long cold winters) or my favourite, the various IT displays from the collection of Veronika Aumann. The other winner of the first prize, Mi.Mu team for gloves for music is another SciFi dream come true: motor bike style half-finger gloves that can control the from short distance various instruments and sounds. More high-tech than fashion, but still incredible in terms of achievement.

The jury deliberation time was filled in with a special music and visual art moment offered by Parasite Single.

After the ceremony was over, I finally had the time and space to have another look over the projects. There are so many smart ideas in the air, but I am still a big fan of classy examples. But if you can add some smart colourful circuits to your elegant night gown, why not?

The next day, I continued the search for new samples of fashion at Bikini Berlin, a shopping destination that I visit quite often. Special preparations were made for the Fashion week too, such as a big wooden skeleton where people can share on post it notes various impressions about fashion.

Most of the shops here are pop-up stores and thus I have always new reasons to pay a visit. This bag made of photo films literally took my breath away. Call it creative feelings.

 What about this beautiful dress, combining Oriental silks with canvas inspiration?

 Or this beautiful pastel paintings of a jacket?

 The pop-up stores abound in samples of creativity, from shape-changing jewellery to various head coverings and lots of dresses.

 If I would have been on a shopping mission, would have had a lot of pain to make the right choice.

There are not only the products displayed who are interesting, but also the entire design setting which is attractive.

The next stop: the KaDeWe, where the lobby is covered in beautiful flowers and stylish dresses. Most of the designers belong to the Made in Berlin brand.

 Out of all the fashion samples I saw in the last days, here is where there are the most wearable options. 

As for now, I am just a visitor and a passionate photographer, trying to catch the grace and elegance for a blog post. The creative brain storm of the last days gave me a lot of inspiration though that I hope to better use one day. 

Researching Berlin fashion, at Savigny Platz

I am trying to get as much as possible information about the Berlin fashion those days, and where else can I do the best research but on the streets and in the boutiques? Of course I did read a lot of books about the history and the state-of-arts of the Berlin fashion and design industry. And I am also very careful to look as much as possible around trying to understand the latest trends (not easy, I must confess). However, I noticed lately that this year it seems that compared to previous seasons, more girls are trying to be more stylish and wear skirts and dresses and maybe a bit of nice make-up too. I feel a little less snobbish then. 

Nothing compares with the feeling of entering a shop and moving around, looking at the models and textures, eventually asking some details or even trying some of them. Of course I am not buying anything, unless for the sake of the documentation.

Yesterday, I did some basic research in the area around Savigny Platz, situated between Ku'damm and Wilmersdorferstrasse. On one end you have the top fashion industry and prices, on the other the cheap and common type of clothes. It is a great place not only for fashion, but also for bars and restaurants, some of them with live music late in the weekend nights. Who says we don't have entertainment in the West?

It looks colourful and small, and it is situated in an area under construction right now. When you see clothes hanging out in the front of the shop you can expect some cheap second-hand items, but in reality the prices are quite high, even during the sales, with an average of 40-50 Euro, or even more. The Indian/Oriental colours and texture are applied to X-XL shapes. It is recommended for 50+, but if you search a bit more and you like the extra-large hippie style, you can surely find something, including skirts and dresses. The space is small and the customer service is non-existent - meaning if you ask you will receive the answer, otherwise no one will bother you.

This is a shop presenting things more closer to my style. It is close to a hair saloon and the only annoyance may be the first time when you hear the subway over, as it is situated exactly under the railway area. It is cleanly designed, with a lot of space and a smiling customer service. There are mostly urban outfits, for simple hipster ladies, from 25 yo on. Expect products made in France, Italy or designed by Filippa K. Medium to high prices. The kind of shop where you go just in case that you will find something you don't need at all.

On the right side of the exit from the S-Bahn you will find my favourite fashion boutique in the area, presenting mostly creations by the Swiss fashion designer Esther Thomas. Lovely dresses and blouses, made from flowerly textures. A good branding for Switzerland are also the picturesque postcards aimed to present the prices (high for the Berlin standards, but who cares when you really love what you wear) and some details about the products. Fine cashmere addicts, get ready to find 1-2-3-4-5 items that you may want to take home. A couple of products are aimed for elegant and cute looking children. I loved the colours, size and designs too. 

The last stop of my mini-fashionista tour opened the door to a shop similar in style with the one I started with, except the interior design and the diversity of the products. You can find happy-hippie models, but also some evening options. I saw 2 interesting models of bags - imitating the size of a hat box - that I would love to wear one day. The interior design is funny (it looks better from outside), with some kitschy big lights and a huge flower at the entrance. 

Warning available for all shops I've visited: no proper air condition and if you go there when outside there are around 35 Celsius, expect to feel a higher heat wave. Surprisingly, none of those shops did to care too much about the way in which their shop look like. 

To be continued.