CELEBRATING DIY CULTURE
Berlin Fashion Week; the somewhat invisible and undoubtedly rebellious younger sister to the well-established giants like New York or Paris Fashion Week. When I shared with anyone here in Berlin that I would be attending this year, I often heard responses like "Oh, I don't go to that anymore" or "It's not that difficult to get into anyway." Some based their nonattendance on the fashion industry's notoriously destructive reputation. Or simply because of the lower "caliber" of these shows in comparison to their better-established counterparts. Generally, BFW seems to have a low profile and pretty unimpressive reputation to a large part of the creative scene here.
Neena Bui for EXIT Magazine © 2024
Coming from New York, my only access to any NYFW shows has been working backstage, modeling once when I was 16, or attending the shows of brands I worked for. It's a difficult space to break into, even with a foot kind of in the door. Meanwhile, I stepped foot in Berlin only a handful of times and I was able to secure invites for the whole week.
Sure BFW is not as exclusive as New York, but as an outsider, I was still eager to experience it myself. Right away, BFW's presence felt almost non-existent in the city. It did not seem like Berlin even knew there was a fashion week going on. The streets are not littered with photographers capturing the streetstyle of high-profile models as they enter the shows. It was only from spotting the black "Berlin Fashion Week" buses directly outside the venues that let you know you were in the right place. In fact, the fashion among guests of the shows I attended felt fairly tame. I even spotted some leggings and Birkenstocks within the crowds. Many looks were still stylish and uniquely curated, but felt no different from the everyday street fashion of Berliners. But I still found myself very fond of the relaxed attitudes that people carried through their clothes here.
Prefaced of the DIY nature of these shows, the drastic range in venue spaces and production quality was a pleasant surprise. I felt small within the grandiose marble and gold adorned walls of the Bode Museum for Der Berliner Salon's exhibition opening event. And found an opposing experience in the distressed exposed brick basement walls of the Untergeschoss der Pandora Art Gallery, housing HeroinKids' unnerving photo exhibition and Therapy and Fade Out's homemade fashion shows. Berlin's cobblestone streets even served as a runway for Avenir's show "Commute", which captured a lively rendition of the typically mundane urban experience of commuting.
It was not just the venue spaces that ranged; it was the fashion itself and the artistic concepts behind them. Every show had a different atmosphere. Danny Reinke's "Stupid Cupid" utilized tulle and feminine, flowy silhouettes to depict the emotional highs and lows of unrequited love. DZHUS' performance "ANTICON" brought physically transformative and conceptual art to a dystopian-esque space, depicting the designer's complex relationship to societal conformity and themes of religion. And Marlon Ferry's debut BFW show was Berlin fashion at its peak; a cyber-futuristic-alien intensity of obscure contorting points and forms, set in a smoky room to dark techno in the background.
The range of artistic diversity is fitting for the city's international framework. But there is unity to be found in an artistic passion not yet tainted by commercialism. Berlin Fashion Week is not a space run by influencer-culture. This is not to say that the hierarchy of the fashion industry isn't still alive and present in these spaces (it definitely is). But at its core, BFW is a passion project run by independent designers, small teams, volunteers, and unpaid creatives that work to produce something they believe should be seen. Speaking to the designers at Der Berliner Salon, who were so excited to share the meticulous processes and the thought-provoking concepts behind their work, one can clearly see they're in it for the love of the art. The DIY culture and unpretentious attitude are what give BFW its charm.
It's almost as if Berlin is just one big creative collective trying to support one another and get by on their work. Maybe Berlin Fashion Week will one day have the prestige of the other major world fashion weeks, but I won't mind if it stays a place for authentic creation and community for now.
Neena Bui is a designer, writer, and multidisciplinary creative from New York. She is passionate about exploring themes of human connection and consciousness in her work. She holds a BS in Fashion Design from Drexel University, has studied at UAL: London College of Fashion, and has professional experience in fashion and art productions both in New York and internationally.
Contact: neena (at) exit030.com