It’s been a busy, busy weekend as temperatures in Berlin reached an all-time low at -10°C. Dredging through ice and snow, we still managed to attend some shows, speak with designers and see what new things are coming out of this burgeoning fashion week. Here are the standout moments that defined the season.
Apokalypsis: Ioannes at Louisensaele
The weekend kicked off strong with Ioannes’s internationally adored vision of the unapologetic LA girl. Widely announced as Johannes Cronau Boehl’s last runway show, at least in the traditional sense, it all had a bittersweet taste to it. Showing all that has characterized his label over the past six years, the womenswear designer sent out staple pieces but also incorporated a few new techniques.
Perfectly tailored powersuits, spiral dresses and tassel bags came alongside layered knit looks. While kept in the typically neutral color palette, there were some pops of soft pink, red, and yellow. Pulling from the archives, Cronau Boehl had pony- and mohair coats on the runway.
“They’re the only thing we took from the archives.”,
he explains, saying he never got the chance to properly show them during COVID.
Titled Apokalypsis, he refers to the original sense of the Greek word: unveiling. Reaching a revelation, rather than an end. He thinks especially about his creative practice and ways to scale Ioannes that reach beyond what the traditional industry system suggests. While he is self-referential, he also thinks of the 90s, his mother in Jil Sander suits and the Swiss actress Marthe Keller.
The Ottolinger Berlin Bash at Château Royal
Saturday night at Château Royal in Central Berlin. Dinner and a Drink.
Unsurprisingly, the craziest party of Berlin Fashion Week came from the minds behind Ottolinger, partnering with Château Royal to bring a surreal hotel room bash to life. Washrooms became open bars. Ice-filled bathtubs became prosecco coolers. Drink in hand, guests floated through sitting rooms turned listening bars, bedrooms turned strip clubs, suites turned karaoke rooms, only to be caught in soon-to-be-forgotten, life-changing hallway conversations while wandering between experiences.
By the time the night was winding down, reasonable guests with exceptionally strong willpower had long left the premises. With the last liquor and prosecco bottles finished, bartenders started cleaning their stations and staff began closing off rooms. As make-shift girl groups started singing 2000s Beyoncé ballads, and incoherent mumblings were exchanged in the Château Royal hallways, we were falling hard for Ottolinger, who we believed, had just thrown the best bash in recent history.
The Owl: MARKE at Die Macherei
Mario Keine’s MARKE AW 2026 collection is titled “The Owl”, after a quote from the preface of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right: “The Owl of Minerva takes flight only as the dusk begins to fall”. Keine explains: “Minerva represents the knowledge of the world, and isn’t taking flight until the end of day.” Always political in his work, he connects this to the steps he sees the world currently taking toward a repetition of those disastrous mistakes leading up to World War II.
“But I am never a fan of shoving those issues into the audiences’ faces — to make someone reflect you have to trigger them on an emotional level.”
Uniform elements referencing the emergence of classical menswear during the industrial revolution are contrasted with motifs of late Rococo decadence. Wool suits and coats are accessorized with tulle overlays, veils, and dried flowers. A sober and restrained colour palette of grey, black, and eggshell dominates, interrupted by subtle hints of merlot and petrol.
With “The Owl” Mario Keine has shown a collection that feels classic and yet fresh. Flattering proportions show his understanding of the body and the fabric draped upon it. His pieces feel self-assured amid the confusion and disruption of our day and age, a great collection this Berlin Fashion Week.
SF1OG at SAVVY Contemporary
If one thing is clear, it is that SF1OG has Indie Sleaze down to a science. Their AW26 collection began with an exploration of hiding—and who we are when there is no one watching. The brand touches on themes we are familiar with in their work: the present zeitgeist, personal memory, teenage vulnerability and nostalgia.
Designer Rosa Marga Dahl brings together early 00s paparazzi imagery (think: Lindsay Lohan, Amy Winehouse, Adam Sandler) and Victorian Mourning dress, they make a statement on our most vulnerable emotions codified through the clothes we put on and carried out to the world.
Repurposing antique linens, cashmere, leather, silk, sequins, velvet and shearling, the SF1OG team brings back the angsty, grungy teenagers of the 2000s. In that same spirit, SF1OG will make selected items available exclusively on Vinted, so keep an eye out...
Montà Launch at Rosegarden
Tucked away off Potsdamer Straße, right across from Andreas Murkudis, you will find Rosegarden, a cultural space led by creative entity Frontrose. Last Friday, they presented their newest project: Montà. Initially launched at Paris Men’s in January, the new footwear label takes inspiration from its Alpine roots, reimagining it for the modern, urban customer.
Montà is derived from the Alpine Piedmontése dialect and refers to the the annual ascent of cattle across mountain pastures. It conjures up romantic images of thinkers and artists finding respite, humility and space for new thoughts in the mountains. Their debut campaign draws on exactly this feeling, showing vast flower fields, crystalline lakes and horizons reminiscent of post card pictures. The dreamlike images profess a deep reverence for the mountain range and its, often forgotten, vulnerability.
The Haferl, a utilitarian Bavarian shoe that has been a staple amongst farmers, hunters and craftsmen of the mountains, served as inspiration. Designed by Romain Kremer, the former Head Menswear designer at Mugler and Camper’s first ever Creative Director, Montà brings honesty and functionality to the luxury space.
GmbH
Always political, GmbH’s AW ‘26 is named ‘Doppelgänger’. Similarly to MARKE, their collection carries the warning of humanity repeating its most fatal mistakes. Showing as part of Reference Studio’s Intervention at Kraftwerk, they transport us back to the Berlin club and music scene of the early 1980s.
Designers Benjamin Huseby and Serhat Isik wanted to remember the beginnings of its brand, closley connected to Berlin’s music and club culture. This, in turn, led them to the experimental music movement of the 80s, DAF, Einstürzende Neubauten and Blixa Bargeld in particular.
Leather, faux fur and puffers brings back the memory of a seperated Berlin, full of Punkers and other subcultures shaping the city’s social landscape. Leather vests, oversized popped collars and emphasized waists echo the 80s. Flowing dress trousers are tucked into biker boots for convenience, swanky silk suits are paired with faux fur collars to avoid any suspicion of conservatism.
Laura Gerte
Showing in an abandoned department store, Laura Gerte’s AW26 collection is a departure from the dark but romantic version of femininity she presented last season. This time, we see Gerte take a more forceful approach.
Steering clear of clichés, she dresses archetypal villainesses in a combination of all deadstock wool, jersey, leather, satin, and mesh, the materialities of which clash and yet compliment each other. Accentuated through texture, drape, and closure, her designs form slim, elongated silhouettes disrupted by unexpected volumes and cut-outs.
Gerte’s designs dress feminity with an edge, yet do not ever feel derivative. Her storytelling within the collections has been consistent since her debut, her design language developing with every showcase, yet stays true to the essence of her label.
PLATTE NEXT GEN
Opening at PLATTE this past weekend was the NEXT GEN exhibit, curated by photographer Sven Marquardt. Introducing the six winners of the biannual competition, concept store PLATTE invited press and other interested parties into their space.
PLATTE’s NEXT GEN format is a competition to highlight emerging design talent in Berlin and give them press and commercial opportunities, like selling on the PLATTE sales floor. One winner will also customize the store’s window display.
Jurors come from across all disciplines within the industry, spanning fashion journalists, buyers designers and more. This season, Archived Dreams founder Héctor Quintanilla was also part of the jury, rating based across five categories of Creative Relevance, Craftsmanship, Sustainability, Diversity and Commercial Potential. Choosing from a wide preselection of Berlin-based emerging designers, the six winners were Studio Zeina, Amike Studio, haseman.n, Alena Ebba, Timo Kurz and jewelry designer Asterisk.
For the next few weeks you can find them at the PLATTE Store, go around and take a look if you can!
Sia Arnika
The Danish designer and her eponymous label present an AW26 collection that is all about leaving the corporate world fully behind, at least for the two days those of us, who are employed, get. The show took place in an abandoned office, printer still going as if someone had forgotten to turn it off in their rush to get to their after-work plans after a busy week.
Mixing office appropriate attire in with revealing necklines and micro shorts, Sia Arnika tells the story of a Friday afternoon. Exhaustion, but also excitement for what lies ahead. Faux fur tails are clipped onto leather boots, trailing from dress hems and laid around the neck.
”I like to have fun with my designs, I want to make people feel good without being unapologetic.”
Leaning into sustainable pratice as much as possible, the designer sourced from two different deadstock suppliers and incorporated Tenzel in her collection.
Richert Beil
The designer duo behind Richert Beil, Jale Richert and Michele Beil, paired up with CHEHUB to bring us a surreal dinner experience. Serving up a vegan sushi roll, followed by puffed corn chips with tomato filling, a hydrochloride shot for the entree and a porcelain egg stuffed with lace granny panties for dessert, they aimed to question fashion as a system and their creative practice within it.
Models dressed in their newest collection served guests, with others slowly walking around the rooms purely to present the clothes. Latex dresses, wool coats and alternative suggestions on classic suiting carried their signature subversions of traditional, national silhouettes through material and cut.
Titled LANDEI, a German term for someone perceived as unsophisticated and naïve, this presentation reclaimed the term. While uncomfortable and at times comical, they were touching on a very real industry issue. Are the traditional modes of making and presenting fashion viable for the small independent creative businesses in Berlin, or is this way of mimicking the big houses destined to run creators into either burnout or bankruptcy?
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