Chaya – Fall 2010 Collection – Berlin

story by Boris Marberg with contributions by Peter Becher and Michael Fragoso
photos by Boris Marberg, Wolfgang Wöhrle, Pete Cameron Dominkovits, Peter Becher

Chaya is a new brand founded by designer Jill Asemota in 2009, supported by veteran designers Nina Maurach and Eric de Bastos, which recently had its tent debut at Mercedes-Benz Berlin Fashion Week. They presented two lines, Chaya Doll and Chaya Shirts. There were figure-hugging cuts in the dresses and skirts, all very feminine, but some of the models had problems with skirts and dresses riding up during the show. It is all supposed to tie back to a 1950s pin-up aesthetic with references to Marilyn Monroe and Bettie Page. … Continue Reading

Kaviar Gauche “Stripped” Fall 2010 Collection – Berlin

story and photos by Boris Marberg
photo editing by Katie Piper

Running parallel to Mercedes-Benz Berlin Fashion Week was the Michalsky StyleNite, which included three of the more avant garde designers’ collections: Michalsky, Lala Berlin, and Kaviar Gauche.

The inspiration for the Kaviar Gauche collection and show was the Berlin avant garde artists of the 1920s, with nods to the uninhibited urges toward amusement expressed by period style icons like Marlene Dietrich. … Continue Reading

Schumacher, Fall 2010 Collection In Berlin

story and photos by Boris Marberg

Schumacher opened Mercedes-Benz Berlin Fashion Week in the big tent at Beleblpatz with a classic Dorothee Schumacher collection, normal dark colors and materials for the label’s fall line. The boots were dark but shining. Everything was a bit inconspicuous and understated and elegant. … Continue Reading

Hugo Boss Black, Fall 2010 Collection In Berlin

story by Charles Beckwith
photos by Boris Marberg

From earth tones to eggplant to black and cobalt blue, this elegant and varietal collection of women’s and men’s fall clothing and accessories from Hugo Boss showed quality tailoring with innovative style throughout, and will certainly please a lot of consumers. … Continue Reading

Berlin Video Recap

video by Alexander Palacios

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin starts next week with the Fall 2010 collections. Here is a recap video made by one of our photographers, compiled from his coverage of the Spring-Summer 2010 collections. … Continue Reading

Shakeup In Berlin

story by Boris Marberg and Charles Beckwith
photos by Boris Marberg and Alexander Palacios

Several decades ago, Berlin was one of the most important fashion capitals in Europe. That hasn’t been the case for a while now, but in the last few years Berlin has gotten some of its mojo back, with the fashion week events established by IMG and their naming rights sponsor Mercedes-Benz in 2008, and built onto by others since then in the form of trade shows and other kinds of complimentary events. The impact of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin has been very positive for the city and designers in the region, continuously growing with each new season. This season there will be roughly 30 collections presented in the Bebelplatz tents. Most people involved seem to agree that IMG has done a very good job. … Continue Reading

Michalsky Shows In Switzerland

story by Wolfgang Wöhrle and Charles Beckwith
photos by Wolfgang Wöhrle

Our modaCYCLE team in Europe has taken a strong interest in the work of designer Michael Michalsky. Already quite well known in Germany, his shows being dependably the highlight of Berlin Fashion Week for a while now, he is branching out a bit and recently showed selections from his Fall 2009 and Spring 2010 collections together in a small introductory sort of show in Zurich, Switzerland. This buyers review in the Swiss commercial capitol is his first show with the Michalsky label outside of Germany. … Continue Reading

Swiss-German Botanical Beauty – A Photo Editorial

photography and styling by Boris Marberg
models Leona S. and Nina A. of Option Model Agency in Switzerland
hair and makeup for Leona by Barbara Graf
hair and makeup for Nina by Lisa Forner

Although Boris travels the world to shoot runway shows for modaCYCLE, for this editorial he stayed in his own back yard, or at least Switzerland. This was all shot with available light in the botanical gardens of the University of Basel. … Continue Reading

Smeilinener Spring-Summer 2010 Collection, Berlin

notes by Freda Henry
photos by Wolfgang Wöhrle

The Smeilinener Spring-Summer 2010 collection presented at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Berlin was leaning a little bit in the Anna Sui style direction. Very colorful and the designer concentrated on details, especially the embroidery. Many pieces gave the same impression one gets from traditional colorful Tibetan ceremonial clothing, but with 1980’s touches, as seen most clearly in the color choices, tight fits, and shoulder embellishments. … Continue Reading

Fashion Ethics? Green is good.

reportage and photos by Boris Marberg

The “green is the new black” trend has been showing up for a while, but the new buzzword is “ethical.” This is not just the organic materials and dyes or cloth shopping bags, but a leap into defining not just environmentally friendly products, but people friendly process. This delves beyond organic materials and goes into defining fair business practices when dealing with garment workers in developing nations. … Continue Reading

Marcel Ostertag’s Desert Grace Spring-Summer 2010 Collection, Berlin

story by Veronika Gombert
photos by Alexander Palacios and Wolfgang Wöhrle

For Marcel Ostertag the cool understatement and purist inclinations that define German fashion are past. Beauty, glamor, and the grace of desert winds are for him, as shown in the striking synonyms that took center stage at the presentation. The Munich-based designer’s vision is based on impressions and feelings of desert life. … Continue Reading

Frida Weyer – An Homage to Femininity, SS2010, Berlin

story by Veronika Gombert
photos by Alexander Palacios and Peter Becher

Frida Weyer presented her first solo collection in the historic Chamäleon Varieté Theater, at the Hackesche Höfe, during the second day of Berlin Fashion Week. The former ballroom from the golden age of art nouveau, with its striking 1920’s charm, was a perfect stage for the dramatic new collection. The show was a history lesson packed into sweet girlish dresses, with its strong references to the diva looks of the 1920’s and 50’s. Weyer has immediately found her niche, with this high-end line of extravagant gowns. Showing this remarkably coherent first collection, one wonders what the young designer could accomplish with an established house behind her. … Continue Reading

German Shoe Porn

story by Charles Beckwith
photos by Boris Marberg

Ok, not really porn per se, but these images will definitely stimulate desire in many women. Maybe a few men as well. Here are some of the footwear looks from Berlin Fashion Week and the Spring-Summer 2010 Collections. … Continue Reading

Unrath & Strano Spring-Summer 2010 Bridal Collection, Berlin

story by Veronika Gombert
photos by Boris Marberg

Unrath & Strano is internationally renowned for their tailor-made evening gowns with exceptional cuts. The lobby of the Hotel Ellington was transformed into the epitome of luxury for the designer duo Klaus Unrath and Ivan Strano to present their first high-end bridal collection on the second day of Berlin Fashion Week. … Continue Reading

Michalsky Home Run Spring-Summer 2010 Collection, Berlin

story by Alexander Palacios and Charles Beckwith
photos by Boris Marberg and Alexander Palacios

Michalsky’s maverick new spring-summer 2010 collection was presented outside the IMG/Mercedes-Benz venues, in the famous Friedrichstadtpalast theater. Strong looks, very stylish and wearable. Several outfits are a chic blend of fanciful, elegant, and streetwise all at the same time. … Continue Reading

Michael Sontag Spring-Summer 2010 Collection, Berlin

reportage by Boris Marberg
photos by Boris Marberg and Wolfgang Wöhrle

Designer Michael Dominik Sontag, young winner of the most recent Becks Fashion Experience juried show, presented his spring-summer 2010 line on the third day of Berlin Fashion Week. … Continue Reading

Eastpak Looks To The Streets for Inspiration and Models

reportage by Boris Marberg
photos by Boris Marberg, Alexander Palacios, and Wolfgang Wöhrle

Eastpak showed they’ve been doing their homework. This spring-summer 2010 collection of urban street wear and bags truly reflects the now in youth culture in Berlin and around the world. … Continue Reading

Disheartening Day One for Berlin Fashion Week

reportage by Boris Marberg
photos by Boris Marberg, Alexander Palacios, and Wolfgang Wöhrle

Berlin Fashion Week is only a few seasons old, and the industry there is still finding its global voice and international footing. Each year they seem to get better, but the first day of presentations for the Spring-Summer 2010 collections proved very disheartening for those of us hoping this will be the season where Berlin became relevant in the global fashion scene. The only coherent collection on the Berlin runway for Day One was by GANT, a US sportswear company (see the runway show video on their web site). … Continue Reading

Michalsky – “Saints and Sinners” Fall 2009 Collection

by Veronika Gombert
photos by Boris Marberg

German designer Michael Michalsky chose an unusual location to present his Fall/Winter 2009 collection for Berlin Fashion Week. The Zionskirche is an old church in serious need of renovation, and it perfectly set the stage for “Saints and Sinners.”

The impetus for this particular collection was a reaction by the designer to Pope Benedict XVI’s archaic stand on homosexuality. Priestly robes and The Church’s current ideas about sin were literally his afflatus, from which the new collection arose. … Continue Reading