The forward march of diversity and representation in Berlin continues in undaunted unison under the all-inclusive umbrella of Fashion Council Germany and its wealth of brands which, season after season, step forth with innovation and pioneering spirits.

BOBKOVA

For Spring, Kristina Bobkova continues to explore her Ukrainian origins and the intersection between her roots and the world stage—she is, after all, amid the few Ukrainian luxury designers on the international world stage. “This collection was devoted to Ukrainian gardens; The mallow flower is a symbol of Ukrainian defence against the enemy, and I wanted to emphasise that because Bobkova speaks of peace, reason why the Spring collection draws inspiration from a magical garden, filled with flowers, freshness, and lightness,” opins the designer before her show. “In the new collection, there’s recycled accessories, bags, and shoes, dress tops made from production waste—yarn, silk ribbons, ribbons and knitwear—while paying homage to Ukrainian porcelain traditions. Earrings, pendants, necklaces, and glasses decorations are delicately crafted from the finest porcelain, with gold plating.” Closer to our times, the designer has become taken with strength-boosting works in the feminine literary current, as such tales lay at the core of the Bobkova brand. Fashion-wise, that translated into masculine suits with oversized shoulders, paired with wide-legged or fitted trousers, providing essential comfort for modern women. The designer has bigger plans in the works. She’s not ready to go into details, but Spring made for a modern line up with a cool visual appeal. Ukraine to Paris with a detour in Berlin feels like a pretty interesting itinerary.

LITKOVSKA

In a season rife with gender ambiguity, Litkovska’s lineup subtly shook up masculine volumes for a clean-cut proposal of femininity. Perhaps it’s the temper of these turbulent times that allowed the designer’s oeuvre to play out like an awakening of sorts; but this isn’t so difficult when clothes are lovely and easy to wear. Put simply, elegance and beauty were present amid the neutral rigour, creating timeless pieces and moods that can become part of modern life while nurturing content over form. The collection also gathered a genderless appeal: for men, there’s a chalk grey blazer with just a hint of a stretch, so it’s comfy and casual enough to sport year-round. Litkovska’s aesthetic is largely her own, and the collection she showed left out the whirl of trends and fads. Lining up against a muted backdrop of industrial settings at Kraftwerk Berlin, clothes gained a sartorial severity that turned softer as the show progressed. But assumptions aside, tailoring is by far the brand’s most compelling Lingua Franca, raising a glass in the name of poise and old-school glamour. Cheers to that.

On inspirations, Fan noted that this collection “was about making a celebratory proposal by implementing a rich palette, while comprising a lot of brocades, virgin wools and very classic traditional tailoring fabrics.” The most compelling procession of clothes seen at Berlin’s Gropius Bau offered wardrobe foundations that are refreshingly accessible, emphasising a minimal spirit with a twist.

MARKE

MARKE’s Spring proposition of menswear required a certain degree of disbelief. It wasn’t irony— not by long shot—that the brand called the Spring show “a poignant love letter to childhood reflections.” Not even when it included drop-crotch denim pants teamed with cotton silk jacquards. MARKE is too generous to stint for the sake of a theme, but the elevation of ease found great expression in this season’s fuss-free, cartoonish heart. The best looks in the collection managed to synthesise Keine’s thought-provoking brew of influences, like the modest white elongated vest that was gathered in gentle volumes at the hip and paired with loose outerwear. “This collection deals with loosing up the brutality of normality,” notes MARKE’s Creative Director Mario Keine, explaining that “such stiffness is broken up by airy viewpoints.” This collection was a crisp, well-balanced mix of versatile clothes for a man’s wardrobe. And if Keine continues in this poised direction, he’s sure to expand on his steady growing business.

MILK OF LIME

In a season of this much industry-driven shifts, it’s certainly no mean feat to break out and become the next big hit. The result is that, with an increasingly commonplace pace, designers are tasked with creating stories (read: old) threads into pioneering visions. But for Milk of Lime’s Julia Ballardt and Nico Verhaegen, crafting garments for next Spring was a simply straight-to-the-point affair: reinterpreting the classics through natural fibres, unfolding their “loneliness”—a pulsating thread weaved across the lineup staged at the Zeiss Major Planetarium, as both creatives come from the countryside—and bringing forth a spectrum of neutrals that brought novelty to the surface textile treatments. Rounded shoulders, undulating necklines and flounced hemlines were the type of go-to details that felt fresh and contemporary, in line with the subtly provocative undertone punctuated by see-through garments. Silhouettes were sheer-yet-see-through enough to defy all manner of basics: because unlike other artistic minds on a hot pursuit to contend with the archives, this alumnus of Givenchy has considerable freedom to define his identity without the pressure of historical underpinnings.

LUCAS MEYER LECLERE

“Fashion shows bore me to death,” blithely exclaimed Lucas Meyer-Leclère before his Spring show, who seems to be at his best when he’s sending out easy pieces with just enough fashion edge, like a noir-tinged boxy blazer with bold fastenings or a quasi-Victorian maxi, laminated dress in a delicate hue tint. Often clothes spoke for themselves without all the inner-dialogue narratives of the present times. Leclère’s shapes are vertical—as a former protégé of Karl Lagerfeld, there’s a sense of rigour amid the frenzy craze of his craft. Whether it’s a flow-length coat dress or a generously scaled topper, in a way, this season’s proposal was more ambitious—albeit freewheeling—compared to previous seasons, since he had no form to follow. “Fashion is fun! And I wanted to have fun by merging the synergies of Berlin and Paris in one accord,” notes Leclère. While the tricky styling— and show staging, which comprised a sweet concoction of live poetry and creative performances— on the runway left some looks feeling overcomplicated, the simple, stylish nature of Leclère’s pieces were contrasted with lots of volume and prints, the latter of which overwhelmed models here and there. But there were some exquisite flesh-coloured gowns, smothered in bright brushstrokes, which will no doubt turn up on the red carpet. The collection had an oddly wacky feel, especially for a couturier who, season after season, transitions to a new, flamboyant eclecticism insiders seems to covet.

SF1OG

Spring found many designers rejecting “heritage” (a buzzword of the early naughties) for a more freewheeling approach. But not Rosa Marga Dahl—the trailblazing designer helming SF1OG— who’s sticking with the winsome, functional-like hook she’s established at the brand.

Her Spring show took a classical spin at first—credit the brilliant German-Armenian composer, Meredi, whose poignant melodies delighted throngs of editors within the walls of the Ludwig Erhard House in Berlin, a sanctuary that once housed the city‘s stock exchange. She describes her Spring proposals as “a journey that means something on the emotional level,” explaining that “this season, the connection with the natural world was meaningful because of the elegance portrayed within the equestrian dimension, and how such childhood passion was important to translate into garments.” In Berlin, SF1OG’s clothes have won fans at the most rarified levels of fashion—from underground settings to sky-high kinds. This collection is characterised by the same obsessive attention to detail: the costume made textures, the artisanal know-how and a rough, gloom-like edge enough to fill a whole textbook with references.

As for references, can one ever have enough? “There’s lightness with a hint of dark, punctuated by the usage of silk linen and century-old drapes,” notes Dahl. A compelling lightness, indeed. By culling inspirations from the emotional and the personal spectrum of her practice, what was appealing about this equestrian-laced collection is that it didn’t feel like the equestrian-laced collections many designers in the contemporary market have been doing for years. The body-hugging toppers with cinched waists looked modern, styled with knee-high footwear, marking Dahl’s prowess in technicality that brings freshness to the tiresome whirl of nostalgia. Clearly, it’s refreshing to see SF1OG evolving at a steady, smart pace.