With spring under way, it’s hard to imagine that the autumn/winter production cycle has commenced. Last Week’s German Press Days ushered in the latest runway looks and collections from well over 300 brands—many of which are based here in Berlin.
As usual, we had a ball. As the list of participating agencies grow every season, we’ve consequently had to grow more selective with the showrooms that we do visit to ensure that we hit the bulk of the German labels that the magazine features. Along with the steady stream of freebies that accompany the two day event, one of the Press Days’ perks is the opportunity to test out next season’s garments and to see whether they’re suitable for editorial limelight. Admittedly, we also love trying on beautiful clothes and, under lucky circumstances, might even find ourselves sneaking in a personal private order or two.
In Berlin alone, there’s a stable of both young and established labels that have opted out of the runway schedule, electing, instead, to present their collections in a showroom environment during the Press Days. So while many might attend the Press Days as a professional courtesy to the PR agencies they work with or for the freebies alone, it’s actually an important podium for the labels who are introducing their latest collections for the first time to the press. DSTM, Reality Studio, Antonia Goy, Bless, and Tata Christiane were among such names, and having introduced some stunning pieces in their autumn/winter collections, their looks will most certainly end up in the pages of our next issue.
The Press Days always brings a handful of new talents and great garments that await discovery and harvest. Once the craze of production cycle begins with photo shoots tightly scheduled, it’s valuable to have a mental list of all labels and looks you can immediately access. It’s difficult to know beforehand what I’ll end up using in the coming season; pieces that astound at first sight might never end up in any of my work, while others, which may have appeared too strange or too conventional on the racks at the time, are used and reused for that very reason. The Patrick Mohr, Henrik Vibskov, Julian Zigerli pieces on Matthew, are some of the more outspoken pieces we encountered along with the Tata Christiane looks donned by designer Esther Perbandt and our editor Arne Eberle below. Hopes are, I’ll find the perfect opportunity to use at least one of these aberrant garments this upcoming season in a manner that does them justice!
