12.19.2011
12.03.2011
I'M BACK: Reflections On a Style Capital
As you've probably noticed, its been about 8 months since my last update. In mid April, I decided to go to Berlin without any limits or time constraints, and ultimately fell in love with the city and stayed 7 months. I quickly became absorbed with the German infrastructure and the people, spending my days in some sort of utopia of freedom and creativity. Before visiting the city, I knew that Berlin was internationally recognized as an artistic and cultural destination. The city has a history of cultural vibrancy, which was particularly visible during the 1920s, and today, it is home to around 420 galleries.
However, when it comes to the city's fashion presence, not much is published, and what little there is, usually ridicules Berlin for being a city that is unwilling, or unable to take fashion seriously. I have to say, I don't completely disagree with the critics. Berlin is not a destination for high fashion. There is simply not enough money to support that kind of industry, and even if there was, most individuals involved in creative fields tend to oppose institutional artistic structures.
So, it is perhaps more productive to look at Berlin not as a fashion destination, but rather as a cultivater of style. Walking down the streets of Berlin, it is hard not to notice the tremendous individuality and difference. This is of course expected from any major artistic metropolis. However, what sets Berlin apart is its remarkable authenticity and sincerity--stylistic choices are governed by an almost spiritual human need, rather than by social or economic imperatives. This means that style is available, and observable beyond gender, age and socioeconomic boundaries. Every Berliner seems to live his or her life with a profound aesthetic priority.
Berlin feels like the future. It is a landscape of democratized fashion with an inverted structure of power. This is no Paris, London or New York City (and thank god for that). In Berlin, fashion functions horizontally, rather than vertically. A fashonista living it up in Mitte (the equivalent of Soho) has the same access to dress as the construction worker or the street bum. Berlin is not a city of concentrated wealth, and this is not a hinderance, but precisely its advantage when it comes to the development of style. In the absence of significant levels of wealth, Berliners push the limits of creativity, demonstrating that contrary to the logic of the fashion authority, there is a difference between fashion and style.
Fashion in Berlin is political. This is not to say that it is serious--quite the contrary. Berliners are not preoccupied with external pressures (see: trends propagated by corporate structures), but rather interested in preserving choice, freedom, difference and independence. And these values, as sadly is too often the case within the fashion industry, are not just an illusion. They are the result of courageous individuals who have grown to understand the power of dress, but more than anything, the power of personal, individual style.
In the spirit of democratized fashion, I present to you a shoot I styled and directed during my stay in Berlin. It was shot in Teufelsberg, a man made hill built on top of a Nazi military technical college. During the 1950s, The US National Security Agency built one of its largest listening stations on top of the hill. The station operated until the fall of the Berlin Wall. Everything the models wear I got from second hand shops, from my closet or for free.
The shoot was photographer by my talented and fashionable friend Byron Reza. For more, check out: www.byronreza.tumblr.com
However, when it comes to the city's fashion presence, not much is published, and what little there is, usually ridicules Berlin for being a city that is unwilling, or unable to take fashion seriously. I have to say, I don't completely disagree with the critics. Berlin is not a destination for high fashion. There is simply not enough money to support that kind of industry, and even if there was, most individuals involved in creative fields tend to oppose institutional artistic structures.
So, it is perhaps more productive to look at Berlin not as a fashion destination, but rather as a cultivater of style. Walking down the streets of Berlin, it is hard not to notice the tremendous individuality and difference. This is of course expected from any major artistic metropolis. However, what sets Berlin apart is its remarkable authenticity and sincerity--stylistic choices are governed by an almost spiritual human need, rather than by social or economic imperatives. This means that style is available, and observable beyond gender, age and socioeconomic boundaries. Every Berliner seems to live his or her life with a profound aesthetic priority.
Berlin feels like the future. It is a landscape of democratized fashion with an inverted structure of power. This is no Paris, London or New York City (and thank god for that). In Berlin, fashion functions horizontally, rather than vertically. A fashonista living it up in Mitte (the equivalent of Soho) has the same access to dress as the construction worker or the street bum. Berlin is not a city of concentrated wealth, and this is not a hinderance, but precisely its advantage when it comes to the development of style. In the absence of significant levels of wealth, Berliners push the limits of creativity, demonstrating that contrary to the logic of the fashion authority, there is a difference between fashion and style.
Fashion in Berlin is political. This is not to say that it is serious--quite the contrary. Berliners are not preoccupied with external pressures (see: trends propagated by corporate structures), but rather interested in preserving choice, freedom, difference and independence. And these values, as sadly is too often the case within the fashion industry, are not just an illusion. They are the result of courageous individuals who have grown to understand the power of dress, but more than anything, the power of personal, individual style.
In the spirit of democratized fashion, I present to you a shoot I styled and directed during my stay in Berlin. It was shot in Teufelsberg, a man made hill built on top of a Nazi military technical college. During the 1950s, The US National Security Agency built one of its largest listening stations on top of the hill. The station operated until the fall of the Berlin Wall. Everything the models wear I got from second hand shops, from my closet or for free.
The shoot was photographer by my talented and fashionable friend Byron Reza. For more, check out: www.byronreza.tumblr.com
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