Returning to Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin was Serbian-born Sasa Kovacevic with his contemporary label Sadak. With looks and outfits aimed at the urban youth culture, whilst including ethnic elements, the brand offered an eclectic mix.
Having studied both fashion design and costume design, Sasa seems to have a taste for the wow-effect, as each collection is provocative and dramatic to please his audience. With this new autumn/winter 2017 collection, the designer has once again proved he is not afraid to take risk and challenge the norms. Gender blurring and rule breaking, these new looks had everything to be talked about.
The gender fluid aspect was both highly noticeable, but also discretely nodded to. First, both male and female model shared the designer’s outfits, who did not follow their assigned gender in dressing men in long black skirts, red dress dungarees, and long grey and beige aprons. One of the highlight was probably the male model who came down the catwalk in white platform heels, wearing perfect makeup and slick back long hair. Other elements such as see-through tops and open backs all played a part in this gender blurring philosophy.
On a more subtle note, the idea of sexuality was also played with. Three male models wore bright red outfits, a colour usually associated with passion and sex, and one of them wore it in the form of vinyl, long, dress dungarees. Headpieces worn over the head and intricate knots and string manipulations also evoked the idea of sex and S&M.
Overall, there was a lot of youth culture references. The models had tattoos and piercings and were from all kinds of ethnicities, probably showing a will to represent young people around the world, and that they might not be that different to one another. Whether from America, Eastern Europe or Asia, Sadak’s youth was inspired by 80s sportswear and wore it well.
With his autumn/winter 2017 collection, Sadak’s designer reflected upon complex notions, such as gender, sexuality and identity. But more importantly, he depicted a youth that was united in its differences. Coming out of his show, we, above all, had a feeling of accepting and understanding one another.
This Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin’s new talent presented by Elle and Mercedes-Benz, was Swiss designer Julia Seemann, whose eponymous label was founded upon graduation from Institute of Fashion Design, Academy of Art and Design Basel in 2014.
At such a young age and in a short amount of time, Seemann has already sparked the interest of international press. First when winning the VFILES Runway competition for their fourth edition, which then lead her to show her collection at New York Fashion Week autumn/winter 2015. Thanks to such a great exposure, she attracted the eyes of New York socialites, such as Rihanna, who wore one of her pieces to Kanye West’s Yeezy x Adidas Fall 2015 presentation.
Julia Seemann’s autumn/winter 2017 collection was worthy of the celebrities she attracted in the past, as each piece was powerful and all the models looked stunning under the flashlights. It was a collection that inspired confidence and designed for women who want to take a stance in a world and appear bold. And bold it was. From the knee-high boots paired with hoody dresses, to the oversized denim jackets and belts worn as chokers, every look was complex and contrasted to offer eclectic styles.
With this 90s-inspired show, Seemann proved her awareness of current international trends, and hence delivered clothes which would have been exhibited in Paris and Milan and could now be seen next to Demna Gvasalia’s work. From the oversized sportswear to a heavy styling – big earrings and sparkly bracelets worn round the elbow – Seemann’s collection had everything to generate hype and success. Highlights would be the oversized shirts worn backwards, where words such as “Succubus” and “Fetisch” added even more provocation. Contemporary and aimed at youth culture, the designer could very well be the next voice of her generation.
Accompanied by 2 live djs, Julia Seemann understood what today’s youth enjoyed and how to spark their interest. Her gang of badass girls would in fact appeal to all of us, as provocation and contrast would only underline strength and confidence. If some designers don’t dare enough, she certainly did and hence made her way next to some of the greatest artists of our time.
On the first day of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin, menswear label BRACHMANN filled the me Collectors Room for their presentation. This autumn/winter 2017 collection was inspired by sailors’ journeys into exploring the North-Pole-Sea, and the Explorer’s Hope prophecy of an ice-free sea.
Since January 2014, BRACHMANN has been exhibiting their new designs on the on-schedule list of Berlin’s fashion week. Heavily inspired by architecture – and more precisely the Bauhaus movement – BRACHMANN looks at shapes and constructions in order to rethink the male silhouette and create a post-classical men’s wardrobe. With twists and details constantly seeking to go beyond what we know of menswear, BRACHMANN’s presentations have become go-to events.
Again inspired by a maritime theme, the colour palette ranged from navy blue to a paler one, with touches of grey and white. Very pure, these shades evoked the waves of the ocean, as white and light blue were often applied to shirts, jumpers and a coat, and paired with darker colours in the bottoms to recreate the effect of foam at sea. To follow-up with the inspiration, classic pieces such as shirts and suits were mixed with duffle coats and raincoats as well as incorporations of hoodies, which fitted well with the autumn/winter season. As the inspiration was exploring the search and hope for an ice-free North-Pole-Sea, the hairstyles were topped off with fake snow.
For this presentation, the label collaborated with Giovanni De Benedetto, from Candida Kandinskji to perform a live DJ set. But the main attraction was probably the fact that German influencers were standing aside from the traditional male models, and hence further embodying BRACHMANN’s signature to go beyond the norms. And thus, the famous Sami Slimani was seen a double-breasted dark grey blazer with marching trousers, exploring the realm of modeling.
This season again, Jennifer Brachmann managed to go beyond classical menswear and bring in her own touch. Not only the design, but the production itself proved to revolutionize one’s experience of Berlin Fashion Week, as the usually-guests of honour turned models for a day and exhibited the garments to their followers. In the end, this presentation especially demonstrated how BRACHMANN designs do not only look good on models and that they were in fact accessible to all creative men.
The fashion editorial YOUR LIFE IS A JOKE by photographer Maria Ritsch and her team is part of the Superior Magazine # 63 digital issue, which is also available as print and download.
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The fashion editorial BETTER IN TIME by photographer Simone Rudloff and her team is part of the Superior Magazine # 63 digital issue, which is also available as print and download.
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In this issue: Interview with artist Christian Rothenhagen | Fashion Editorial by Maria Ritsch | Greenshowroom & Ethical Fashion Show Berlin A/W 2017 | Fashion Editorial by Christina Hasenauer | Fashion Editorial by Simone Rudloff | Fashion Editorial by Verena Knemeyer | Fashion editorial by Tom Porter & Holly Chapman
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Many thanks to the photographers & their teams, the interview partners, the editors and everybody who worked hard for this Superior Magazine # 63 issue!
At this year’s London Design Festival, the Airbnb Innovation medal was awarded to Dutch designer Daan Roosegaarde. Ever since founding Studio Roosegaarde in 2007, Daan has been pushing the boundaries of design and innovation, mixing clever technology to concrete projects and creating what he calls the Landscapes of the Future. With high hopes and optimism for a new, smarter world, Daan has been working with clean technology to design spaces such as the Sustainable Dance Floor, where dancing creates energy, and glow-in-the-dark highways. Here, Daan Roosegaarde talks to Nerys from Superior Magazine about his latest Smog Free Project, the world’s biggest air purifier that turns pollution particles into beautiful jewellery.
Daan, before coming to your exciting projects, could you tell us about your journey to the position you are in today?
I have always been fascinated with the world around me, from the moment I started diving underwater in tropical Asia, seeing light-emitting jellyfish, seeing algae which give offlight when you move your hand through the water at night. It’s been a very important element for me. Bachelor in Art, Master in Architecture, son of a mathsteacher. A lot of people tellingme that what I want cannot be done,and it’s my job to prove them wrong. I am a maker; I am a consumer but mostly a maker. I make proposals, I make inventions, I make new dreams. That is what has been pushing me over the past years.
When did you establish Studio Roosegaarde?
Around 8 years ago, when I realized that the ideas I had in my brain, nobody was really able to build them for me. I was always hanging out with the whiz kids at university, playing with new materials and new technology. On one hand, it made sense to push it to the next level, more professional and longerterm. That was the beginning of the studio, a couple of guys in a space with a pizza hotline taped on the door. And now we have an old glass factory which we renovated in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, with a big team. It grew through the years but I think the mentality stays the same, the notion of making the Landscapes of the Future, combining technology and the poetic side and building it, testing it, learning from it. Making mistakes and then upgrading again.
Your use of technology to change people’s lives is really interesting. How does one think of such projects and carry them out?
For me technology is a second language, it’s not something abstract or distant, it is the way we communicate, we share, we learn. But at the same time it is something people see as distant from themselves. That’s weird because we are feeding these computer screens all day with our Facebook and our Twitter, our ideas and our opinions. What happens when technology jumps out of the computer screen? Can we make places which are better for people using creative thinking and using new technology? A project like the Smog Free Project started from there, in a way, after thinking, “We have created machines that are killing us, we make sure that we live two years shorter when we live in a city such as Beijing, our children cannot play outside until they are 8 years old.” We should do more, not less, and invent things to improve the world around us. It starts there. Questioning our dissatisfaction of the way things are now.
Could you explain your views on innovation and how we need it to upgrade the old world?
It starts with the question “Why?” Why do we accept pollution? How does a jellyfish emit light without solar panels or battery? What can we learn from that? Of course, not everything has to change; some things are great and will remain great. But at the same time, you see a lot of systems crashing in terms of economy and in terms of how we produce things, in terms of the waste we generate every day. It is normal that we learn and we try to test it and we try to put it into practice. This kind of learning mentality and then actually building it, that is for me the definition of innovation. It is asking a question and then trying to answer it.
And you answer it quite well with your latest project. Could you describe this “Smog Free Project”?
We have been working on a series of Landscapes of the Future: we made dance floors which produce electricity when you dance on them, we made garments which change in transparency when you become more intimate with someone, bicycle pathswhich charge at daytime and glow at nighttime. At one point, it made sense working in China. In a weird way, I became inspired by the Beijing smog. Looking at how I couldn’t even see the other side of the street on one day because of the pollution, and the impact it has on people’s lives. This is not progress, this is not innovation, this is not the future we imagined. What can we do with that? China’s government invests millions on their self-declared war on smog, but it will take 10-15 years before the clean tech and electrical cars start to be fully operational. I wanted to operate within the now.
It is a very basic principle. Do you remember when you had children’s parties and you had these plastic balloons, when you start to polish it with your hand, it becomes? Electrostatic. It attracts your hair. Since I was a young boy, I have been incredibly fascinated by that. I thought, “What if we use that principle and literally build the largest smog vacuum cleaner in the word, to suck up polluted air, clean it and then release the clean air?” On a park level, we could make areas which are 75% cleanerthan the rest of the city. And so we did. Building the first one in Rotterdamwith the support of a Kickstartercampaign we launched. With the captured particles, instead of throwing them away, we compress them by hand for 30 minutes and create Smog Free rings. By sharing a ring, you donate 1,000 cubic metres of clean air. On Kickstarter, people picked it up, they wanted to be a part of it. It was a super experience, a bit scary but it worked. And now, since the 29thSeptember 2016, it’s open in Beijing, finally. We are working with the creative universities there to do a Smog Free tour to promote the beauty of clean air.
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What would it take to have Beijing completely clean?
The real solution to have a city like Beijing clean, we all know the answer: clean technology, more bicycles, electric cars. The government is doing that; we’re more bottom-up, we are infiltrating the system. I don’t think the towers in themselves are Tthe final solution. But by creating a place where people can smell the difference, where they can feel the difference, that would stimulatethem to say,“What can we do to work together to make the whole city smog free?” You need these two movements, bottom-up and top-down; I’m sort of a happy infiltrator there. I don’t want to wait for numbers or politicians, I am so tired of that. I want to do something now. This is something now.
Are you planning on bringing the Tower to other cities?
Yes, absolutely! Pollution is definitely not only a problem in China; in India, Mexico City, even Paris or London. If you live next to a highway, it is like smoking 20 cigarettes per day – without the pleasure of the nicotine! Even my home town, Rotterdam, has its own issues.
The Tower will tour through different cities in China, but we are definitely looking at other cities around the world. For me the project is really about showing the beauty of clean air. Design and beauty are not a Ferrari or an expensive watch, but the notion of clean air for everyone. That is what pushes and drives the project.
How did the idea of turning smog into jewellery come to mind?
I’m a maker;the mind is a weird thing! Once we finally captured the particles and saw how incredibly disgusting it actually was, we said, “We should do something with this.” We could create machines, but more machines would make people lazier, they would just pollute more and let the machines take care of it. We want to create a mentality change. 42% of the stuff we are capturing isfilled with carbon, and carbon under high pressure gives diamonds. The inspiration came from there, putting it under pressure for 30 minutes and making a cubic shape from it. That’s the amount of particles we have captured from a thousand cubic metres: by sharing a ring you donate 1,000 cubic metres of clean air. That became a powerful activator, wedding couples purchasing it for their weddings. That actually happened a lot – more than I imagined. We also had mayors wearing it as cufflinks. It was making a very complicated and sensitive topic into something more personal and sharable. The project is both, the Tower and the rings. You need the hard technology to fix it and you need the social engagement to connect with people, and you need both to create impact.
How does the Smog Free Project relate to your previous ones?
They are connecting future thinking with down-to-earth, hands-on solutions. They combine pragmatism and poetry. They are engaged with public spaces, it is for everyone. They are proposals for the new world we want to live in. I don’t see them as one-off designs, trying to be beautiful, they are prototypes for the smart city of tomorrow. I am so tired of these chairs, lamps and tables at design fairs. Design is much much more in the world of today. Design is about improving life.
You talk about Landscapes of the Future a lot. What are your hopes for the future?
Cities are growing bigger, there are more and more people, so we have to be creative in order to survive, in order to make liveable spaces. I would love to have places which are energy harvesting, or where waste does not exist, or, on an emotional level, where I feel connected to technology as something that takes care of me instead of frightens me or potentially damages me.
Places are also the space where people meet, where they exchange. We live in this screen era and I hate that. I would love to connect more the virtual and physical worlds together. When I look at my life, the moment I change is because of physical experiences, something I encountered, something dramatic or beautiful. Something like the public domain is a great way to experiment. For the rest I don’t know, we are going to figure it out together.
With the Smog Free Project, will one Tower be enough for one city? Of course not. But by showing that there is hope, people become part of the solution rather than just feeling part of the problem. That is as important as good design or good technology. Maybe it is the essence of design, you create new links between people and the world around them. There is this famous quote by Marshall McLuhan, the Canadian author, “There are no passengers on spaceship earth. We are all crew.” I like this quote, it defines me.
What are your next steps?
We are working on a 32-kilometre Dam Project in the Netherlands, the Afsluitdijk. It is the famous dyke infrastructure that protects the Netherlands from drowning but it is 100 years old and in desperate need of renovation. We were asked by the ministry of infrastructure to add a layer of light and interaction on top of it. It’s complex but exciting.
I am also curious to see what the Smog Free Project will bring in terms of new ideas and proposals. We have to keep on triggering our curiosity.
