Our second Berlin based designer in our ‘Fashion Notes from Berlin’ is modernist Kilian Kerner. No newcomer, this past Berlin Fashion Week saw Kerner’s 11th showing and for SS14 the designer mixes formalwear and sportswear, combining a startling array of colour and metallics, prints and fabrics and sometimes sculptural or completely fluid shapes. The result is a futurist wardrobe that does much to pay homage to Parisian fashion, in particular one can see nods to titans of Paris modernism such as Pierre Cardin and Jean Paul Gaultier, a collection that calls to mind both The Great Gatsby and Blade Runner in equal measure.
Kerner’s designs are emblematic to the typical Berliner approach to fashion; eclectic, laid back, non trend led and fun. The designer likes to play with contradictions; in womenswear he pairs stunning evening gowns with Nike sneakers and androgynous suits with ultra feminine dresses, for menswear he delivers boxy mod formalwear with metallic pinstripes or tire prints, suit jackets over lycra cycling shorts, and more pinstripes on casual sweaters and loose basketball shorts.