Dozens of spectacular shows, trade fairs, showrooms, new boutiques openings, it’s just a little bit of Berlin Fashion Week. We were exploring all corners of the city, looking for unique boutiques and places where Berliners do their shopping. We visited artsy Kreuzberg, young designers district Mitte, Mauerpark flea market and luxury Kurfürstendamm boulevard. We were at Münzstrasse, Alexanderplatz and Platz der Luftbrücke, where the clothing fair Bread & Butter took place. If you can sit somewhere and drinking lemonade, by chance, meet a famous hat designer, it’s Berlin.
During Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, every place in the city is dedicated to fashion. Bars and restaurants show live broadcasting from catwalks, cinemas organize Berlin Fashion Film Festival and streets are full of face-hunters. Newspapers daily write about upcoming events and guests visiting German capital, for example Ivan Rodic, famous Scandinavian street fashion photographer. Nevertheless, Berlin is about fashion throughout the year. Next to cultural events and entertainment, visitors are attracted by shopping. We decided to check what distinguish German boutiques from those we’ve known so far.
What can be seen in Berlin immediately is multiplicity. And diversity. Therefore, it’s better to think about what you’re looking for, since the roads of bargain hunter and traditional shopaholic in Berlin will not cross. Let’s start with Mitte and design enthusiasts.
The Kastanienallee artery leading from Mitte to Prenzlauer Berg is lined with small, independent shops, where you’ll discover local design, home décor and unique souvenirs. Numerous fashion labels also cluster around Hackescher Markt with their ateliers.
Here we found a boutique of Rike Feurstein, quite eccentric headgear designer, winner of the prestigious German Red Dot Design Award.
Perky visors, toques, streamlined caps and fedoras, all hand-made, reflect Feurstein’s keen eye for flattering styles and shapes. The atelier is guarded by Rike herself and her dogs.
Right next to, it’s store has Whiteout&Glare, a Berlin eyewear company known from original ideas. Latest collection was inspired by reefs, supporting the movement for ocean’s natural resources. Beautiful projects.
Also here, at Max-Beer-Strasse 3, we visited a very special shop. Smack in the middle of the building, there’s a street going along! You can even see sidewalks. Used to be a dye factory, now works as FREITAG store, German Swiss bag brand. FREITAG sells nothing but bags made from recycled trucks, say the owners. They buy used truck tarps and seatbelts, and give them a new life. No two bags are the same. About the unique process “From truck till bag” you can read at their page.
The Weinmeisterstrasse area is really worth visiting. For sure something will surprise you. We went there to Bite Club Mitte food & fashion fair, that takes place regularly on Saturdays.
Great place to meet local designers and fashion enthusiasts. That’s how we met Marco. He makes hand-made souvenirs from Berlin – bags and backpacks with his own design.
Bags and backpacks by Marco Biuto, Officine Berlinesi
Bite Club Mitte takes place in a big hall built from containers, with an open-air space and a back garden. It’s also a food market, so you will find food trucks of all kind. And believe us, it’s yummy.
For luxury shoppers we highly recommend Kurfürstendamm. Walking towards Berlin ZOO, you will pass by elegant boutiques of Burberry, Zegna, Prada, Valentino, Louis Vuitton, Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci and Porsche Design. At the end of the boulevard there is KaDeWe department store, the biggest shopping center in Europe. Now your are around one of Berlin’s major luxury shopping strips.
On the other site of the street there is a new concept mall Bikini Berlin. The recently opened shopping center is really worth a visit as you are in Berlin, for several reasons.
Firstly, this place will always look different when you arrive. The main idea of Bikini Berlin is to promote small businesses, startups and foreign brands. It gives them “their five minutes”, which means from 3-12 months opportunity to rent a space there. It keeps the place changing constantly. What’s more, Bikini Berlin runs an amazing 25hours Hotel, with stunning interior design and a bakery, where you can go for a coffee and pretzel. The view from it’s roof terrace is quite unusual for a shopping center – you can watch birds, monkeys and flamingos from the neighbouring ZOO.
There is also a multitasking path, to combine Berlin sightseeing with premium shopping. Along Friedrichstrasse, luxury apartment stores like Galleries Lafayette and Quartier 206 are on your way to see the city highlights: Brandenburg Gate, Holocaust Memorial, Gendarmenmarkt, Checkpoint Charlie. If you reach Alexanderplatz, with the TV Tower and City Hall, you’re few steps away from shopaholics paradise. There you will find everything. A five-storeys shopping gallery, chain stores, private boutiques, second-hands and probably all the tourists who came to Berlin for shopping.
The last shopping stop has to be at Flohmärkte, a flea market. Every Sunday bargain hunters head to Mauerpark. If you’re lucky, you can buy shoes from Marc Jacobs for 25 euros or original retro glasses from the 60s. Many young designers have their stalls here too. Marco, the Italian we met at Bite Club Mitte market also comes here with his #Berlin bags and packpacks. Mauerpark is a great opportunity to meet interesting people, listen to live music and taste famous Currywurst. It’s like a great picnic with surprises.
Finally, if you’re looking for old school creations and second-hand shops, we recommend Mitte district again. Check XVIII (Steinstrasse 17), Made In Berlin (Neue Schönhauser 19), Alex Vintage (Rosa-Luxemburg Strasse 17), Das neue Schwarz (Mulackstrasse 37) and Sing Blackbird on Kreuzkölln (Sanderstraße 11), where once a month there is a market as well.
Well, that’s what we managed to explore in a week, between shows at Mercedes-Benz, Premium and Reserved “Let’s Fashion”. We hope you’ll take advantage of our experience and visit Berlin soon. Enjoy your shopping.
Photos Anna Bojarowicz / Reserved
Big regards to Rafael Poschmann,