Haute Presents: the art of setting the stage

Haute Presents: the art of setting the stage

Haute Presents: the art of setting the stage

Interview: Paulina Tsvetanova

Maxine Noth is the founder and managing director of Haute Presents, the couture of the art experience. This summer and autumn, Paulina’s Friends will host two exhibitions with Haute Presents artists Ildikó Buckley and Brandt Parker. We spoke with Maxine about her innovative concept.

Dear Maxine, how did it come to Haute Presents? Tell us the story behind.

I moved to Berlin immediately after I had finished my Masters in History of Art back in London where I am originally from. I came with the wish to create a more immersive way of engaging with art that breaks down the boundaries of the traditional white cube aesthetic. Throughout the course of my studies, I was met with statements such as ‘I don’t understand art’ then people would shut down, which I found to be a depressing sentiment. I don’t personally think art exists to be understood, it is to be enjoyed or provide relief in some way, so my grand idea was to inject some fun into the world of art through different media that would entice a larger and more mixed audience. It was important to me to provide a platform for emerging artists. It’s hard to get a foot in without personal connections in the industry and a lot of talent is dismissed as a result. Every Michelangelo, Picasso & Warhol were unknown emerging artists at some point. It excites me to back the potential for the unknown to become known.

What is your USP?

The heart and soul of Haute Presents is getting art out to people who are intimidated by the traditional white cube aesthetic. Everything we do is completely tailor-made to each event, making each one unique and very personal as we work directly with the artists and artisans. The element of fun is crucial to Haute Presents, offering a opulent yet warm environment where everyone is welcome.

You are all in one – art historian, curator, event manager, art consultant, performer. What about your education?

I’ve always loved art. Some of my earliest memories are trailing around museums with my mother. I was always drawn to modern art, particularly pop art. I had terrible eyesight growing up yet refused to wear my glasses so, in hindsight these wonderfully bright pieces were probably all I could see! It was in my teens that I fell in love with the subject history of art. It gives us an insight to the world around us through creativity. Essentially, a key-hole into life through pictures!

I went onto University College London where I completed my BA and MA. I’ve been blessed with incredible teachers who I think make all the difference. I credit a lot to them. Education is key and unfortunately has to still be fought for. Education doesn’t stop at exams or degrees, nor should that be the sole focus. One should be inspired by and actively learn from the world around us.

What do you give your passion and enthusiasm most for?

It’s telling a story and opening up new dialogues to expand the parameters of art. If I have intrigued one person who would not normally have been interested or would normally be intimidated by an art event, it gives me huge pride and satisfaction. Kids actually have the best insight. They have a raw honesty and wide eyed earnestness that is infectious as well as humorous.

Your criteria for selecting your artists, designers, artisans?

Haute Presents is multidisciplinary, so there is a wide range, though I tend to lean towards the kitsch, the colourful and the macabre. Photography, performance and paintings being my favourite mediums.

My first ever event was an open call on Craigslist where I met several artists who I continue to work with. Through word-of-mouth, the event snowballed and Haute Presents was born. Art fairs are another favourite place to discover emerging talent and of course social media. Instagram is my personal favourite as it is an ever expanding open catalogue and community of creativity.

It’s only now, 3 years on, that I’ve been working with individual artists more closely rather than group shows. Brandt Parker with our wearable art collection and Ildikó Buckley and her archival analogue photography piece ‘#1872Photographsof 2015,’ are examples of these and both which will be showcased at Paulina’s Friends.

In your online boutique you promote not only contemporary art, but also „wearable“ art – jewelry, accessories, clothing, books. In your events the music, cuisine and costumes play a big role. Where is the border between art and real life?

Artistry is everywhere; from a beautifully composed canvas to a perfectly mixed drink.

The Bauhaus movement is very influential to my practice where the production itself Is art. I feel this attitude gives each of my events a high quality tailored theme.

Regarding ‘wearable art’ – I would also love to grow this aspect of Haute Presents working closely with independent designers in collaboration with my artists. I am seeking to break the boundaries of engaging with art and fashion is the other true passion of mine. Plus, what is more personal than being adorned in these very beautiful images?!

Maxine Noth & Brandt Parker

 

Why did you stop organising frequent exhibitions and having a permanent showroom?

I had a gallery space for two years in a wonderful location. It truly was a gift and there are so many incredible memories with that space; if walls could talk! We had fire shows, clowns, burlesque elves, a naughty Santa installation to a pop up doll stripper routine as well as more conventional shows that showed off a diverse range of contemporary talent. Owning a gallery was never the plan, it was an opportunity that arose that I couldn’t ignore. The essence of Haute Presents is to step outside the traditional way in which one perceives art and bring to it to those people who would not normally step into an art gallery. This is why I love Pop-ups, I love the Vernissage, the party, the spectacle.

Berlin is poor but sexy. What about London? You didn’t want to establish Haute Presents there?

London holds a dear place in my heart as I grew up and studied there. However, following my studies, I had no desire to continue staying there; I felt a pull towards Berlin which has now become my home. I love the raw beauty of Berlin where the creativity is tangible, it has a way of connecting people and making projects coming into fruition in the most hilarious and odd circumstances. I met one of my clients, Julianna Bass, a New York designer in a drag queen bar complaining about the lack of sequins in Berlin. This led to her making me a gold sequin tuxedo and we’ve been friends for three years now, collaborating ever since! How we met is something that only really seems to happen in Berlin. Peoples lives collide here in the most spectacular of ways.

Art and entertainment, how does it go together? Does art have to entertain nowadays?

Art doesn’t necessarily have to entertain and it very much depends on what you are showcasing or representing. The core of Haute Presents has been a celebration and with that comes a spectacle, a means to regale the guests past the white cube exterior.

What do you expect from a perfect tailor-made event?

There is never a perfect tailor-made event, I learnt that very early on! Putting on a show is definitely not a one-man effort. The run-up to a show is always met with hurdles. I always use the phrase (perhaps more for my sake) that the worse the dress rehearsal, the better the show! For a successful opening, my own recipe is: good art, great people, a fantastic look and a fully stocked bar with funk-tastic musical beats greeting guests with a smile.

Describe your customers…

I love my customers dearly. We have a huge range from young children who are always intrigued by the whimsy of it all. I have older clientele who at first were rather bemused but then jumped right on board as there is an old school decadence in how Haute Presents operates. My customers are often first time buyers who fall in love with what they purchase and continue to back the artists throughout the course of their careers.

Where do you see the future of the art and design scene in general? Trends, challenges, expectations, future prospects?….

Art and design has danced around each other and is forever intertwined. We held a book launch for New York Times Bestseller E.P. Cutler’s book Art +Fashion: Collaboration between the Icons’ which is a fascinating deconstruction of the relationship between these two worlds throughout the last 50 years. I can only see that relationship deepening and I am excited to see where that goes.

Another thing I see happening is the impact of technology in art. The use of iPads, virtual reality and augmented reality in art is extremely exciting. Adam Butcher’s digital portraits on an iPad through Skype are really pushing boundaries when it comes to exploring virtual interpersonal connections, encouraging us to question the physical relationship between artist, subject and viewer.

Do you have a vision, bigger than Haute Presents?

Berlin is my home and my base, but my vision is more global. Bringing the flair of Haute Presents to other locations throughout the world is the next step, but I see myself living and working under the guise of Haute Presents for a while as the brand continues to grow and thrive!

Dear Maxine, thank you so much for this interview!

Of course, it has been an absolute pleasure!

Dancing with the moon

Dancing with the moon

Interview: Paulina Tsvetanova

…and here is another interwoven and weird story around Paulina’s Friends. A lecturer from NYC, who I missed to meet for a minutes, when she came to the countryside of Brandenburg in order to see a show of one PAULINA’S FRIENDS artist.

One day later she decided to buy a bronze sculpture by Klaus Cenkier. Then, we met at her hotel in the downtown of Berlin for the first time. Victoria Phillips is a very special personality and that’s why I decided to make an interview with her.

 

Victoria Phillips

Victoria, you are a lecturer in history at Columbia University in NYC at the European Institute, specializing in cold war history, cultural diplomacy and international relations. Besides of this, you are an art lover and collector of contemporary art. Tell us something about your academic and personal background?

I began my professional career at the age of ten performing seventeenth and eighteenth-century dance. I was not promoted in modern dance classes with my friends because I was terribly plump, but this suited Wendy Hilton, my Baroque teacher. I travelled with her and a boy, my partner, and we did lecture demonstrations. I was proof positive that any child could be taught a minuet. From listening to her, I was fascinated by dance history, as well as the connection between dance, art, and architecture in the court of Louis XIV. But I was young. When I was sixteen, I saw the Martha Graham Dance Company. I do not remember anything except thinking, “I want to do that.” I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was clearly drawn to the Isamu Noguchi sculptures as well as Graham and her technique. It was the 1970s and I went to a very progressive school, no math tests, no spelling tests, no cursive training, so I was able to spend my mornings at the Graham School and go to school in the afternoons. I also became enraptured with the theater and played Gwendolyn Fairfax in The Importance of Being Earnest and Titania in Midsummer’s Night Dream, as well as other parts. It was an amazing time – I eventually got into company class and was sometimes taught by Graham herself in the mornings, and in the afternoons and evenings did school plays with the likes of Matthew Broderick and Kenny Lonnergan, both of whom have done quite well in Hollywood and on Broadway, to say the least! Then when I told my parents I would not go to college, it all ended. I learned the Graham repertory, danced with Anna Sokolow’s company in a TV show, and got an apprenticeship with Bertram Ross, while also performing Baroque dance, but in the end I was a very good waitress. I was twenty when Graham said to me, “My dear, you look like no one else. You are either a star or you’re nothing, and it will take me ten years to decide.” I did the math. I had injuries and was always hungry. And poor. And no husband on the horizon. So I quit and went to college. It was the most painful time of my life. I ended up getting a job at the Columbia Business School, and then got my M.B.A. and went to work for a hedge fund. Another very long story. Then I met my first husband. I became a full-time mom with three girls, and was also able to decorate the walls with art. I loved new artists, and bought a few pieces for us. It was just something I loved. Again, surely from my love of modernism in the dance and my understanding of the historical significance of dance and art. As my children grew up, I became quite concerned because their school did not teach cultural history – art, dance, music. When I complained, the headmistress suggested that I teach an elective in dance history. Well, I knew about Louis XIV, and I knew about Martha Graham, but I didn’t know what came in between! So I took a dance history survey class at Barnard with Lynn Garafola, and that was the start of a new career. I had no intention of becoming a historian. But again, I became deeply inspired by Lynn and her husband, Eric Foner. While I was working on my Ph.D. at Columbia, the archivist at the Library of Congress, Elizabeth Aldrich, contacted me to tell me that she had opened the Martha Graham collection to scholars. It had been closed because of a terrible series of lawsuits. I had worked at the Library on another project, and wrote her a thank-you note. She called me because she remembered me. I always tell my students this: “Write a thank you note.” Elizabeth has become one of my best friends, and my dissertation is dedicated to her and my mother, also a historian. I remembered Graham from my youth, and remembered – somehow – her divaesque declarations that she was not political. But then I looked at her papers, and there were State Department reports on her, telegrams cc’ing ambassadors and embassies, what was this? She seemed to be a political sophisticate! Ultimately I was able to show that she performed or toured for every president from Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1937 through George Bush I, when she died in 1989. And then I found a work by Iola and Dave Brubeck about the Cold War State Department tours: “When they sensed internal mayhem, they sent out Martha Graham/That’s what we call cultural exchange.” So I went to work, and suddenly there she was attached to modern art, architecture, diplomats, spies, the works. And soon the dissertation will become a book published with Oxford University Press. And all the while, I stayed interested in art. I have classical modernist works, as well as new works. I was particularly drawn to several female Chinese modernists. Pele Ritter and Wolfgang Widmoser have both painted murals on my walls. I adore them.

You just purchased a sculpture by Klaus Cenkier. What fascinated you about his art?

When I see something that I like, I am immediately just drawn to it. I know it in my heart. It is like seeing Graham at sixteen. I just know it.

How and where do you want to present his art piece der Mondsegel ?

My favorite place in the world is the beach in Amagansett where I wrote my dissertation and the best portions of my book. I can always tell the chapters that are written in New York City. They are not that good. So ‘der Mondsegel’ will go with me to Amagansett. It is perfect because it will be at sail next to the ocean. My first word as a child was not normal, not “Mama” or “DaDa.” It was “Moon-a.” I’ve always loved the moon. You can see the most beautiful moons in Amagansett. As soon as I saw the sculpture, I wanted to take it there.

Please tell us something about your couture fashion collection?

Oh, what a wonderful question! My mother’s mother will always be one of my favorite people in the world. My grandfather had a high rank in the Army after World War II, and they went to Europe. She loved art, and she loved couture. She had a good eye. She brought home Picasso, Kandinsky, Chagall, and Chanel. I still have her dresses; they are in mint condition. I will donate them to a museum at some point. I spent the last year of her life with her and we went shopping every day. She loved dressing me up, and I adored it. I remember when I couldn’t decide on whether to get a pair of shoes in black or blue, she looked at me and said, in her Southern accent, “Why, honey. When in doubt, do both.” Unfortunately, I learned this lesson too well! While I was married to my first husband, we went to benefits and parties, and out to dinner every Saturday night. I have closets full of clothes that I never wear as a professor. I rarely go out anymore, so the gowns are in storage. I cherish gowns and good clothes. They are pieces of art that you can wear. I adored Oscar de la Renta when he was alive; it was like art. Yet I didn’t care who made it as long as it took my breath away, for that instant. I have two Oscar dresses that are one-of-a-kind. I will donate them to a museum if they are wanted. For now, they are in cold storage, alongside the other pieces. As a professor and a writer, I wear Theory suits, plain shirts, perhaps a scarf – for the most part. When I’m not teaching or at meetings, I wear my pajamas or a jumpsuit. My husband gets upset because I walk the dog in my PJs through the afternoon sometimes. I am a bit of a PJ fixture on the Upper Westside and on the beach in Amagansett. I’m trying to be more disciplined.

What led you to Berlin? How do you like it?

Martha Graham, as usual, took me to Berlin. Even from the grave the woman seems to move me around the globe. She toured over 25 countries. I would never have visited Berlin, Budapest, Warsaw, Lebanon, Jerusalem, and so many other places if not for the research to find her legacy. She performed at the opening of Kongresshalle in the Teirgarten, 1957, now known as Haus der Kultuern der Welt. I came in search of information. There was very little that she saved, and I had a suspicion that there was more. Indeed there was; the U.S. government-sponsored performance was hidden because she did not do very well. But that is an entire book chapter! I fell in love with Berlin immediately. As a Cold War historian, I thought it was a wonderland. As someone interested in the contemporary art scene, it was revolutionary. It felt like New York in the 1970s: innovative, a bit gritty. It has changed in the past few years, but it retains its edge. I have made good friends in Berlin, and when I come back and see them it always feels like we have only missed a week – even when it has been years. My nanny was German – a creative follower of Rudolf Steiner – so when I hear the German language I find it completely soothing. It inspires creative power. I try to return to Berlin every year. My next book project is about Berlin and the career of Eleanor Lansing Dulles. She was known as “The Mother of Berlin” at one point in the early Cold War. Although her papers are in the United States for the most part, I hope to write some of the book in Berlin.

What does your private art collection include?

I have many different painters and muralists, and many women, but only one sculptor: Klaus Cenkier!

You wrote a book called „The dance of American diplomacy“, which integrates Marta Grahams State Department Tours in the DDR. How did you come to this topic?

The book is yet to be published – 2019 or 2020. The title has also changed. “Center Stage is Wherever I Am”: The Cold War State Department Tours of Martha Graham is the working title.

Is communism something that attracts you and why?

My M.A. thesis was about the influence of Moscow on the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA) and its artists during the interwar period. I did an exhibit in France that was quite popular based on this research, and you can still buy the catalogue on Amazon. It is called Dance is a Weapon – my name was Victoria Geduld then. It was published by the Centre National de la Dance. I also co-curated an exhibit at the Library of Congress with Elizabeth Aldrich that uses the archives. I have two publications with American Communist History, and I sit on the editorial board now. Dan Leab, a leftist, who recently passed away, was the editor of ACH and we met at an event for the CPUSA archives. He became a mentor when he published me. I also met John Haynes, who is on the board of ACH and is on the right, although he started out on the left. He is also an amazing scholar and friend. I did an oral history with him published by ACH. It was a real honor. I deeply appreciate ACH because it respected all sides of the question as long as opinions are based on scholarship. I am consistently fascinated by communist theory, its roots, its idea of utopia. I also believe in the power of protest. I grew up in the 1960s in New York, and I remember looking out over Manhattan – we lived in a high rise – and seeing Harlem burning. A terrible glow. As I said, my school was completely progressive and some of my teachers were communists. I was brought up going to peace marches as a part of our social studies curriculum. I went to NOW meetings (National Organization of Women) before I was a teenager. The idea that people have basic rights to housing, healthcare, food, care in old-age and infirmity was just like breathing. It just was. The conception of a communist state was more conjecture and utopia-seeking. That was not a given. There was no idea of overthrow. Democracy was deeply respected. But so were human rights in a broad sense. We somehow believed that we could create a balance if we worked hard enough at finding solutions. Andrew Goodman went to my school – he was a freedom fighter in the South who was murdered. This was a palpable reminder of the consequences of protest and the bravery required if one is going to stand up for the rights of all men and women. When I discovered that seminal modern dancers in the early 1930s were members of the CPUSA, and that these political beliefs motivated their dance technique and choreography, which ultimately shaped American mainstream “a-political” modern dance during the Cold War, the finding was quite controversial. It was logical that the French were the first to publicize the idea! Even in 2006, the Cold War had not ended in the U.S. Initially, some of the children of the dancers did not want to admit that their parents were communists because of the legacy of McCarthyism, over fifty years later, after the Soviet Union had dissolved. Their parents had denied their affiliation to protect themselves and their children. In one case, it took an FBI file to convince the child. In other cases, the children were deeply committed to uncovering the legacy. One of the communist dancers was alive then, and she was thrilled that anyone was interested. We did a great series of interviews. Interestingly, no one in the U.S. wanted to pick up the French exhibit even though it was initially written in English. It was ready to go. But presenters wanted me to change the wording from “communist” to “leftist” to describe the dancers. I refused. It is a vital distinction. They exhibit was not sponsored. Indeed, when I have proposed to research the communist leanings of known ballet choreographers, I have consistently been turned down for funding in the U.S. Yet finally, the Library of Congress under Bush ended up acquiring the collection of the New Dance Group, initially a communist group, and we did the exhibit. It is online: https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/politics-and-dance/; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvToEeJW9C0.

In Berlin, Madeline Ritter and Tanzfonds interviewed me and Elizabeth Aldrich about the process: https://vimeo.com/51998012

Your personal opinion about the current cultural-political situation in the USA?

One of the highest compliments one of my students ever paid me was that he said he didn’t know if I was a Democrat or a Republican when I taught. I have a deep belief that all opinions, if backed by evidence, must be expressed in the classroom and given respect. I deeply value this. I would have it no other way. If I show my hand, I am afraid that I might encourage a following rather than inspiring. My daughter, Nancy Geduld, wrote on this subject; I could not be more proud: https://bowdoinorient.com/2017/05/05/fearfulness-not-fearlessness-fostering-discourse-at-bowdoin/. This being said, I think my courses and approach certainly tilts the balance in recent months. At the European Institute through our Cultural Initiative, I have been given the ability to develop new courses. This fall I am teaching “Women as Cold War Weapons,” which explores how women used and were used as political agents during the Cold War. I am fascinated by the rise of the right among women, as well as the way in which Republican women were freedom fighters as moderates. I believe deeply in the idea that “presidential” behavior is based on over 200 years of tradition, and not merely justified by the actions of someone who was elected. The idea that “I am president and therefore it is presidential” is not dignified and maligns the ethical and moral power of the United States. I believe that there are standards that should be followed by every person – the desire to tell the truth, respect facts, be gracious, humble, and generous. When Clinton shook his finger at the camera, my eldest daughter was five. She is deeply moral, and now teaches in a Charter School. But I knew then and there that there would be social sexual trouble for her peers by the time she was thirteen. Indeed, mores changed. I have the same fear now. I’m worried about the next generation. Yet oddly I find myself more patriotic than I have been because I feel a compulsion to protect democracy and its freedoms, however corrupted the idea of American freedoms became in the Cold War and after as a part of “crusades” and other propaganda campaigns. Through the programming at the European Institute on cultural diplomacy, I have met men and women of the highest ethical caliber who work in various branches of government typically associated with “hard power.” Graham always believed that freedom of expression could only be achieved through strict discipline. Many serve our nation with this standard as a given. It seems to be an oxymoron at first, but I agree completely. Thus my hope is to make better historians to protect the power of democracy. I am dogged about footnotes – my students have to present the evidence correctly before they are allowed to discuss issues. It is our only hope. I run a research project that takes students to archives internationally to develop new scholarship. Here we are presenting papers and my talk about this subject: http://europe.columbia.edu/events/8th-annual-cold-war-history-research-center-international-student-conference-corvinus-university-budapest/.

In the future you will spend more time in Europe. Is Europe your second home? What do you appreciate here?

If all goes well, I will be teaching in Budapest next year. In addition, I will apply to various institutes to write my book about Eleanor Dulles in Berlin in the future. Although I was trained in U.S. history, I don’t think it was an accident that I was hired by the European Institute at Columbia. Europe is a fascinating place with a history that I am constantly learning and re-learning. It also enriches my understanding of the United States. I no longer believe that one can understand one without the other.

How important is Germany and its function in Europe?

Germany was and is a lynchpin to understanding Europe culturally, economically, geographically.

Personally, what stimulates you, what hampers you in life?

I am always interested in stories and life’s dramas. This is what draws me to history and particularly conducting oral histories. I love a challenge. There is nothing better than someone saying, “No.” It inspires me to crack through the barrier. Yet I can get caught up in the details – the trees versus the forest. I remember when I was researching Graham’s visit to Yugoslavia in 1962 and I found an invitation from George Kennan, the “Father of Containment” and the ambassador at the time. He was deeply involved in psychological warfare in the Cold War, and there he was inviting Graham for drinks and dinner! I knew that Kennan kept copious diaries, including dream diaries, and that he would have written about the meeting. So I took a train to Princeton to visit his archives. There I was, the date of the meeting in hand, his leather diary in hand, flipping through the pages. Bingo. He had the flu. He never met her. And I realized at that point that I had to move along and just write the dissertation. I am having the same trouble with the book. It is hard to let go.

What do you expect from life? What is your mission?

I only hope to inspire the next generation. I can only do so much. I hope that someone reads my work and is inspired to challenge my ideas or take a piece and expand upon it. The same goes for my personal life. I hope to be a better model for my daughters, and for their children, and for my husband’s children and grandchildren. My youngest daughter is working on the business side of high fashion through internet innovations; so, as for the gowns, I hope that others can enjoy them as much as I have physically and virtually, as wearable art in motion.

 

Berlin Fashion Week 2017

Berlin Fashion Week 2017

Berlin Fashion Week 2017

Our Highlights

 

 

Text: Britannie Seaton

From 4th to 7th July 2017, Berlin will welcome round two of its biannual Fashion Week. With highlights including international fashion trade shows by Seek, Premium Exhibitions, Panorama and Selvedge Run,  BRIGHTGREENSHOWROOM / ETHICAL FASHION SHOWSHOW&ORDERDER BERLINER MODE SALON and the FASHIONTECH conference, Berlin Fashion Week presents an incredible selection of events and exhibitions, both private and for the public. Once again, Berlin is playing host for the most innovative names in fashion, showcasing the collections of ones-to-watch, and creating discussions around new directions in fashion. As the excitement builds, Paulina’s Friends have been talking about focal points and topics to look out for in this year’s events, exhibitions and collections. Here is a run-down of what to look out for on the runway this year…

Fashion and art as one

Here at Paulina’s Friends, we are always celebrating the intersection of fashion, art and design. In our Berlin-Mitte Concept Gallery, we showcase the work of young designers and makers that create what we believe to be ‘wearable art’. This year, Berlin Fashion week are also presenting events and collections that explore these crossovers. From 7th July to 8th October, The Dalí Museum will present an exclusive exhibition of the infamous surrealist as ‘The 21st Century Dandy’. The show includes the 12 watercolour pieces he created for the internationally renowned menswear brand Scabel, as part of a unique collection of fabrics.

The fashion/art intersection also appears in the work of numerous designers who frequently collaborate with artists, including womenswear and streetwear designer Raquel Hladky. On 4th July, Warsaw-based multidisciplinary artist Magda Buczek presents her ‘Surplus – Art Project’ show. In this collection of works, Buczek explores the boundaries of fashion, visual poetry and ‘artivism’, taking her original texts and printing them on recycled clothes.

Ethical Fashion

Paulina’s Friends are pleased to see a spotlight on ethical, eco and sustainable fashion at Berlin Fashion Week. From the 4th to 6th July, Green Showroom will be at Funkhaus Berlin, presenting shows, lectures and awards to celebrate fashion made with morals in mind. Their Ethical Fashion Show is spread along an impressive number of stalls, exploring ‘Modern Casual’, ‘Craft’, ‘Urban Vibe’, ‘Kids’ and ‘Individual’ collections. Be prepared to be inspired, as the showroom demonstrates that buying and wearing clothes sustainably is not just about fashion, but an increasingly-more attainable and progressive lifestyle.

The future of fashion

What lies in the future of fashion? #FASHIONTECH are collating and defining the answers to this question. They present themselves as “the platform for all the uprising ideas and business models that influence the way fashion is designed, produced, distributed, marketed and sold.” On 5th July, #FASHIONTECH will host a conference and exhibition to explore this discourse at the Premium international fashion trade show. #FASHIONTECH look to engage with new possibilities for fashion, covering content from areas such as Wearables & Smart Textiles, E-Commerce & Retailtech and Digital Marketing & Communication in a series of lectures at Kühlhaus Berlin. In a world of artificial intelligence and virtual reality, new doors have been opened for the ways we experience all aspects our lives. #FASHIONTECH engages with these developments being applied to what we wear, proving that the future of fashion is closer than we think.

Above: Handcrafted LED jackets by cyclist group Trafo Pop. Photo © Nils Krüger