February 1, 2019February 1, 2019 | Design & Culture by Ed

Berlin, when it’s cold? I say: yes. The city is a perfect destination for weekend visiting in any season. So, even when it’s winter and the temperature drops below zero, you’re more than welcome to visit the Turkish market in Kreuzberg, discover new coffee spots (or rather, new to you, but well known for the locals) or simply, go to a museum. Scroll on!

Annelies / Görlitzer Str. 68

The quintessence of a Berliner brunch spot – raw, yet cozy interior, delicious pastries, perfect lighting.

Turkish Market / Maybachufer

Fresh pomegranates, mangos, coriander and lemons in February? Those market stalls got you covered.

Berggruen Museum / Schloßstraße 1

The Berggruen Museum is a collection of modern art classics, which the collector and dealer Heinz Berggruen, in a “gesture of reconciliation”, gave to his native city. The most notable artists on display include Pablo Picasso (some of the rarest works out there), Alberto Giacometti, Georges Braque, Paul Klee and Henri Matisse. A true, visual feast.

Rosa Wolf / Eberswalder Str. 32

Rosa Wolf is a shop filled with independent magazines, carefully selected from all over the world. Whether you’re looking for reading material about fashion, art, culture, travel, architecture or design, you will find it at their place in Prenzlauer Berg.

The Store x Soho House Berlin / Torstraße 1

An ever-changing space created to inspire, create, work and enjoy – and most of all, to shake-up the stereotype of how a fashion retail place should look like. Located in the Soho Haus Berlin hotel, The Store makes you feel like at home, with its beautifully curated furniture (from chic Pierre Jeanneret seats to Mathieu Matégot heart shaped-patio set) and a connoisseur-level book selection, coming straight from London’s cult Idea Books. Moreover, The Store is Berlin‘s fashion destination, with its heaving hangers of Vetements, The Row, Aries, Calvin Klein, Wales Bonner and others.

The Potsdammer Straße ‘trio’:

Andreas Murkudis / Potsdammer Straße 81

Fiona Bennett / Potsdammer Straße 81-83

Acne Studios / Potsdammer Straße 87

Sasaya / Lychener Str. 50

Sasaya is the best Japanese restaurant in Berlin. It’s just so pure in taste, and so Japanese in everything, from the simple interior to the way the asparagus tempura is served on ceramics plates (which are sold together with delightful pottery and rare sake next to the restaurant space). Sasaya doesn’t only serve sushi – which is perfect – but as well other traditional dishes and tastes like the tsukemono (pickled vegetables), the takana (fried vegetables), dashi broth or the kukiwakame (seaweed). The gyoza stick is a great addition to your portion of maki and nigiri, while green tea cake with matcha macchiato is an ideal desert (at least for me!).

Superbazaro / Mulackstraße 1

Italian (and not only) gourmet food and wines with selected, chic kitchenware. By Mitte’s favourite Mädchenitalianer restaurant nearby, which serves some delightful, home-made Italian cusine.

All photos by Edward Kanarecki.

On Power Dressing. Acne Studios AW19

January 25, 2019January 25, 2019 | Design & Culture by Ed

For autumn-winter 2019, Acne Studios’ designer, Jonny Johansson, considered what’s high fashion from the perspective of young people, and how it might change throughout time. “All the power dressing that I consider iconic womenswear, maybe they are attracted to it, but in a different way.” While doing the research, he also thoroughly examined Helmut Newton’s eternally chic photographs, and was amazed with the fact that those visuals are so relevant, and not getting old – even a day. All this gave birth to a collection, that’s quite different to Acne Studios we’ve seen in the last few seasons. Oversize pants were cinched at the waist and tucked into socks; coats had those refined-looking, rounded shoulders; draping, probably never seen at Acne before, looked sublime. The new season silhouette is sharp and chic, but there were also elements that felt distinct to the brand’s aesthetic: knits with raw finishings, eclectic jewellery (those XXL bracelets are gorgeous) and, other than the very seductive, Newton-ish pumps, heavy trekking boots. Worn with one of the statuesque blazers or a collared ‘office’ midi-dress, the elegant-slash-off-duty look would exactly be what Johansson worked on this time: power dressing, fitted for a contemporary woman.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

Men’s – Rustic on Acid. Acne Studios AW19

January 17, 2019January 17, 2019 | Design & Culture by Ed

Acne Studios’ designer, Jonny Johansson, isn’t the guy you will see all over the Paris fashion week Instagram feed. He’s an outsider. Or even, a double-outsider, as he dubbed himself in a Vogue interview. “Because we’re from Stockholm, which is from way outside [the fashion world], plus I’m from the very north of Sweden, which is way outside even Stockholm.” Being ‘outside’, to a surprise of many, has major advantages in fashion industry – you’re different, and you offer something different. Acne Studios always feels slightly off-beat, raw, but not nothing close to the stereotypical image of cold, Scandinavian minimalism. For the men’s autumn-winter 2019 collection, Johansson delivered clothes full of soul and energy. The designer mused on mid-century bohemia and counterculture in the fringed poncho-sweatshirts and acid-palette coats and jackets worn unbuttoned, over naked torsos. Snake-effect leather and cow-print pieces were very Americana, even rustic. Wear that extra long, ecru scarf when it’s cold. Use it as a blanket when the sun comes out. Don’t be afraid to step into mad in these colourful, trekking boots. Jonny loves the idea of a city escape, whether it’s the forest or the mountains. He works with this ‘weekend traveller’ notion for a while, and seems to enter the season with a similar spirit.