Ottolinger

Like A Hug. Ottolinger Pre-Fall 2024

| Design & Culture by Ed

Ottolinger is a brand that best captures the gritty, experimental ambience of contemporary Berlin. Christa Bösch and Cosima Gadient‘s pre-fall 2024 collection seeks harmony between the idiosyncratic and a more grounded approach. “We’ve been creative and experimental for a long time, but with this collection what we wanted to achieve is like giving that big hug we all need right now”. A hug definitely comes to mind looking at all the furry and fluffy textures that enfold the models in the lookbook. The sage green jersey top and strap-embellished leggings worn with a fleecy chocolate miniskirt is a combination “that connects with what we grew up with, that’s almost dressed up but also casual” (a very good summary of style in Berlin). The furry fabric returned as a tailored jacket with wide-legged trousers, or as deep cuffs on green knickers.

The Ottolinger designers aimed to offer a collection of “softshell layers” that would be easy to master, even if many are rooted in traditional Swiss garb that’s anything but. Take, for example, the classic dirndl, the likes of which lives on mainly in vintage Oktoberfest photos, and which neither designer thinks they could wear. Unless, perhaps, it was reincarnated as a mesh crop top, a long printed dress paired with a tailored blazer, or exuberantly printed body-positive separates. Taking a cue from traditional men’s garb, lederhosen is revisited in mesh, or as shiny flared trousers in red and white chalet checks. Fun!

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Techno Mermaid. Ottolinger SS23

| Design & Culture by Ed

Ottolinger designers Christa Bösch and Cosima Gadient opened their spring-summer 2023 fashion show with a sharp look: a deconstructed belt–meets–bra top whose straps covered the nipples and little else, paired with low-slung leather-look trousers made from recycled polyester. Gen Z’s love of near nudity knows no bounds, and the fan base that lounged on the show venue’s mattress seats wearing skin-baring looks from the Berlin-based label would think nothing of wearing a crop top to talk shop. The designers recently launched a pre-collection that they said had allowed them to tackle more conceptual ideas in their runway shows. No longer beholden to showing denim and mesh dresses, which are their big commercial hits, this freed them up to present deconstructed biker jackets and skintight bodysuits. Ironically, though, the strongest pieces were arguably the most commercial, especially the dresses that draped and hugged the body with some rubbery-looking embellishments. Dipping items in rubber is a trait that reads recognizably Ottolinger: The punked-up court shoes, which saw a classic pump wrapped in a futuristic rubber-like casing, were as covetable as the diamanté jewelry dipped in brightly colored rubber that currently sells well on the label’s website. They’d do well to continue hammering home those codes as the Y2K trend keeps rolling and numerous other labels look to replicate their success with the sexy and the skintight.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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NET-A-PORTER Limited

Rule The World. Ottolinger AW22

| Design & Culture by Ed

Christa Bösch and Cosima Gadient’s autumn-winter 2022 Ottolinger collection challenges what prettiness or functionality mean in our digital age. This season, they continue with themes begun during the pandemic: bulbous, hefty knotted tops; long, trailing flare trousers with tons of stretch; and chunky outerwear either cropped or belted with a shearling rope at the waist. The shapes almost look virtual, rejecting the natural laws of gravity or glamour. Finding new ways to take up space, now modes of projecting the body, is the duo’s stated mission with their fall line. There’s enough clingy body-con stuff out there already; enough sexy and seductive. The designers have tapped into a new aesthetic that is more organic, bordering on biological. And they have worked for two years to perfect their language of lumpy, bumpy bad gals, partnering with a women’s collective of hand knitters for a white cardigan and bringing on new knitwear production to make filmy post-apocalyptic layers. It’s not all fashion for philosophy’s sake: the designers have also introduced their first bag “that can actually hold something!” said Gadient with a laugh before the show, demonstrating the use of their new slimy shoulder bag, large enough for a phone, wallet, and maybe even a Nintendo Switch. The show was held at an Esports Arena in Paris, where guests watched a video on personal monitors before the models came out, and heard for the first time Azealia Banks’ latest banger, “Rule The World“. In addition to pushing their garments to a steady, intriguing place, Bösch and Gadient also contribute to play in the digital world. It’s a smart move and they will surely be among the first to define the new aesthetic language of Web3 and beyond.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.

July in Berlin

| Design & Culture by Ed

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What’s better than spending a rainy July day on visiting your favourite Berlin spots? Going for the sale-season triathlon? Discovering new designers? Induldging yo’self in tuna tataki? I think nothing can beat those…

Few days ago, The Store and Berlin-based label Ottolinger launched an exclusive collection of tie-dyed t-shirts and sweatshirts in all tones of rusty-brown, illustrated by the brand’s friend and collaborator @ruffiodoom (Instagram nickname). Also, the paint-covered accessories caught my eye – choose between the customized Nike AF1 sneakers and the tiny-miney hand-bags with souvenir charms (you know, the tourist ones, like the ‘I love Italy’ trash) attached. One-off DIY feeling of Ottolinger is Christa Bösch’s and Cosima Gadient’s signature style, perfectly fitting Berlin’s current creative energy.

Torstraße 1 (enter through Soho House Hotel). More about The Store here.

Fiona Bennett‘s store is both a beautifully lit display of the brand’s headwear and an atelier filled with local petites mains of millinery. We were all considering one of those summer-y straw Panama hats, the house’s new addition…

Potsdamer Straße 81-83

Sticks ‘n’ Sushi is a brand new spot which explores Japanese cuisine in a modern, but quite relaxed way. From delightful sushi with wagyu and a wide selection of sashimi to bowls of edaname and signature ‘Emotion’ set, the place is the right choice for a quick-lunch. The industrial interior à la former warehouse with spacious interior makes it super appealing.

Potsdamer Straße 85

Andreas Murkudis is a must-go whenever I visit the city. This time, my favourite  concept store invites you to experience the Birkenstock Box. The travelling ‘retail experiment’ in Murkudis’ courtyard will stay there till 22nd of July. It offers slightly revamped Birkenstock sandals, created exclusively for Andreas Murkudis  If you’re not really into cult orthopedic sandals, and a massive Céline sale doesn’t excite you (ok, that’s creepy), then you will surely fall in love with the massive installation by Kostas Murkudis – a line of satin dresses hanging down the ceiling, forming a rainbow colour palette. Looks very, very impressive.

Potsdamer Straße 81e

See you in Berlin!