While the city’s thermometer drooled into negative territory, the runways we covered were burning with questions, contradictions, and that unmistakable Berlin itch.

GMBH reminded us why Berlin still matters. In a season where the industry’s support systems seem the utmost uncertain, their show brought the community together as armor. John Lawrence Sullivan looked like the afterparty of a party no one remembers throwing. Haderlump brought rough warmth with open knits, leathery layers, and buttoned-up but cool pieces. Kenneth Ize brought color like a frost-bitten flushed cheek, not apologizing for being joyful in a place that feels like it’s spent a decade in cryo-therapy. That mischievous joy spilled into DannyReinke, where feathers, beads, and tulle teased out giggles you weren’t supposed to laugh along with, but did anyway.. Jagger really wished us all the best with featured sexy Shakespearen wings for their deubt show featuring models cradeling cheeky ice cold beers. Ioannes brought back some softness. Minimal but magnetic, elegance flirting with drama.
Maybe the real story of Berlin Fashion Week this year was not the literal freezing temperatures, but the metaphorical thermodynamic confusion: shockingly cold on the outside, but blisteringly alive where it matters. The infrastructure around fashion weeks in general might feel brittle, but the work we saw in Berlin felt alive and kinetic.