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Entertainment

Global Trend Report 2009 - London & Berlin

As a reaction to the self-imposed squalor of the punky kids and the shameless fun hunting of the indie-weirdo gang, the “slightly too smart for their age” bunch are really upping their formal dressing skills.

BOYS

As a reaction to the self-imposed squalor of the punky kids and the shameless fun hunting of the indie-weirdo gang, the “slightly too smart for their age” bunch are really upping their formal dressing skills. The men’s polished brogues, sensible trousers, high-quality shirts, and mature jacket/jumper combos usually conceal huge tattoos and a predilection toward excessive partying. This is a real relief after four or five years of young people dressing like they are big, hormonal, hairy three-year-olds with overdrafts and ADHD. Seeing people under 30 years old who look like they might actually be able to read is a treat.

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GIRLS

One of the ladies’ looks swarming over London at the moment is sort of “punk meets grunge.” You can expect huge oversize plaid shirts and vests over small crop tops and shorts, with ripped fishnets and Doc Martens boots that make their legs look like a Giacometti sculpture. They look like what your parents probably thought biker chicks looked like, back in the days when anyone gave a shit about bikers. And remember about four years ago when you thought you would never again have to put up with people intentionally ripping their jeans at the knees like footballers used to do? Well, here it is again. Still, this lot know how to kick the shit out of a party.

BOYS

Berliners love their fashion, and they love to shove their love of fashion right in our horrified faces. Most boys are currently hiding themselves away under puffer jackets and über-dimensional parkas, but there are plenty of Berlin-based guys whose clothing racks resemble the Cockaigne fantasies of an experimental gourmand. In their oven-heated studios they haul out the Henrik Vibskov and Bernhard Willhelm in order to make themselves special for the evening. There is no DIY combination too absurd. The ever-expanding trend of the customized trouser shirt is a fine example of this particular approach to dressing.

If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “I wish I could find a jean jacket that’s been made into pants with a big, loose penis pocket in the middle,” look no further than Berlin.

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GIRLS

The girls are wrapping themselves in fur coats with integrated shoulder sofas, adding predominantly black and shiny leggings, and then throwing one of those oversize, aggressively colorful shawls around their slight frames—a look that ends up reversing the entire symmetry of the female figure into a severely 80s Grace Jones look. The mysterious combination of sex, degradation, and the sickly soft charm of a young prewar belle has gripped everyone’s hearts. The same goes for plaid shirts, vintage rock shirts, skinny jeans, and tent-size hoodies. These longtime favorites seem as unwilling to fall out of fashion as the

Desperately Seeking Susan

look—a style embodied by the little piglets rammed into red stilettos and topped with latex and leopard print. This staple 80s-prostitute-in-a-music-video outfit is to women what money is to men—pure power.