Happy Shop.

One evening in Berlin's Mitte, we took a walk down Torstraße to have a wander and explore the slightly more alternative and edgy shops that were around. We went to a store called the Happy Shop which we had all heard interesting things about, and I can honestly say it was the most odd, uncomfortable and fascinating in-store experience I have ever had.

Having just recently watched A Clockwork Orange before we left for Berlin, I was reminded of the weird and uncomfortable atmosphere of such surrealist, dystopian films. It was such a strange and surreal experience I genuinely felt like I could have been in some cult underground german film, without even knowing about it.

When we arrived outside, we tried to push the door open, but instead saw a sign that said knock to enter. So we did, and were admitted entry by the doorman. Just after that alone the whole experience felt very exclusive. When we first entered I think we all thought there was some sort of event happening. It was a pretty small space, filled with about 15 hipsters standing around having seemingly pretty deep and artistic conversations, and drinking bottles of beer. As we walked through the store towards the back, we found a group of young men, clearly models, sitting in a posed scene of beanbags and gameboys, looking painfully cool and disinterested. One boy was even wearing some sort of 80's shell suit made entirely of the same patterned fabric of the beanbag he was sitting on (which I have now discovered is all a part of the new AW12 collection by Julian Zigerli).

[SOURCE: kajsa]

Unfortunately, I felt so awkward inside that I wasn't able to get quite as snap happy as I'd have liked to. I think I was so overwhelmed by the experience of the atmosphere inside and how it was making me feel, that I almost forgot to do what we went for and to look with my eyes. For me it was definitely more of an emotional experience than a visual experience, even though the visuals were anything but boring when you did remember to look.

[SOURCE: birdcage]

The Happy Shop is not even a year old, having first opened its doors in February 2011. They stock that they carry is actually very interesting and ambitious, with labels such as Christopher Kane, Meadham Kirchhoff, Henry Holland and Bernhard Willhelm. I kind of wish we'd had a bit more of a look at the clothes, but there were just too many hipsters in the way.

The whole thing was fascinatingly weird. I am still struggling to explain the feeling that I came out with after our 10 minutes inside. Maybe you will just have to go and try it for yourselves.

Alice.

Berlin's Best.

Alrighty, so where do I even begin?
There is so much to share about our 5 days in Berlin, so I am going to start simply with my favourite pictures and moments - a selection of the bestest of the best bits, just to get it out of my system.

So in the mix here we have, Newton Bar, Colour vintage store, the Holocaust Memorial, Fashion Talks at Museum fur Kommunikation, Starbucks (naturally), amazing pesto tagliatelle at Viale italian restaurant, Premium, free (woo!) tequila oranges at Capsule, free (woo!) tea at 14 Oz and the East Side Gallery at the Berlin Wall.

When I think that this is only a snapshot of all the things we did in Berlin, it really makes me realise how much we did manage to pack in in the end. I'm so proud.

More to come soon.

Alice.

Ich bin ein Berliner!

We're back! And we're knackered.

Berlin was great, Berlin was massive.

We tubed a lot. We walked a lot. We saw a lot.

Right now, I need my bed. Tomorrow - all will be revealed about the magic of Berlin.

Gute Nacht.

Alice.

Berlin - I'm ready for you.

I can honestly say I've never been so ready and organised for a trip in my whole life.
I have actually planned outfits for each day, which is something i have NEVER done before (or even considered). But come on, its Berlin Fashion Week, i do not want to be caught out with nothing to wear! Ive even been so fashion geeky as so make sure that each of the items I'm packing can be coordinated with alternative pieces I'm taking in case i fancy changing things up a little.. Ahhh yeeeeaaaaa.

Hopefully we will get a chance to experience some Berlin nightlife so here are some of my options for zee evenings, as well as a carefully selected assortment of my jewellery to accompany all of my outfits.

Now I should probably try and get a couple hours sleep before I head on down to hop on the coach at 2am.

I'm coming for you Berlin!

Alice.

So planning CAN be fun.

So i've spent the day with the girls planning out our days in Berlin to within an inch of their lives.
I am now even MORE excited about the prospect of our time there. There is so much to do and see that we really wanted to make sure we gave ourselves the best chance of being efficient and seeing as much as possible. I really don't want to waste a single second in this amazing city as I don't know when I'm gonna get the chance to go back. We've even colour coded the underground lines and stations for each stop on our tour of culture, fashion, history and general Berlinerness.

Some of the things I'm now reeeally super excited about seeing are:

Bright Trade Show - As I mentioned in a previous post, Bright is all about skate awards and street-wear. Really exited for this as I spent a large proportion of my teenhood engulfed in skate culture, and have a real sentimental love for it to this day.

Newton Bar - I am an Über-fan (how German of me!) of Helmut Newton, so cannot wait to visit this bar where his life-size amazonian Sumo nudes cover the walls. What could be better?

Colours - I read about this awesome vintage store in a shopping piece in the November 2011 issue of Vogue. Everything is merchandised by colour, and if you head to the bargain bins at the back you can actually buy clothes by the kilo.... I will be saving some room in my suitcase for this.

Weekday - so so so excited for this store. A swedish store that we just don't have access to in the UK which I am personally very offended by. I am expecting to spend an unhealthy amount. They have an awesome sale on their website at the moment which I'm hoping and praying will still be on when we storm the shop.

Obviously very much looking forward to all our other planned visits such as the Bauhaus Museum, the East Side Gallery at the Berlin Wall, The Reichstag and all of the amazing shops I have heard about.

I had better start saving.

Alice.

Trade Shows.

One of the critical reasons we're going to Berlin is to go to the trade shows, and most importantly, KING of the trade shows: Bread and Butter.

Now being humble students and all, we're not technically allowed to attend.. (they don't care for such riff raff in the fashion industry darling), but being eternally crafty we have managed to wangle ourselves some tickets through some kindly contacts and shall be attending anyway with our heads held high. Huzzah!
I'm quite curious and intrigued to see what exactly it will be like as I have never attended such an event before.

Premium is I suppose the Queen of trade shows, number 2 to Bread and Butter. It still seems to be promoted alongside official Berlin Fashion Week events, but is much more accessible and easier to apply for as its not necessary to be connected to a brand to be granted the honour of tickets - being a blogger will do! Woohoo. Premium seems like it may be quite a glossy affair, I'm gonna have to try and sneakily adapt to fit in..!

Seek is another small looking show that seems to coincide with Premium, but this one is pretty much open to anyone, which makes a nice change. I haven't managed to find much out about Seek, so I shall just have to wait and see what it has in store for me.

Now the trade show which I am probably most excited for, is Bright. I am expecting a haven of skate brands and just cool people. You know the types, totally down with the kids. There are some skateboarding awards and I think the clothing is very much street wear based and quite urban which I think I will really enjoy. If my imagined attitude of Berlin is at all accurate, I will hopefully be experiencing a lot of this!

I'm also pretty intrigued by Capsule. This looks like a really small trade show, but hopefully that means we'll get a really good look at everything. Will just have to wait and see for this one too.

So! That is the plan for the trade shows. Thanks to a wonderful buddy of mine I finally have my last ticket application sorted (for Bread and Butter of course). God only knows if we will manage to squeeze all of them in, but we will certainly do our damnedest.

Alice.

BERLIN BERLIN BERLIN.

Yes, I'm going to Berlin. And I am getting exciiiteddd!

When we first got told we would be heading to Berlin for our second year trip, and that our sister course FMB would be jetting off to Milan, I was sort of put out. I was thinking, "But Milan is a fashion capital, Berlin isn't, why are we going there?". I have however completely changed my mind.

When I actually started looking into Berlin, and talking to different people about it, I realised just what an exciting and interesting place it is today. I think for our course on FCP (Fashion Communication and Promotion), Berlin is SO much more relevant. Its full of street art, and up and coming contemporary brands, boutiques and designers. The shiny polish of places like Milan isn't what appeals to me about fashion anymore, its the alternative, underground and avant grade atmosphere that I really thrive off, and this is exactly what I'm expecting from bustling Berlin.

SO MUCH EXCITEMENT.

Alice.