The name of this store is perfect. Nathalie, the owner, and purveyor of fine goods, is filled with so much enthusiasm and excitement about the labels she stocks, it’s hard not to be affected by it. She took me on a detailed tour of her lovely store, highlighting her favourites, which in the end, meant every piece. That makes sense, as each individual piece is personally selected by Nathalie. This gives The Optimistic Store, at Brunnenstrasse 3, a curated but homely feel that works really well with the bespoke displays and interior design.
It’s a cute idea, to create a space with the look and feel of a high quality corner store, providing unique and affordable gifts including chocolates, laundry products, bio products and a range of garments and accessories. There are even lucky dip bags. It’s a bit like a candy store for adults.
Everywhere you look is some kind of visual treat with a story behind it. The transparent soaps by Moshi Moshi, with hand painted or gold plated images held within, the delicious chocolates and nuts by Feines Zeug, and the Stop the Water While Using Me products are good, quirky examples of what you might find there.
There are so many labels worth mentioning, I feel the need to do so in list form. So here goes...
TigerSushi Furs, created by Joakim, a well known DJ, artist and musician who goes under the name Tigersushi, combines avant-garde music history and pop culture into striking garments.
Emilie Casiez, a graduate from the Parisian Studio Bercot fashion school, launched her own line of garments made in France from high quality fabrics. With worldwide recognition, this label is definitely one to look out for.
Maison Suneve is a Hamburg-based garment label founded by Catherine Czemper and Matthieu Voirin. Their mix of French and German minimalism culminates in a collection of modern, digital prints on garments with very wearable styling.
Saskia Diez uses her skills in industrial design to create a durable, waterproof and fashionable bag range that is essentially paper-like in its feel, look and lightweight qualities. They have to be seen to really get the full tactile experience.
Goma is a Spanish label creating bags from upcycled tire inner tubes. You can see the process displayed visually on their website. I always love repurposed products that are so functional as well as stylish.
Fosseth combines leather, brass, silver and gold to create geometric jewellery in eye-catching designs and colours.
The Laundress is a personal favourite of mine. This brand came about due to the apparent compulsory nature of drycleaning of precious garments. After loads of research, the two ladies behind the brand developed laundry products designed to safely wash specific fabrics and surfaces.
The list goes on and it’s worth a visit to The Optimistic Store to hear first hand from Nathalie about each of the labels she treasures. She also has some collaborations with artists coming up and a special event in the works for fashion week in January. You can keep up to date with her adventures on her facebook page.
Nathalie likes the idea of the VIEWS app for a shop like hers, commenting it’s always great to see things from the perspective of other people, picking up on items you may not have seen on your own visit to a store. That’s what VIEWS is all about, discovering fashion.
Some more snaps of The Optimistic Store are below, but you can see the full album on our facebook page.
I dropped into Superficial recently to snap some shots for VIEWS and had a chat to Tony about his store which has become so well known in Berlin in a short space of time. I was surprised to find they opened in May last year given its already established reputation. Superficial is a visual extravaganza, with two rooms of distinctly different design. The rooms are stocked with hand-picked designer and vintage pieces from Tokyo, London, Berlin, Bangkok and Paris.
The sumptuous colours of the main space are in harsh contrast to the pop culture vibe of the bright and stark anterior room which is lit by an elaborate array of fluorescent lights, suspended from a structure of neon-painted piping. Even the neon had to be applied using a special paint and firing system which sounded like an artistic feat in itself.
I love the way the store is laid out. It’s so hard to know what to look at first and with the almost psychedelic arrangement of colours and textures, I can just imagine the effect it must have on some people, particularly bad for those with a hangover, according to Tony.
The interior was completed under the guidance of Felix Pahnke, the interior designer behind other spaces such as Soju Bar and Kim Chi Princess. The location on Torstrasse was carefully planned and came about after some waiting for an appropriate space on that particular side of the street to come up. The idea was for Superficial to be less of a retail space and more of an art and design gallery and eventually the home of a Superficial clothing label.
With Tony’s background and connections in filmmaking, it seems it has been easy for him to build the fashion community around Superficial that he envisioned. He has recently completed a collaborative video with Charles of London and hopes to continue working with designers in different creative fields. Superficial is one of the only locations you can find the handmade, one-off garments by Tata Christiane. The Tata Christiane label is definitely worth a look at, with no two pieces the same and such incredible detail. The label is gaining a lot of exposure in Tokyo and it’s easy to see why.
I would say a visit to Superficial is a must. Now they are working on a monthly events calendar with Emilio El-Lauren, one half of the IT Boys DJ duo, so there are plenty of opportunities to stop by and become part of the Superficial community. Tony says on one hand Berlin is quite small for what they do, but on the other hand it is also the perfect place for them to be. I know what he means.
You can also check out Superficial, Tata Christiane, An!mal, In Odd We Trust and Moga e Mago at their collaborative event on 30 November, see the facebook event for more details.
See more pics of Superficial on our facebook page.
"The use of original materials was a hallmark for Ferragamo, whose answer to the wartime shortage of hides was to introduce materials never-before used for fashion footwear, such as cork and cellophane. Nowadays there are constantly evolving technologies to help man in his work and improve it. Since the Sixties, enormous work has been done at Ferragamo to serialize made to measure footwear, to the extent of producing more than eighty fittings per model. Most of the manufacturing stages are done by machine, but the machine is always guided by man's experienced hand.
Today, the use of new eco-friendly or recycled materials is the great challenge being taken on by many fashion and design companies."
‘A Rite’ is a collaborative piece by artists Marcela Donato, Renata Har, Caique Tizzi and Kari Mayo. “Working as a bridge between the public and private sphere, “A Rite” explores the idea of routes, presence, curiosity and fate.” More info on the exhibition here.
The method of invitation and participation of a wider audience added to the collaborative essence of the final piece, placing the idea, rather than the artists, at the centre. The photographic works on display worked around the notion of ritual, with shoes, in short, metaphorically representing a rite of passage in the streets of Berlin.
The actual shoes were a conversation starter, the photographic images spoke for themselves.
