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Bernhard Willhelm
Bernhard Willhelm
Be
r
Once in a while, the fashion universe gets shaken up by designers who defy conventional
tastes with collections that are as unique and full of color as they are brazen. Such is the
case of Bernhard Willhelm, whose work, the fruit of this creative anarchy, is impossible to
classify. It is no surprise, then, that he attracts other artists such as Björk, who has done
something similar with music. e fusion of the avant-garde itself, blazing trails that only
it dares to follow.
Bernhard studied fashion design at the University of Antwerp. He then went on to work as
an assistant for designers such as Walter Van Beirendonck, Alexander McQueen, Vivienne
Westwood and Dirk Bikkembergs.
Since the presentation of his fi rst collection, Bernhard has continued to follow a path on
the frontier of the usual. Recycling, vintage, colorful garments, the revision of Bavarian
folklore bathed in acid culture, knits, and combinations brimming with humor. Designs
soaked with an authenticity that makes a dissection of his infl uences and frigid analysis of
his work utterly impossible. Aesthetics passed through a centrifuge in the generation of a
unique product: indivisible.
All of this makes Bernhard a source of inspiration for artists of diverse disciplines, as well
as an icon of brazenness and creative stimulation. An artist who expresses himself by as-
sembling in his collections the deconstructed fragments of fashion in order to create that
which is unique. A designer who unwittingly creates trends and stimulates minds with his
humor, irreverence, and genius.
© Claus Geis
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Bernhard Willhelm
Women’s collection from the
Spring/Summer 2007 season in which
Willhelm explores the concept of
street, fun and chic, demonstrating his
preference for expressive colors without
ever forgetting his Bavarian roots.
Photography by Carmen Freudenthal/Ellen Verhagen
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Bernhard Willhelm
Photography by Carmen Freudenthal/Ellen Verhagen
102
Bernhard Willhelm
- What inspires you?
What I love and inspires me most: birds fl ying towards us and then fl ying away again; the moments between moments,
when you’re happy; coff ee with two guests and a dog; streets made of golden sunlight; meat and dumplings at home;
the high of sex; a lot of money when we earn it—not later, when we spend it; art at the moment it’s created; something
too expensive that we can aff ord; a certain smile; elephant showers; death, as long as we’re not dying.
- What is your dream as a designer?
To keep my traveling ticket in order to remember where to get out.
- What has been the most important achievement of your career?
To buy my own presents.
- How important are trends?
Sometimes it is enough to put your ring on the other fi nger or your wristwatch on the other hand.
- Fashion has always refl ected a certain era. What does fashion refl ect in the twenty-fi rst century?
Cheap crap made in the Far East by people with slavery-like work conditions.
- What book would you recommend to every fashion designer?
A Filofax, Google, YouTube, AstrologyZone.com.
Bernhard Willhelm
5 bis, rue Martel
75010 Paris
France
bernhard.willhelm@wanadoo.fr
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Bernhard Willhelm
© Maria Ziegelbock
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