Welcome to the world of Bernhard Willhelm, a playful wonderland of colour and darkness, of subverted historical and pop cultural references translated through fetishist sportswear, oversized volumes, flashy colours and surprisingly explosive prints.

Ever since the creation of his own brand in 1999 (in association with Jutta Kraus), the young man, born 33 years ago in Ulm (Wurtemberg), has created a fantastically beautiful and completely-off-the-wall universe.

In 1998, graduating from the Royal Academy of Antwerp, Bernhard Willhelm passed from being assistant to Walter Van Beirendonck, Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood and Dirk Bikkembergs. In September 2002, he settled in Paris. Parallel to his collections, from 2002 to 2004, he successfully directed the italian house of Capucci where he launched their first Prêt-à-Porter collection. His other achievements include a retrospective of his work organised in 2003 by the Ursula Blickle Art Foundation in Germany, alongside the publishing of his book at the Lukas & Sternberd publications in 2004. In 2005, he designed school uniforms for the orphans’ aid association, Misericordia. He also received the ANDAM Grand Prize as the most promising talent of the new creative scene.

Invited as the second curator of Walter Van Beirendonck’s project, Bernhard created NºB with his intense personal signature – a mix of the comically sexual and the quietly natural, with a through line of intellectual prowess that translates through an unexpected pairing of images, objects, people and art. Featuring contributions from Jutta Kraus, Take Hirakawa, Luc Tuymans, Wolfgang Tillmans, Inge Grognard, Gert Jonkers and many more quirky, artistic friends.

To view Bernhard’s magazine online – click here.

NºB will be followed by:

NºC featuring Hussein Chalayan – July 2010

NºD featuring Olivier Theyskens – August 2010

NºE featuring Viktor & Rolf – September 2010

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xNrvUUgDoI[/youtube]

Welcome to Nºb featuring Bernhard Willhelm – the second installment of the original A story.

NºA is certainly no lookbook or selfish retrospective, but rather an homage to those who have inspired Dirk Van Saene and in turn those whom he has encouraged and promoted through his work as a teacher.

For the piece “Astonishing Souvenirs”, Dirk selected the work of five designers who came before him, by researching past magazine editorials from the 1960s to the 1980s for specific outfits, finding “fashion moments” that he connected with. Taking these photographs, Belgian illustrator Madeleine Wermenbol translated them into an abstract graphic series, outlining the garments with lines of text that describe each piece and the feel of each designer’s collection.

The editorial pictures are sourced from the pages of magazines such as i-D and L’Officiel, and feature designers as diverse as André Courrèges in the late 60s to early 80s Vivienne Westwood and 2001 Junya Watanabe, Madeleine’s interpretation of the classic fashion images paints a minimal, pared back vision of the actual garments, while the text within each line describes with more detail.

Although not the most sensual experience of fashion, this series is an interesting historical exercise into the archives of the 20th century, and stretches our imagination and personal knowledge, to link the aesthetic of the era with the faceless, textureless diagrams.

Above:

André Courrèges
Spring Summer 1965
Photographed by Willy Rizzo
Seen in Marie Claire – 1st March 1965

“HAT. Panama Hat with band under the chin.”

“This suit with a dress is in wool gabardine alternatively smooth and striped. Unisex. Geometric. Stiff fabrics. Futuristic. Symbol: A marguerite daisy.”

“The skirt is slightly flared. Straight neck with small collar. Pocket flaps.”

“White gloves”

“Calf length boots in goat leather with open tip. Bow at the front.”

Yves Saint Laurent
Autumn Winter 1969-70
Photographed by Roland Bianchini
Seen in L’Officiel – September 1969 – page 19

“Scarf round the head.”

“Roll neck”

“Jacket in brown mink. As well as the fringes at the edges of hems and sleeves. Slightly flared.”

“Under this jacket a short tunic dress in beige tweed.”

“On the hips a belt of large metal rings.”

“Thigh-high boots designed by Roger Vivier for Yves Saint Laurent.”

Jean Paul Gaultier
Spring Summer 1981
Photographed by Gunnar Larsen
Seen in Avantgarde – no. 2, 1981 – page 40

“Earrings made from the base of a tin can.”

“A pleated jabot as a top.”

“Fun. Humour. Revolutionary.”

“Rolled-up shorts entirely in foil with a wide waist that folds back over a belt.”

“Bracelets made out of open-ended cans.”

Vivienne Westwood
Autumn Winter 1982
Photographed by James Palmer
Seen in i-D – no. 8, 1982 – page 38

“Uncompromising, anarchic, anti-establishment.”

“This Buffalo collection includes swirling petticoats, ruffles, prairie hats, baggy boots.”

“Underwear is worn as outerwear. Bras are worn over dresses.”

“Bashed-in hats, printed zest hoods, skirts with large prints and leather trim, leather frock coats, toga dresses and bras.”

“New shape. Squares. Up on top and down below.”

Junya Watanabe
Autumn Winter 2000-01
Photographed by Peter Stigter
Seen in Slam – October 2000 – page 18

“Turquoise.”

“Seventy layers of Ester chintz were cut into a unique pattern by laser.”

“The layers were sewn together at alternating connecting points.”

“The dresses (or are they jackets) unfold like paper lanterns. They were delivered to the shops folded up.”

One of the most poignant and truly personal contributions to A#8 is a letter to Riccardo Tisci from the eternally fabulous and debonair lady, the true fashionista’s fashionista – Anna Piaggi. A veritable style icon, Anna has been a writer and stylist in fashion since the 1960s, working predominantly with Italian Vogue and the defunct Vanity magazine, producing over 7,000 editorial pages in her lifetime. Anna is the muse of milliner Stephen Jones, as well as an avid follower and friend to Manolo Blahnik, Vivienne Westwood and Karl Lagerfeld among many others, and was given an entire exhibition dedicated to her fashion archive, wardrobe and life’s work at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

Anna’s wildly colourful personal style has no contenders to its vivacious attitude – with nonsensical clashes of pattern and palette and rich displays of embellishment and texture that render the poutish, petite woman as her very own work of art.

To Riccardo, Anna has written most warm-heartedly, speaking of his own poetry within his designs and the way that he is able to verbalise this in private to her. She likens his puns to ‘ex-votos’, religious votive offerings to Gods and saints that offer thanks, and has included an image of her own symbolic ‘ex-voto’ – an embellished eye on crude leather.

Read her kind words below:

“GIVENCHIC!

Dear Riccardo, the hints you give me after each one of your shows are always a surprise, an amusement, something to remember… a concentrate of the collection in a very few words, quick, light, spontaneous. And always with a very happy accent, a play with words, which I am always looking for. A little miracle each time, like a ‘grazia ricevuta’ (a received grace?), which is the meaning of each religious ex-voto, like the heart embroidered on a black dress in your spring-summer? NO, no, no, autumn winter collection 2008. I love ‘ex-voto’ (ex-votos?) and I have been even using the eye (see photo) as a jewel with a ribbon around my neck, with your beautiful ‘peep’ coat. My favourite quote of yours was ‘maori, fetish, baby doll’ and it stayed in my head for quite a long time. How great to have a bouncing relationship with fashion, to feel it as a pretext for free poetry, nursery rhyme… looking for your, your next collection-expression

yours,

Anna Piaggi”