French Women Are Stylish, Sure, But the 8 Forward Trends I Spotted in Berlin Take the Cake

One of the best things about traveling is the act of discovering something—be it finding the best hotel, a buzzy restaurant, or even a few new trends. The latter often is the most exciting aspect of traveling for fashion people, myself included. Don’t get me wrong; there are so many ways that travel expands one’s perspective, but none are as visually prominent as the ways that your personal style shifts after spending time in a new place. After traveling to countless fashion cities around the world, I’ll personally attest that a change of zip code can break one out of creative stagnation. It’s one of the main reasons I’ll always justify booking the flight, or at least that’s the excuse I recently used to rationalize visiting Berlin in the middle of winter (which was a choice given the brutal climate). Let me preface this by saying that I’m fully aware there are other destinations to choose from that are seen as the more traditional fashion capitals—ahem, Paris, Milan, London, and even Copenhagen. However, my choice to visit Berlin can be boiled down to the saying, “Been there, done that.”

While I’ll always revel in researching the latest trends from those cities, sometimes we must step out of our comfort zones to find something truly revolutionary; Berlin offers that. That sentiment is shared by others, too, as we’ve seen Berlin’s rich culture serve as inspiration in broader pop culture over the last few years. From David Koma choosing to showcase his S/S 26 menswear line at Berlin Fashion Week to Rosalía releasing her critically acclaimed single “Berghain”—named after the city’s most infamous nightclub—it would seem that all roads lead to Berlin. After traveling there, I get the hype. Not only does Berlin check off every box you’d want in a destination (historical relevance, dynamic art scene, incredible culinary talent, and nightlife that rivals no other city, New York included), but the city’s budding street style scene takes the cake. Fashion in Berlin is a visual feast, or at least that’s what I felt after spotting countless trends in cafés, clubs, and corners of the U-Bahn stations. It was so inspiring that I figured it was my civic duty to share eight Berlin fashion trends that I spotted locals wearing across the city. Prepare to be inspired.

It’s a running joke online that the defining feature of Berlin fashion is two things: all-black outfits and lots of leather (often both worn together). Welp, after spending time in the city, I can safely report that some clichés are, in fact, clichés for a reason! I couldn’t walk a city block in Berlin without spotting some variation of black leather pieces: outerwear, handbags, boots, the works. While Berliners do live and die by their all-black leather outfits, these looks are by no means boring. In proper alignment with the gritty energy of this city, you’ll find that the leather pieces they put on always have a certain edge to them—think longline leather trenches that are meant to trapeze the dance floor at Tresor all night, low-slung wide-leg trousers that are sultry enough to get you into KitKat or chunky moto boots that you could rave in all night. It’s an ethos that’s all about making even the most mundane staples more exciting.

Being that Berlin is home to some of the earliest reported movements for pioneering LGBTQ+ rights, it’s fitting that the city’s street style scene still reflects a desire to subvert traditional gender norms in society. That’s no more apparent than with all the menswear-inspired details that seemingly dominated every street corner. No matter their age, fashion people there were donning androgynous separates in a way that felt, well, utterly revolutionary. That manifested as spotting women wearing “traditional” menswear pieces—e.g., button-down shirts were styled with oversize track pants to create a relaxed take on tailoring, or women wore oversize chore jackets that looked like they could have been stolen from an ex-partner. There were even quite a few times when I spotted more “masculine” accessories thrown into the mix (loafers, fur hats, and menswear ties). It was a reminder that the best style can’t be boxed into a singular genre, or gender, for that matter.

Aligning with that ethos of embracing androgynous style, there was another trend that seemed inescapable on my trip: oversize denim. In almost every borough of Berlin, people were sporting denim silhouettes that were dramatically oversize, to the point where you couldn’t tell if they came from the men’s or women’s department. From jean jackets that were two sizes too big to loosely fitted denim button-down shirts to ultra-baggy barrel-leg jeans, it seemed that everyone in the city collectively decided you could create an eye-catching ensemble without even having to touch a pair of low-rise or skinny jeans (thank god for that realization). But beyond the edgy tomboy aesthetic that extremely oversize denim creates, it’s also one of the most effective ways to dress practically for Berlin’s brutal winters—the shape lets you layer thermal layers underneath to stay warm without sacrificing your style.

Speaking of cold weather, we have to talk about its not-so-subtle impact on fashion trends in the city. Given Berlin’s cold climate, layering would, of course, be a signature part of residents’ sartorial diet. But like all things in Berlin, what makes this capital distinct is that people don’t do things normally; they do things to the max. The clearest example of this “more is more” ethos is the embrace of excessive layers. It’s not just about throwing on a few extra thermal layers to stay warm but using layers to create theatrical silhouettes, compelling color stories, and visual tension through textures. We see the aim achieved in several different ways by the Berlin style set, including doubling up on outerwear, styling skirts over trousers, layering multiple button-down shirts, and even wearing sweaters over dresses and jeans. Whatever method of layering is chosen, it’s clear that residents of this city see colder weather as an invitation to get creative with their clothing.

Experimenting with excessive layers isn’t the only way Berliners make their everyday winter ensembles a little more exciting, or at least that’s what I deduced after my trip. Considering this city’s collective disposition towards all-black outfits, I was shocked to spot so many street style looks incorporating statement prints. It seemed counterintuitive at first to the traditional sartorial aesthetic associated with this city, but that’s what makes it genius: Style here is about subverting expectations to create something exciting. Of course, there are still some caveats to this styling trend, as there weren’t necessarily examples of Berliners buying into every print that’s popular on the runway right now. Instead, there was a greater focus on incorporating grungier options, like leopard or plaid. The latter was one of the more prominent prints I spotted on my trip, as plenty of people in Berlin wore plaid separates to add edge to their evergreen outfit formulas—e.g., printed skirts were often layered over ultra-baggy jeans, or plaid flannels peeked out from beneath oversize outerwear. By adding plaid to the mix this way, it’s further proof that Berliners are among the most stylish people.