Home team, come on through! Ottolinger’s Christa Bösch and Cosima Gadient might both be Swiss, but their hearts and heads reside (quite literally) in Berlin. And finally, after years of showing in Paris, they staged their first-ever show in their adoptive city, just in time for their 10th anniversary. “We’ve learned that it’s easier to do a show in the place you actually live, where your studio is,” said Gadient, laughing. Unsurprisingly, there was quite the crowd in the house to support them, with the Ottolingers presenting at the Palais am Funktrum, the final show of the day in the Intervention day of shows curated by creative and communications agency Reference Studios. And the minute Kim Petras did a swaggering stomp of a walk around the snaking runway to get the proceedings going, dressed in a shrunken print sweater and a shrunken pair of shorts, accessorized with visor-like shades on her face, and knit leather booties strapped onto tottering curved wooden chopine heels, we were off to a flying start.
This was a good collection from Ottolinger, strong on conviction; since it started, the label had this unbreakable alliance with young women that Ottolinger is a safe space for them, where you can look as cool/hot/unvarnishedly yourself as much as you want. This time round, the collection was a celebration of big sisterhood, how, said Gadient, “we are both big sisters and we love being that role model; showing you how not to fail, because we already failed for you; that we’re here to support you in all that you do to succeed. So the clothes are playful, freer.”
That’s the connecting part. The clothing part was a reminder of how much they’ve established their own look, and followed the beat of their own drum, this past decade. That means messed up, conceptualized denim, perhaps slicked up and sliced apart, or artisanal knits patched and pieced together, or sportif pieces, where athleticism (hoodies, track pants) are given a sharp, generationally appropriate jolt of sexiness.
With this collection’s tough weathered leather blousons swinging away from the body, and the billowing skirts that look like they’d started life as anoraks, as well as outdoors-y shoulder-strapped utility jackets that actually could be anoraks, not to mention tough-luxe bags such as the capacious shoulder purse suspended from a strap akin to a studded punky belt (Gadient and Bösch have a sharp eye for original-looking accessories), the general effect was as if a Berghain clubber had come out blinking into the blinding daylight, and headed off into the countryside, but without bothering to change their clothes.
“We had wanted to bring back our crafty side,” said Bösch of the collection’s vibe. “So there’s more texture, more deconstruction.” There was also the first glimpse—a tease, they called it—of their Nike collaboration, which will likely land in 2026. Take a look at their swoosh-emblazoned micro sports bras and cut-out bodysuits, and consider yourself teased.