Stylecartel

Bernadett Penkov

Young German designer to watch by Charlotte Smith for StyleCartel

Bernadett Penkov is a Berlin-based up and coming young designer, who unveiled her first Spring/Summer 08 collection at London Fashion Week and returned for a second time to premier her Fall/Winter 08/09 collection after receiving excellent response from the fashion world. Penkov showed Londoners and the world that Germany has plenty to offer the world on ideals of fashion. In an age when young designer has become so passé it is hard for to create a long lasting buzz connects to the nuance of their collection in hopes the name will stay on the lips of today’s fashionista’s.

The Spring/Summer 08 collection took us back in time to a mystical desert land. Penkove used natural fabrics that seemed to have a slightly used-look, bountifully worn by wind and sun. Cotton for suits and coats in washed Habotay silk and high quality flowing viscose for dresses and tops. Light and elegant silk crepe chiffon with and without Lurex threads for tops and dresses with a distinction washed thin Interlock jersey for T-Shirts.The dresses were reminiscent of lazy day’s in the park flowing with the gentle breeze, capacious braided roman-style halters silk dresses: narrow double-breasted blazers, in skinny trousers. Her eveningwear was just as tantalizing, empire style dresses, with cap sleeves and tied with a sky-blue ribbon that gives off the two-tone effect. To draw attention to this smart collection included Grecian wrapped cocktail dresses, which are hand embroidered with small sliver discs on panels.

Penkov is a comtempory designer for our time. The collection was a breath of fresh air. Many of today’s young designers tend to go a little over board to get recognition, yet Penkov say’s a lot by keeping the collection avant guard, simple and wearable! She kept it consistent with her Fall/Winter 08/09 collections. Essential to Penkov vision is the idea of clean silhouettes and lucid colors. With this collection she combined embroidered detail and handmade elements, motivated by Art Deco and Fritz Lang’s expressionist masterpiece “Metropolis”. Some of my favorite pieces where the mini “Smoking” jacket and the white Grecian styled cocktail dresses easily paired with strappy sandals, wide leg trouser, jeans or skinny jeans depending on the taste’s of the wearer.

In the fall/winter collection Penkov played with the masculine and the feminine forms in her designs, resulting in bold style using black, white, silver, crème and mint green. A key item of the collection is the V-shaped dress with luxurious Art Deco elements. Exactitude detailing hand-applied ribbons, alongside tuxedo pants and mini tuxedo jackets for controlled masculinity.

Hollywood starlets of silent movies are a definite inspiration; the eveningwear includes robes in silk satin, hand-sequined silk-georgette fabrics. Sophisticated coats in pure wool are part of the ensemble. There were a few luxurious lingerie pieces as well in collaboration with Triumph, which complemented the Penkov collection for the second round of Penkov during the last London Fashion week. This made her a young German designer to watch and a name to remember.

http://www.penkovberlin.com/