Elite Traveler May-June 2015

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FASHION & STYLE

People watch The designers Berlin’s fashion scene is still so edgy it’s hard to keep up. Tobias Tanner, founder of consultancy company Valise, recently launched V Berlin, a boutique travel company that organizes bespoke tours of Berlin and introduces travelers and trendhunters to the city’s most talented creatives, from fashion designers to chefs. “It’s such an exciting time to be in Berlin,” he says. “There is so much happening here. Designers here have the space and opportunity to create their own provocative world without the pressure of commercialism.” If you want to know how to get beyond the obvious when shopping for high-end but avant-garde fashion, Tanner is your man. “I love taking people to the headquarters of the eyewear company MYKITA. It has taken over an entire building in Kreuzberg where it does everything, from design to production, in-house. It’s one of the most successful fashion companies in Berlin.”

Book with Tanner in advance and he can arrange for you to design your own bespoke pair of Mykita sunglasses. mykita.com valise.me

THE IT LIST ALEX EAGLE

British stylist and creative director Alex Eagle has just helped open Berlin’s chicest new concept space in Soho House, simply called The Store. Complete with its own cafe and salon, it also features designers such as Anne Demeulemeester and The Row. Alex splits her time between London and Berlin, and she says of her second home: “There is a really international feeling to the city, with a sense that there is a lot to be discovered and accomplished.”

ALEX’S INSIDER TIPS 1

Daniel Heer is a Swiss artisan who is based just down the road from The Store. You can go and watch him at work making traditional horsehair mattresses and the leather totes we stock. danielheer.com 2 Katz Orange is an excellent restaurant hidden in a courtyard about a 10-minute walk from The Store. It’s fun to go with a group of friends and try its delicious cocktails. katzorange.com 3 The Boros Bunker is a totally unique space. You can really get a feeling for the history of Berlin while viewing the most incredible contemporary art collection. sammlung-boros.de 4 Luiban sells beautifully-curated niche stationary that is hard to find. It sources stunning pens and papers from around the world and also has an edited space in The Store. shop.luiban.com 5 Do You Read Me sells a great selection of international journals, books and magazines. The range covers every subject imaginable and we are stocking a selection of its magazines in The Store. I always pick something up before I head to the airport. doyoureadme.de

People watch The design team

Formerly called My Bauhaus is Better than Yours, New Tendency is one of the most interesting design collectives in the city. Their colorful “cake table” can be taken apart and configured in multiple ways and their modern stoneware vases have been featured in Wallpaper *. For The Store (see Alex Eagle, right), New Tendency designed round tables made of dozens of multicolored marble tiles. In Kreuzberg their office doubles was a showroom and shop. Weichselstrasse 22; newtendency.de

Photos: Johanna Huber, Anna Serrane/SIME/4 Corners , Getty Images