Marie Lueder wanted us to experience her show with all our senses, so she stimulated not only our eyes and ears, but even our olfactory nerves with a performance by a young Lueder-dressed vape artist, who blew cotton candy smelling smoke rings in Berlin’s Tempodrom, a location, that was created in the 1980s as a circus tent-shaped venue for the performing arts.
The world of the circus provided inspiration for the Hamburg-born, London-based designer. “I want to give a positive outlook. There are so many horrible things happening right now, and I wanted to provide a little cheer. That’s why the jester was such a special symbol in the collection,” she explained. “Even in the Middle Ages, he told the king and the higher societies what the people were thinking and what was happening, but packaged it with humor and wit, so that they could bear it.”
The collection included jester-style caps with almost horn-like appendages and laced bibs featuring hoods, whose pointed shape is one of Lueder’s trademarks. Heavy rib-knit hoodies with zippers gave the impression of armor, as did tight-fitting tank tops with decorative seams and lumbar supporting wrap skirts. For Lueder, who trained as a tailor, it’s all about giving the wearer a feeling of comfort and security. “I want the garments to be ready-to-wear with a bespoke feeling. So for instance with the jeans I am looking at how the seams touch your body in a way to make you feel like you’re wearing a bespoke suit, and it’s all made for you and hugging you in a way,” she said.
The color palette of baggies, printed dress shirts, mesh dresses, and layered tees and sweatshirts ranged from blue-gray to fiery orange. An innovative, water-saving dyeing technique was used for the prints, in which color was applied via airbrush. Enhancing her genderless cutting techniques was another focus. The middle section of a bomber jacket can be taken out to reduce its size, and pants’ waistbands are rounded so that they fit both male and female bodies.
Improvement and evolution instead of complete reinvention—with her “medieval style sportswear,” which she paired with Puma Speedcats, Lueder is designing for artsy fashion nerds that love both ren fairs and Kiko Kostadinov.
