Bread & Butter begins - Etsy among exhibitors

Much awaited Bread & Butter Berlin tradeshow kicks off tonight with a 'high voltage' opening party. Being already established as one of the top trendsetting exhibitions, it will be once again welcoming visitors from all over the world between the 18th and 20th January 2012. This season's theme is "High Fidelity".

Among its somewhat 600 international exhibitors, including global giant manufacturers Adidas, Custo Barcelona and Havaianas, online crafts retailer Etsy stands out. Small, independent productions are now in the same list and space as mass production key players, a sign that all those who underestimated them were wrong. If visiting, also look out for Etsy's Photo Booth Yourself area.

Happy Socks for the World Cup

The World Cup in South Africa has just began (er... Greece didn't start off that great) and this time memorabilia go way beyond scarfs and flags. Happy Socks are planning to keep happy the fans of eight countries with the longest history in football with some special edition socks to... score for. That would be the fans of Argentina, Brazil, England, France,Germany, Netherlands and South Africa.

New York based designer Stephen Wong, creative director of collective Wong Wong (previously Art Director of Helmut Lang Studios) turned those eight national flags into some special edition, truly happy socks, placing stars on them that mark the number of championships each country has won.

Whether you've fallen for the colours, are a certain team fan or fancy collecting them, they are available at Happy Socks online store, Notos Galleries, Fena and Fena Fresh.

Below, is Viktor Tell, Swedish Happy Socks creative director. It was a pleasure meeting him last summer at Bread & Butter. I tell you, the positive energy of these socks comes straight from the top;)

Next Bread and Butter: July 7th-9th

Before pulling the plug of yet another successful Bread and Butter, the organisers announced the dates of the next one, already scheduled for July 7th-9th 2010. The theme is selected and applied: Premier League - Best brands, Best buyers, Best business.

“The thought behind the campaign is obvious. First of all, only the best of their trade can participate at BREAD & BUTTER, and secondly, the football World Cup will take place in South Africa concurrently with the BREAD & BUTTER.

On the eve of BREAD & BUTTER as well as on the evening of the first day of the tradeshow, there will be a semi final each. We will build a huge stadium on the airfield and celebrate a big football event. So book your flights and hotels and be part of it! The ticket sale will start shortly.” - Karl-Heinz Mueller, BBB Director.

I've got a feeling we'll be seeing more boys than usual in Tempelhof this July:)

Diesel at Bread and Butter

Diesel showed it hearts grey too at it's a/w 10 preview in last Bread and Butter. Even though grey is THE colour, do not forget, well, COLOUR! Hues of red and chakis are the slicers of choice in what looks like an ash dominated winter.

Glasses with rounder ends, booties and oversized bags are on too, the first being quite a promising successor to the popular Ray-Ban style classics that took the market by storm in the recent past. And yet again, Diesel reminded everyone it's strong ties to music

G-star Raw at Bread and Butter

Fashion-wise we may still be in the heart of A/W 09, but G-star Raw is so ready for A/W 10. Bread and Butter visitors had a taste of what's it gonna be for next season and so can you, right below.

It looks like grey will stick around a bit longer. It's no more aubergine, lilac and electric shades of blue though. According to G-star Raw, green and bright block yellow will be the new... seasoning of the season.

Bread and Butter, and the music

And again, music was there to celebrate fashion.

The evening's musical highlight was the live performance by the local seven-man country band The BossHoss which with further seven orchestra members played with a full line-up. The currently most sought-after hillbillies of the music scene fired up the crowd with their trash-country-punk-rock songs. In the past, top acts such as Mando Diao, The Hives and many others have played live at BREAD & BUTTER. (release)

It was Bread and Butter again

Another Bread and Butter exhibition has just come to an end. Here's what went on in freezing Berlin:


“Since the return of BREAD & BUTTER in summer 2009,” says Klaus Wowereit, Governing Mayor of Berlin, “the city has taken a great step towards reaching its goal of being a fashion metropolis! The international fashion audience is not just here to look at this city – it is here to stay! Berlin without BREAD & BUTTER has come to be almost unimaginable!”

Freestyle Magazine (part 1)

Presenting you my summer cooler: Freestyle Magazine (and ice cream). It has just come out, this is its very first issue. It is round shaped and came inside a ...frisbee. Not any frisbee: the print is Eley Kishimoto's "Electric Lightning", in a hypnotic, super-fly version.

Here is moi, catching sun at the balcony whilst learning how to make a Gay Cake. Other contents include a frisbee retrospective, some seriously cool editorials, tips on how to do a flawless manicure, monkey faces(!) architectural gems and street art, even the twitter chronical of how someone ended up killing someone (!!).

(photo by Marina Rosso)
I discovered Freestyle at Bread & Butter, in Berlin. It was hard to miss their frisbee covered van and all the frisbee activity around it. Wasn't sure what it was but it looked fun. "A magazine for creative people who like to play" is how they put it and indeed that's what it is.

Made sure the issue was in my suitcase, went to their smashing Berlin launch party and asked them a question (or five) about what they do. You are so gonna love this. Soon to be posted.

Silvian Heach @ BBB

Silvian Heach, italian brand, showing at BBB. You can check out the line by clicking on the link. What had me speechless at the exhibition was the installation at the hall of the showroom (kinda like the state of my livingroom when I left for this trip!?)

Justin @ BBB

Justin Timperlake was at Bread & Butter too, promoting his line, William Rast. According to my BBB Bible:

William Rast is the "New America" denim culture brand, founded by business partners Justin Timberlake and Trace Ayala. It is grounded in the iconography of American denim heritage and biker culture, yet repackaged and presented in a contemporary context.

Bread and Butter meant the finale of the 2009 William Rast tour of Europe, that started with Colette in Paris and Selfridges in London.

I am guessing this is what happens if you team up with a singer to do a brand: you go on a tour.

Havaianas @ BBB

By now, I think we all own at least a pair of lovely Havaianas flip-flops! The brand had a strong presence at BBB and you couldn't miss the enormous flip-flop flowers at the entrance of its space, going all the way up the fake grass hill covering its special, secret room.

The secret room was an area where only selected buyers were allowed in, by invitation only. The reason? It was a very private showroom of Havaianas' new project for SS 10. Letting you into a little secret: next year and for the first time, the brand will extend beyond flip-flops!

I was allowed some pics from the regular line, so here's what to expect flip-flop-wise:




In case you did not know, Havaianas sandals were created in 1962 by Alpargatas, a traditional Brazilian company of footwear and apparel. The inspiration was the japanese rice-straw sandal, Zori.

Back then, success was instant and a thousand pairs were sold per day. Today, this number has risen to 460 thousand being sold worldwide, per day (!)

Seen on feet on the street or on the catwalk, each new collection features new shapes, colours, prints and ornaments inspired by the latest fashion trends. (from the BBB Brand Bible)

Ever wondered how they are made? Here's a fun clip showing just that: