On the occasion of Uli Richter’s 90th birthday, the Kunstgewerbemuseum presents some of the highlights of the Berlin fashion designer’s work. As one of the youngest major designers working in Berlin in the early 1950s, Uli Richter (born 28 December 2016 in Potsdam) played an important role in forging a ‘made in Berlin’ style. Over the more than 40 years in which he worked as a fashion designer, he succeeded in reinvigorating and consolidating Berlin’s reputation as an international centre of fashion. He taught at the Hochschule der Künste in Berlin (today known as the UdK) between 1986 and 1994 and inspired countless students in the process. The results of projects from his time at the UdK, including clothing, design sketches, and photographs, provide the viewer with a glimpse into Berlin’s young fashion scene in the 1980s and 1990s.

In a space of more than 300 square metres, about 40 costumes are displayed alongside an extensive assortment of photographs, sketches, and archive materials from the collections of the Kunstbibliothek. The exhibition in the Kunstgewerbemuseum offers a picture of more than 70 years of fashion history, ranging from Richter’s first bridal gown, designed at the beginning of his career in 1959, to dresses and designs from his university projects to contemporary creations.

Can Uli Richter’s classic style still be considered groundbreaking even today? This question was addressed by the Berlin fashion designers Brachmann, William Fan, Firkant, Marina Hoermanseder, Barre Noire, Sample-cm, Michael Sontag, Steinrohner, Nobi Talai and Philomena Zanetti. They created new work using the Kunstgewerbemuseum’s Richter Collection as inspiration, developing modern designs in their own respective styles. The designers’ creations will be shown in the third part of the exhibition before the viewer is released back out into the diverse fashion metropolis of Berlin.