I don’t know how you did it, Allan Balletshofer, but you read my mind. As I looked at the Balletshofer’s notes while waiting for his show to begin, amid the ebony marbled grandeur of the Martin Gropius Bau Museum, this struck me: “Upon arriving in a city, an individual adapts to the specific codes and conventions. As you move through the urban landscape there is a newfound familiarity, from park to sidewalk, from bus to subway.” On the list, taking the bus was the only thing I couldn’t accomplish, but other than that, the last few days here in Berlin for the Spring 2025 shows have been a speed lesson in immersing yourself in the city – and the fashion of the city. scene. And what has now become known is that the city is able to offer all kinds of great surprises.
Balletshofer turned out to be one of them. He’s done exactly two collections so far, so he was a bit of an unknown quantity. (Well, at least for me.) It quickly became clear, however, that he has a pretty clear vision. Look 1 set the tone: minimalist black tailoring in the form of a boxy-cut collarless jacket, worn with straight-cut trousers that does that elusive thing: somehow be cool yet classic, and vice versa, and succeed. As his models walked a fair distance away, a jacket in sturdy black leather with a zipper at the front and matching leather trousers flashed by, as did a black shirt with electric blue panels in the sleeves, mirrored only in the trousers of the look, and then a black one – are you noticing a color palette choice yet? – neoprene denim jacket with, yes, matching jeans.
Much of Balletshofer’s collection focused on twisting and subverting all those tropes of classic menswear: suits, shirts and even ties, here adding a touch of formality, and a bit of an American Psycho vibe, when worn with a oversized black flannel shirt. -jack (technically, I think, this makes it a clampbut I’ll add that to my list of verboten buzzwords) and wide trousers – a combination of traditional and athletic/technical fabrics. Those same show notes mentioned that Balletshofer was inspired by the Japanese philosophy of Ichi-go ichi-ewhich is apparently about capturing the unrepeatable nature of a moment.
In other words: the moment passes, but it also lives on in the present, and that is a nice way to summarize how he combines the memory of heritage with the reality of today. Balletshofer literally based his approach on the show’s Timberland collaboration, taking the classic boat shoe and adding a leather toe in black or electric blue, transforming it in the most fantastic way, without denying the shoe’s integrity. As the last look disappeared, my seatmate turned to me and said, “I would wear all of that.” I’m not sure I could do the same, but as far as a collection that offered a ton of covetable clothes, it was perfect.