Making avant garde accessible without sacrificing her edge, Berlin-based emerging designer Bernadett Penkov had tongues wagging at London Fashion Week with her dazzling debut collection of fresh looks for spring. A mixture of masculine and feminine shapes, the cashmere and silk pieces in a tasteful palette of blue, mint and beige, are strong but unassuming, playful yet effortlessly cool, intriguing yet totally clean.

"I have a clear idea as to who should wear my fashions," Penkov explains. "Women who are self-confidently feminine and successful and who enjoy dressing well, but who have their feet firmly on the ground. These women walk around elegantly in high heels and have a pair of ballet shoes in their bag—for the cobbled streets." Sounds specific... and eerily like most of the well-dressed street savvy ladies we know.

Simplicity—with a quirky twist—is key to her aesthetic of contrasts. Thus a swingy blue "layered dress", which can be worn two different ways, drapes demurely in the front, but dips just-so in the back, offering a playful and unexpected flash of skin. A classically-cut "flow dress" is a sleek, toss-and-go number that gets an evening-ready update thanks to the addition of silver metallic sequin embellishments at the waist. A standout piece in th collection—her fresh take on the classic Macintosh—is a minimalist's dream that comes in black and beige versions. Consider grabbing this lightweight coat in both colors (you'll wear them for years!) and then pray for a deluge of spring showers.

For more information please visit www.penkovberlin.com.

- Caroline Stanley

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Similar Topics:Emerging Designer, fashion, shopping, spring 2008

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