Bernhard Willhelm

Bernhard Willhelm studied fashion design at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp,{{Cite web|url=http://www.antwerp-fashion.be/about.html|title=Fashion Department Royal Academy of Fine Arts|access-date=2016-03-29}} during which he assisted Walter van Beirendonck, Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood and Dirk Bikkembergs. In 1998, he established his namesake fashion house, together with Jutta Kraus. They debuted their first womenswear collection in 1999{{Cite web|url=http://www.russhmagazine.com/profiles/designers/bernhard-willhelm/|title=Bernhard Willhelm|last=Alstin|first=Clare|website=RUSSH|access-date=2016-03-29}} and their first menswear collection was introduced in 2000.{{Cite web|url=http://showstudio.com/contributor/bernhard_willhelm|title=Bernhard Willhelm|website=showstudio.com|access-date=2016-03-29}}

In 2002, Bernhard Willhelm moved their design studio from Antwerp to Paris, at which time Willhelm also became creative director for the fashion house Capucci through 2004.

From 2009 up until 2014, Willhem held the position of head of the fashion department at Universität für Angewandte Kunst in Vienna, Austria.{{Cite web|url=http://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/10661/1/bernhard-willhelm-x-university-of-applied-arts-vienna|title=Bernhard Willhelm x University of Applied Arts Vienna|last=Dazed|website=Dazed|date=20 June 2011 |access-date=2016-03-23}} In 2011, Willhelm relocated his team temporarily to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico,{{Cite web|url=http://www.vman.com/site/content/3474/bernhard-willhelm-knows-the-future|title=Bernhard Willhelm Knows The Future|last=Stagg|first=Natasha|website=V Magazine|access-date=2016-03-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315035147/http://www.vman.com/site/content/3474/bernhard-willhelm-knows-the-future|archive-date=2016-03-15|url-status=dead}} and later in 2013 to Los Angeles, where the company has been based since.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/29/t-magazine/a-paris-designer-sets-up-a-creative-commune-in-the-hollywood-hills.html|title=A Paris Designer Sets up a Creative Commune in the Hollywood Hills|last=Mcgarry|first=Kevin|date=2015-06-29|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=2016-03-30}}

File:Dress by Bernhard Willhelm, Spring-Summer 2013.jpg{{cite web |last1=Staff writer |title=Woman's Ensemble: Dress, Socks, and Shoes |url=https://www.philamuseum.org/collection/object/331131 |website=philamuseum.org |publisher=Philadelphia Museum of Art |access-date=11 January 2022 |language=en}})]]

Wilhellm's clothing has been described as being typified by craftsmanship, eclecticism, and irony.{{Cite web|url=http://wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-scoops/bernhard-willhelm-to-show-at-moca-8050256/|title=Bernhard Willhelm to Show at MOCA|last=Szmydke|first=Paulina|website=WWD|date=December 2014 |language=en-US|access-date=2016-04-20}} His inspirations range from South German folklore, historical costume to sport and traditional Japanese dress as well as questions of diversity, the human condition, facets of culture and perceptions of reality.{{Cite book|title=Bernhard Wilhelm and Jutta Kraus|last=Gronninger Museum|publisher=NAi Publishers}}

Eccentric silhouettes, for both men and women, are additional characteristic features of Willhelm's work.{{Cite web|url=http://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2016-ready-to-wear/bernhard-willhelm|title=Bernhard Willhelm Spring 2016 Ready-to-Wear Fashion Show - Vogue|last=Singer|first=Maya|website=Vogue|date=5 October 2015 |access-date=2016-04-20}}

Wilhelm is known for his unconventional approach to presenting seasonal collections, preferring installations, performances and tableaux vivants over the fashion runway.{{Cite web|url=http://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-2015-ready-to-wear/bernhard-willhelm|title=Bernhard Willhelm Fall 2015 Ready-to-Wear Fashion Show - Vogue|last=Blanks|first=Tim|website=Vogue|date=24 March 2015 |access-date=2016-04-20}}

His career has been marked by collaborations with artists and creatives across disciplines, including Bjork, Olaf Breuning, Cutler X, Joe Dallesandro, Carsten Fock, William Forsythe, Carmen Freudenthal, Item Idem,{{cite book |last1=Sterlacci |first1=Francesca |last2=Arbuckle |first2=Joanne |title=Historical Dictionary of the Fashion Industry |date=30 June 2017 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |page=530}} Nick Knight, Nikolaus Schafhausen, Rade Petrasevic, Elle Verhagen, Tony Ward, and Lukas Wassmann.

In 2001 Willhelm posed naked in the first issue of magazine Butt, in a pictorial shot by Turner Prize-winning photographer Wolfgang Tillmans.

In 2013, Willhelm presented his men / women AW13-14 collection, in the form of a dance performance in collaboration with Josh Johnson and The William Forsythe Company, Frankfurt.

Willhelm has worked on a number of films, including Men In Tights, a collaboration with fashion photographer Nick Knight, which was shown in conjunction with his AW08-9 Menswear Collection{{Cite web|url=http://showstudio.com/project/men_in_tights|title=Men In Tights|website=showstudio.com|access-date=2016-03-29}} and Red Rose Pink Donkey, made in collaboration with Dirk Bonn and screened at Athens Biennale.{{Cite web|url=http://showstudio.com/blog/post/red_rose_pink_donkey_by_bernhard_willhelm_and_dirk_bonn|title='Red Rose Pink Donkey' by Bernhard Willhelm and Dirk Bonn|website=showstudio.com|access-date=2016-03-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220112724/http://showstudio.com/blog/post/red_rose_pink_donkey_by_bernhard_willhelm_and_dirk_bonn|archive-date=2016-12-20|url-status=dead}}

Willhelm created costumes for Bjork, used for her Volta album cover and her 2007 World Tour,{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/gallery/2015/may/16/bjorks-stage-fashions-through-the-years-in-pictures|title=Björk's stage fashions through the years – in pictures|last=Cochrane|first=Lauren|date=2015-05-16|newspaper=The Guardian|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|access-date=2016-03-30}} as well as for R.W. Fassbinder’s play Die bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant, shown at Deutsches Theater in Berlin.{{Cite news|url=https://www.welt.de/kultur/article711092/Bernhard-Willhelm-weiss-was-Mode-mit-Theater-verbindet.html|title=Bernhard Willhelm weiß, was Mode mit Theater verbindet|last=Schmeller|first=Johanna|date=2007-01-24|newspaper=Welt Online|access-date=2016-03-30}}

Willhelm has engaged in a number of commercial collaborations. From 2008 to 2015 he worked with Spanish footwear company CAMPER on a line of men and women's shoes.{{Cite web|url=http://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/8644/1/bernhard-willhelm-x-camper|title=Bernhard Wilhelm X Camper|last=Walsh|first=Rachel|website=Dazed Digital|access-date=2016-03-30}}

In 2009, he commenced a partnership with German eyewear brand MYKITA. His collection of sunglasses featured color gradient lenses.{{Cite web|url=http://www.businessoffashion.com/community/companies/mykita/portfolio/album/57033|title=MYKITA & Bernhard Willhelm: The Mirrored Series Expands {{!}} Mykita's Visual Portfolio {{!}} BoF Careers {{!}} The Business of Fashion|website=www.businessoffashion.com|access-date=2016-03-30}}

Willlhelm has also worked with Swedish rug manufacturer Henzel Studio on a collection of rugs and pillows that feature proclaiming statements drawn from the exhibition BERNHARD WILLHELM 3000: When Fashion Shows The Danger Then Fashion Is The Danger at the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles (MOCA).{{Cite web|url=http://www.wallpaper.com/fashion/apocalyptic-future-bernhard-willhelm-takes-us-to-the-year-3000-with-his-aw-2015-collection-on-show-at-las-moca|title=Apocalyptic Future: Bernhard Wilhelm takes us to the year 3000 with his A/W 2015 collection on show at LA's MOCA|last=Rothman|first=Tibby|website=Wallpaper*|date=10 February 2015 |access-date=2016-03-30}}

• 2015: BERNHARD WILLHELM 3000: WHEN FASHION IS THE DANGER, THEN FASHION IS THE DANGER at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles{{Cite web|url=http://www.vogue.com/13268401/bernhard-willhelm-fall-2015-collection-moca-pacific-design-center/|title="We Never Played It Safe": Bernhard Willhelm Swaps Paris for L.A.|last=Singer|first=Maya|website=Vogue|language=en-US|access-date=2016-03-30}}
• 2009 Bernhard Willhelm Jutta Kraus at Groninger Museum, Groninger, The Netherlands.{{Cite web|url=http://artdaily.com/news/34922/Major-Exhibition-for-Bernhard-Willhelm-and-Jutta-Kraus-at-Groninger-Museum#.VvwbUMfo7-Q|title=Major Exhibition for Bernhard Willhelm and Jutta Kraus at Groninger Museum|last=Villarreal|first=Ignacio|website=artdaily.com|access-date=2016-03-30}}
• 2007 BERNHARD WILLHELM: HET TOTAAL RAPPEL at MOMU Fashion Museum, Antwerp, Belgium.{{Cite web|url=http://www.momu.be/fr/tentoonstelling/archief1.html|title=Archive - ModeMuseum Provincie Antwerpen|website=ModeMuseum Provincie Antwerpen|access-date=2016-03-30}}

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Category:German expatriates in Mexico

Category:German fashion designers

Category:1972 births

Category:Living people