Olivia Ballard

Olivia Ballard’s debut Berlin Fashion Week runway show “At Dusk”, which took place at MaHalla’s Black Hall on the 20th of January 2023 showed her Fall / Winter collection. The New York born designer founded her label in 2020 and has since been able to establish herself in the Berlin fashion scene, nightlife and beyond German borders. Her designs are internationally stocked in various stores across New York, Amsterdam, and London. The label seeks to explore how the body acts and interacts with different garments and materials, while focussing on its belief that clothes are supposed to fit the body and not vice versa. 

The show venue, which was the former turbine hall of the Oberspree power plant fit and even enhanced the “At Dusk”, dark, industrial, Berlin-typical, atmosphere. This great choice of location could not even be overshadowed by the poor organization of the guest’s entry and seating that caused the show to start an hour late.
The collection was presented on a giant 76-meter cross-shaped elevated runway not only altering the audience-model dynamic but also facilitating the view of the garments and models from all corners of the venue.

The collection was very much a continuation of what Olivia Ballard had done in recent times with stretchy mesh fabrics and cuts that adorn every kind of body, while also introducing some new elements like super short skirts and extravagantly tailored pieces. The designer also tried herself in some different fabrics and surprised the audience by presenting some zeitgeisty denim and leather looks. Distressing and deconstruction had a large significance in this F/W 23 collection as many pieces carried a (post-) apocalyptic touch with features like knots, rips, and ruches. These elements felt very natural and fitting to the show’s environment as well as  the larger context of where the brand is rooted and where it is heading in terms of the designs.

All in all Olivia Ballard had a successful debut at Berlin Fashion Week and presented her collection well. It will be interesting to see how the designer will keep pushing the brand forward, while keeping things true to its origins.

Photos: Finnegan K. Godenschweger

Photos: Armin Rafili

Photos: Finnegan K. Godenschweger