It was a small gesture when Johannes Boehl Cronau resigned his black leather slippers while he took bow after his Ioannes show in the Oranjery of Charlottenburg Palace. But it spoke volumes for many of those present. Get deep breath and cooling. Berlin fashion week is over. In many ways it was just as good as his big sisters and could even compete with Paris Men’s Fashion Week, at least in terms of temperatures and showing delays.
Boehl Cronau, whose designs have been well received in Hollywood and who has already collaborated with the Kylie Jenner label, showed his work for the first time in Berlin. Of course his dresses, all of which were made exceptionally good, were to be seen: striking and very figure promoting. “I have always been very inspired by the women in my family. Body consciousness and sexiness have nothing to do with the clothing size,” the designer answered when asked to what extent sensuality plays a role in his work. No waist was hidden, each was precise and accurately accentuated. Or easily exposed, such as in the barbells with floor-length fringes, who alternated Ioannes with mini and maxi dresses.
In between there was also some knitted clothing, a few trains and quite a few sequins, combined with high leather boots. The accessories further refined the image of the cool, international Ioannes woman. Oversized, sculptural gold jewelry and even larger kite sunglasses. The latter are a collaboration with Berlin glasses label Mykita, which designed this specific frame as a special edition for Sarah Jessica Parker.
“This collection is a small look in the past six years,” he said. “What I have done, what I love and what might have been missed in my portfolio. But I am not necessarily looking to do more too much. I don’t even do shows regularly. The biggest advantage I want to give my customers is to bring more quality to all quantity.”