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Bernhard Willhelm (born 3 November 1972 in
Ulm Ulm () is the sixth-largest city of the southwestern German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with around 129,000 inhabitants, it is Germany's 60th-largest city. Ulm is located on the eastern edges of the Swabian Jura mountain range, on the up ...
) is a German fashion designer.


Education and first season

Bernhard Willhelm studied fashion design at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, during which he assisted
Walter van Beirendonck Walter Van Beirendonck (born 4 February 1957) is a Belgian fashion designer. He was the head of the fashion department at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp until 2022. Education He graduated in 1980 from the Royal Arts Academy in Ant ...
,
Alexander McQueen Lee Alexander McQueen (17 March 1969 – 11 February 2010) was a British fashion designer and couturier. He founded his own Alexander McQueen (brand), Alexander McQueen label in 1992 and was chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001. His ac ...
,
Vivienne Westwood Dame Vivienne Isabel Westwood (; 8 April 1941 – 29 December 2022) was an English fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream. In 2022, ''Sky Arts'' ranked her the ...
and
Dirk Bikkembergs Dirk Bikkembergs (born 2 January 1959) is a Belgian fashion designer. Early life Dirk Bikkembergs was born in Cologne, Germany, as his father was in the Belgian Army. He lived most of his years in Diepenbeek, Limburg, Belgium. In 1982, Bikkem ...
. In 1998, he established his namesake fashion house, together with Jutta Kraus. They debuted their first womenswear collection in 1999 and their first menswear collection was introduced in 2000. 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 Capucci is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Fabrizio Capucci (1939–2024), Italian actor and producer * Hilarion Capucci Hilarion Capucci, BA (; 2 March 1922 – 1 January 2017) was a Syrian Catholic prelate who served as ...
through 2004.


Later work

From 2009 up until 2014, Willhem held the position of head of the fashion department at Universität für Angewandte Kunst in Vienna, Austria. In 2011, Willhelm relocated his team temporarily to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and later in 2013 to Los Angeles, where the company has been based since.


Style

Wilhellm's clothing has been described as being typified by craftsmanship, eclecticism, and irony. 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. Eccentric silhouettes, for both men and women, are additional characteristic features of Willhelm's work. Wilhelm is known for his unconventional approach to presenting seasonal collections, preferring installations, performances and tableaux vivants over the fashion runway. His career has been marked by collaborations with artists and creatives across disciplines, including Bjork,
Olaf Breuning Olaf Breuning (born February 16, 1970)SIK ISEAOlaf Breuning/ref> is a Swiss-born artist, born in Schaffhausen, who lives in New York City. Works *''Home 1/Home 2'' (2004/7) 30 minute video starring Brian Kerstetter. ''Home 1'' is presented as ...
, Cutler X,
Joe Dallesandro Joseph Angelo D'Allesandro III (born December 31, 1948) is an American actor and Warhol superstar. He was a sex symbol of gay subculture in the 1960s and 1970s, and of several American underground films before going mainstream. Dallesandro star ...
, Carsten Fock, William Forsythe, Carmen Freudenthal,
Item Idem Cyril Duval (born December 31, 1977), who works under the name Item Idem, is a French conceptual artist, designer, and filmmaker. He lives and works in Taipei, Taiwan. Biography Duval was born in Paris, France, in 1977. His mother worked for ...
, Nick Knight, Nikolaus Schafhausen, Rade Petrasevic, Elle Verhagen, Tony Ward, and Lukas Wassmann.


Special projects

In 2001 Willhelm posed naked in the first issue of magazine '' Butt'', in a pictorial shot by Turner Prize-winning photographer
Wolfgang Tillmans Wolfgang Tillmans (born 16 August 1968) is a German Fine-art photography, photographer. His diverse body of work is distinguished by observation of his surroundings and an ongoing investigation of the photographic medium’s foundations. Tillman ...
. 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 and ''Red Rose Pink Donkey,'' made in collaboration with Dirk Bonn and screened at
Athens Biennale The Athens Biennale (abbr. AB) is an international cultural event held every two years at various locations in Athens, consisting of a large-scale exhibition and a diverse programme of side events, such as performances, workshops, lectures etc. I ...
. Willhelm created costumes for Bjork, used for her ''Volta'' album cover and her 2007 World Tour, as well as for R.W. Fassbinder’s play ''
Die bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant ''The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant'' () is a 1972 West German Psychological fiction, psychological romantic drama film written and directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, based on his play of the same name. Featuring an all-female cast, the film ...
,'' shown at Deutsches Theater in Berlin.


Commercial collaborations

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. In 2009, he commenced a partnership with German eyewear brand
MYKITA MYKITA GmbH is a high-end eyewear design manufacturer based in Berlin, Germany, known internationally for its handcrafted eyeglasses and sunglasses. Company The company was founded by Harald Gottschling, Daniel Haffmans, Philipp Haffmans and Mor ...
. His collection of sunglasses featured color gradient lenses. 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).


Exhibitions

*2015: ''BERNHARD WILLHELM 3000: WHEN FASHION IS THE DANGER, THEN FASHION IS THE DANGER'' at the
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA) is a contemporary art museum with two locations in greater Los Angeles, California. The main branch is located on Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, near the Walt Disney Concert Hall. MOCA's ori ...
*2009 ''Bernhard Willhelm Jutta Kraus'' at
Groninger Museum The Groninger Museum () is an art museum in the city of Groningen in the Netherlands. The museum exhibits modern and contemporary art of local, national, and international artists. The museum opened in 1874. The current post-modernist building c ...
, Groninger, The Netherlands. *2007 ''BERNHARD WILLHELM: HET TOTAAL RAPPEL'' at MOMU Fashion Museum, Antwerp, Belgium.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willhelm, Bernhard German expatriates in Mexico German fashion designers 1972 births Living people