NIKE'S SHOES YOU NEVER KNEW YOU NEEDED... WELCOME STUDIO WRAPS

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

The beauty of great innovation is that it gives us something we never had before but which becomes indispensable. Nike, as you may well know, is a brand which innovates like no other. Therefore, it was hardly surprising that in the yoga studio where the second of the five "sports experiences" which I was treated to in Berlin last week was taking place, the new Studio Wrap shoe was unveiled. For those among you who thought that barefoot pilates, yoga and barre classes were your lot, then think again because those clever product developers have come up with a kind of new rif on the classic ballet shoe- well, that was how it immediately looked to me with its foot hugging silhouette and beautiful ribbon ties.

Ignore the toes... Me modelling the Studio Wraps

Nike's Ann Marie and George were on hand to tell us how they had set themselves a mission to make a shoe which was "better than barefoot". A tall order, for sure,  but one driven by that Nike mindset which sees any small compromise or niggle as a problem to solve. For instance, walking around a sweaty hot yoga studio, shoeless can feel quite gross. But it's just one of those things which we grin and bear, or wear socks to get through. Well it was until Thursday, but now Nike's Studio Wrap is telling us  that not only does it not have to be this way but that there is a solution which is genuinely quite beautiful; much more lovely than a pair of socks. George explained how it took months of making up and testing prototypes which she constructed using socks and tights and bits of elastic to come up with the final design which will go on sale in February as Studio Wrap. The shoe which you wear to practice also comes with a more substantial pair of sporty ballet shoes which you can wear to and from class. The shoe's silicone print sole was put through rigourous testing in studio classes where the areas of impact on the foot where support was needed during key positions like squats and lunges were measured. As well as being more hygienic and  a way to beautify barefeet, Ann Marie and George also emphasised how Studio Wraps will actually help us improve our practice because those super-grippy soles will stop us slipping out of key postures.

George and Ann Marie, the brains behind Studio Wrap

A Studio Wrap prototype

Do they actually work? Well, Nike Master trainer Buket took us through a few sun salutations and it was definitely much easier to stay in a posture once you were there- downward dog was far more enjoyable than usual. I also wore my Studio Wraps to a Bikram class last night and actually found that they made balancing a bit easier, maybe because they act as a nice anchor to the ground? They did make my feet quite hot but I'm sure that would be something you'd get used to. I am most obsessed however, with the ribbons which you wind round your legs, just like a ballerina would. One of the biggest testers of good sportswear is whether you'd be happy to wear it when you're not working out, and Studio Wraps are at the top of my list of shoes I want to be wearing right now, yoga or no yoga.

Nike Master trainer Buket models her Studio Wraps

Of course, Nike had more treats in store for us through the rest of the day. Here's what we got up to...

A bike tour through Berlin, taking in street art and cool stores...

Artists from VAGE preparing for their exhibition opening

 A Nike Training Club session with the astonishingly gorgeous Allyson Felix, who won three golds on the track at London 2012

And to top it off, a really fabulous evening event to launch the latest Air Max 2013 collection and the Spring/ Summer women's lookbook, starring, of course, Allyson Felix. 

The venue overlooking Berlin's River Spree

A trainer p**n selection of Nike's new styles and colours. Who needs any other shoe?

Our respective Air Maxs

 All images Fashion Junior at Large/ Nike

RAVE RUNNING IN BERLIN WITH NIKE AND PAULA RADCLIFFE

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

Glowing and ready to rave run

Berlin's Brandenburg gate for the warm-up

Berlin has a bit of a rep as a party city, so while I may be in town for a fitness focused "36 hour Sports Experience" courtesy of Nike, they made sure we didn't miss out on the vibes by welcoming us last night with a rave run from Bradenburg Gate, weaving through the trees of Tiergarten long after sun down to our dinner venue. The route was lit by fluoro spotlights and glowsticks- it was really rather trippy. Boomboxes tied to tricycles rode beside us, blasting out techno tunes to keep us moving and even occasionally prompting a morph from run to dance, how could you not? If you ever thought running was boring or monotonous then a rave run will soon change your mind. You could create your own by running after dark, armed with glowsticks and house music on your iPod,  I know I will be.

There was an added frisson to all this excitement because we were joined by Paula Radcliffe. At Brandenburg Gate, the women's marathon world record holder led us all in a warm-up and motivational talk before we set out for our rave run through the park. Radcliffe is still recovering from the foot surgery which forced her to pull out of running at the London Olympics this summer. She's still confined to jogging in the sea near her Monaco home so a rave run was out of the question. However, Paula was there to join us for a delicious sushi dinner and preview of Nike's brand new Flyknit One+ style which is launching for Spring/ Summer.

Beautiful- the Flyknit One+

Nike have brought me, and a group of fellow European press, to Berlin to inspire us. As someone who  vividly remembers watching Paula set her marathon world record of 2 hours, 15 minutes and 25 seconds at the London Marathon in 2003, it doesn't get more inspiring that getting to meet and chat to the woman who threw assumptions about what may or may not be possible for girls to achieve out of the window. And all just by putting her head down and running faster and longer than any female before her. Almost a decade later, no athlete has come close to Paula's achievement.

Me and Paula- just amazing

Given that London is such a special place for Paula, the city where she ran her record, it is hard to imagine what a wrench it must have been to forgo the chance the chance to compete in an Olympic marathon on home turf. Last night, she explained that "I know I wouldn't maybe have won but I would've loved the chance to run and do it", a sentiment which sums the sportmanship which she has always displayed. It's clear that Radcliffe's main motivation has always been a love of running, the fact of her being supremely talented a happy coincidence . She recalls the aftermath of a doctor's appointment in 1994 when she had been told that may never be able to run, let alone compete, again on her injured foot,"I remember my Dad saying 'millions of people don't run and they get through life' and I was thinking 'But I'm not millions of people'".  To think that 18 years later, it is that same foot injury which Paula has just received more treatment for is a pretty inspiring thing, to be that determined to stick at what you love in the face of that initial prognosis.

I very often hear girls saying that exercise isn't for them because of the sweating and general lack of glamour involved. When exercise is your career I suppose it could become rather difficult to find excuses to get dressed up. Paula proves that there are so many ways that you can use those rituals you might usually reserve for "dressing up" to improve your sporting performance. "I always have to wear a nail varnish when I race with a name that sounds fast" she tells me, "one year, I remember being in the MAC shop before the New York marathon and I had to call my friend to decide whether Fluid or Jet Flash sounded faster". Similarly, whereas we might have lucky shoes for big meetings or special lingerie for first dates, Paula is superstitious about her kit, "You get about five uniforms for the racing year, but if I race well in one then I stick with that for every other race". She is lucky too that the career of a sporting star involves plenty of opportunities for serious dressing up. "You spend a lot of time in tracksuits so it's nice to dress up. My wardrobe is kind of divided between Nike kit and evening dresses and not much in-between" which really doesn't sound so bad, does it?

There's little more inspiring than the chance to speak to your hero, but Paula also had some practical advice for getting your running to work for you, and don't forget, there's always the rave run...

PAULA RADCLIFFE'S THREE TIPS FOR GETTING INTO RUNNING:

1. Join a run club, it's unlikely everyone will be having an off day so if you need motivation you'll find it

2. Set intermediate goals to take you up to your main goal so that you're feeling good on the way and realise what you're achieving all the time.

3. Don't feel like you have to do something, find what you enjoy- whether that's running on a track or doing hills. It's your running"

A TALE OF TWO BERLINS

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

Lupe Fiasco performs in Berlin (image from flickr)

It's nearing midnight, somewhere in Berlin, and it's drizzling with rain. The taxi pulls up outside what looks like an abandoned courtyard. Once you push through the gates, a crowd can be spotted huddled in the far corner. On the expanse of whitewashed wall above them, 'Vans Party' is projected, the only clue that something vaguely organised might be going on here. There is much confusion about how one gets into this thing, but once inside and wristbanded, you enter a labyrinth of wide corridors, crammed with hip-label and vintage clad boys and girls, beers in hand, chatting over the music coming from somewhere, in the darkness. Off to the left there's a room displaying Vans trainers. Further along, there is a chaotic bar where only waving a white wristband in the face of the guy serving will get you a drink in a timely manner. If you elbow your way through further then you realise where that beat you've been feeling since you entered is coming from. It's a vast warehouse, even fuller than those corridors. Everyone is bopping away to hip hop stars Lupe Fiasco and Mos Def. I sense that by day, lots of the crowd here have been hanging out at Bread and Butter, the huge tradeshow for contemporary and streetwear brands which is on at the moment in the city.

From Livin Cool

Fast forward ten hours or so, and Dorothee Schumacher's AW12 show is well underway in the Mercedes Benz venue at Berlin Fashion Week. The label has 53 stores across Germany and many more across the world. So there is, naturally, nothing niche about the collection. This is stuff which will sell to women across a range of ages and tastes and situatiosn. There are some great trousers with stripes down the the side, or made in silky pyjama fabrics. There are big furry hats, which seem to be an everywoman's version of the one Miuccia Prada showed for AW11.

Schumacher

Schumacher

Schumacher

Later on, the Laurel show, with its sequined, feathered and tasselled party dresses, furry accessories and good coats, confirms my theory; that Berlin Fashion Week, is about the side of Germany we are most used to hearing about, rather than that scene I got a teeny glimpse of last night. It makes complete economic sense. And that is no bad thing at a time when every industry has to show that it can prop itself up. Women from Germany, and further afield, will buy the clothes shown at fashion week. This IS an unusual phenomenon because most of the time, the collections shown during fashion weeks will not be worn by the vast majority of women, they are mere fantasy.

Laurel

Laurel

Laurel

Two other labels I saw yesterday, Rena Lange and Kaviar Gauche had more edge. Bridalwear designers, Kaviar Gauche, began with a model/ priestess swinging incense down the catwalk. Smoke billowed around as the collection unfolded- that robe theme continued with swishing gowns in the lighest, and often most transparent, of fabrics- to the glee of the Daily Mail today. The SS12 Under the Sea theme was picked up in sea anenome dresses, which unfortunately fell apart as the model walked. But there were jewel encrusted bodices which gave a luxe element.

Kaviar Gauche

Kaviar Gauche

Rena Lange was by far the most colourful show of the day with doses of hot pink and tangerine as well as splashes of bright blue. Print combinations were rather clever. There were still plenty of sure sellers; little tweed suits and work-ready tailoring.

Rena Lange

Rena Lange

Rena Lange

As I explained before, this was my first visit to Berlin and these are just my impressions of what the German fashion scene is like. Of course, every country and city has its different cultures, you only have to look at East London vs. West London to see that. But in Germany, the separation of the two seems extreme. It's fascinating and perhaps shows how fashion rellects society on a wider level. Germany has a turbulent recent history; it's only been a country as it is now for 20 years or so. It would be stupid to think that there wouldn't be a sociological reaction going on because of that which wasn't refelcted in fashion. The fact that Berlin Fashion Week is sponsored by one of the country's biggest car manufacturers, Mercedes Benz, ties it into that notion of Germany's economic success- it is almost singlehandedly keeping the Eurozone afloat. But then there is this whole other scene going on, which cannot be ignored.

P.S Many thanks to Mercedes-Benz for taking me to Berlin- it'd be fab if you had accessible wi-fi in your lounge so I could have blogged this straight from Berlin yesterday!

A TUMBLE FROM A DAY IN BERLIN:

Discarded flounces from dresses at Kaviar Gauche

Smoking on the Laurel catwalk

Bekketts

Miu Mius for magpies

The Best Dressed FROW-er

Lara Stone, the face of Mercedes-Benz, makes an appearence

A POSTCARD FROM BERLIN

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

Hello from Berlin! I arrived an hour or so ago for my first visit here. I won't be here long- just a day of shows at Berlin Fashion Week tomorrow, courtesy of Mercedes Benz- so as tempting as it was to curl up in my room for a pre-dinner nap, I thought it would take the opportunity to see any sights I could while I had some free time.

Luckily, I'm staying very close to the fashion week action which also happens to be right next to one of Berlin's biggest landmarks, the Brandenburg Gate. Before I came, I'd heard a lot about Berlin as a city of art and creativity and partying. While I never doubted those descriptions, it seemed odd to me because Germany is portrayed as so industrial and economically strong. I found it hard to envisage how the capital of a country like that could have such an incongruous reputation.The area I'm staying in feels quite corporate but I expect I may see the other side of the city later tonight. I'm interested to see how German fashion designers approach that dichotomy. I'll admit I'm no expert  on the labels I'll be seeing tomorrow but in a way I'm glad that I won't be going with preconceptions. The big four fashion weeks have such solid (if unnecessarily stereotypical identities); London is where new talent grows, New York is easy, sporty and wearable, Milan is glamour and Paris is chic old school. What is Berlin though? I'll see tomorrow.

WHAT I'VE SEEN SO FAR...

Flowers laid in memory of political prisoners

 My home tomorrow...

The Brandenburg Gate...

I'm not exactly sure what these Fundus Verkauf are but I think it's to do with a shop selling opera props, amazing!

 Apparently these segments of the Berlin Wall are dotted around the city. I love the graffited face on this one outside my hotel.