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In issue 86 [11], we summed up the newly opened Berlin stores. It's only fitting, then, that we round out our coverage of the city with a definitive list of emerging designers.

As the vertiginous skyline of Berlin's metropolis evolves, so have its creative and provocative fashion brands. The city's many multicultural affiliations, the brazen charm of native Berliners, and its antipodean sensibilities, which include both gritty streetwear and high-end glamour, creates a mélange of styles.

Kaviar Gauche [12] is a prime example of Berlin's fun with fashion: not only do their clothes incorporate opposing aesthetics, they inject a healthy element of mockery into their name. The term "gauche caviar" was coined in the '60s to describe glamorous socialists — lefties who didn't feel the need to espouse an appropriately low-end lifestyle. Johanna Kühl and Alexandra Fischer-Roehler, the founders of Kaviar Gauche, have quickly created a mainstay brand among Germany's trendsetters. Following in the tradition of other champagne socialists, the design duo behind Kaviar Gauche also like to utilize antagonistic themes, often combining understated fabrics with over-the-top, luxurious textiles. Leather and premium natural fibers are used to create versatile silhouettes that are both sporty and sexy. The monochromatic look of their summer line makes them the perfect accompaniment to splashy, colorful accessories or piquant prints. Their garments' give and flexibility create a relaxed and playful feel suitable for both day and night. Kaviar Gauche clothing is about creating your own style using belts, buttons, and brazen individuality. Look for their fortune cookie-shaped bags to pop up in boutiques in Paris and Tokyo.

Fashion finds in Berlin are often wrought with irony and playfulness. Where else would you find a collection of fine angora ties juxtaposed with men's leather necklaces? Fortunately, Carola Ploechinger [13], founder of IO Berlin [14], deviated from her first passion, photography, and became a designer instead. However, as many multidimensional creatives have found, a grounding in visual arts is often beneficial when trying to create more dynamic designs. What started out as a highly revered tie collection has now evolved into a menswear line, ripe with plucky paradoxes: modern yet classic, simple yet eccentric, brazen but unobtrusive.

If self-deprecation is the primary characteristic of Berlin fashion, then ingenuity comes a close second. It's not easy to come up with fresh ideas for presenting your collection, but at the last London Fashion Week [15], C.Neeon [16] rose above the other banal catwalk presentations, previewing their collection among the clouds aboard their very own private plane. Clara Kraetsch and Doreen Schulz, the founders of C.Neeon, have been working together since 2001. After winning the prestigious Grand Prix at the Hyères International Festival [17], demand for their streamlined architectural and asymmetrical shapes increased enormously, especially in Japan and France. Bold graphics, large-sized prints, and strong colors are key to their solid but vital style. Whether you're jumping out of planes or picnicking in the park, C.Neeon's primary colored t-shirts, pastel parachute pants, and light pleated skirts are sure to excite even the most bored fashion observer. Exceptional wrap techniques and pleats give their silhouettes an intriguingly voluminous shape. It seems that we're not the only ones feeling the love for C.Neeon; they recently designed a collection for Top Shop [18].

One designer happily planted on home turf is Stephanie Franzius [19]. Many say she is one of the only "real" Berliners in town. After cutting her teeth with designers such as Anne Klein [20] and Adrienne Vittadini [21] in New York, she returned to her native city to continue studying fashion. Clearly, Franzius has a penchant for plunging necklines, which add to the allure of her slouchy jersey tops and dresses. Her menswear line revels in simplicity, with shorts and shirts appropriate for more low-key men. Her aesthetic is similar to VPL (Visible Panty Line) by Victoria Bartlett, combining casual gym wear with comfy clothes that can be worn to both English class and spinning class. Her clothes are very appropriate for the urban woman and have found their way into boutiques such as United Arrows [22] and in H.P.France [23] boutiques in Tokyo, Serie A in Munich, and Traffic in Moscow.

Another designer who has embraced sportswear with fan-like fervor is Heartbo [24]. "My clothes can be described as a mix between feminine and assi, which means antisocial in German," explains Sarah Elbo, who started the one-woman business in 2004. She decided to go solo after three years of being one half of Hartbo+L'wig. Her clothes are sporty, with an emphasis on flexible fabrics and racer-back tops. Each outfit is infused with an element of prettiness, as seen in the addition of frills to many of the garments. But Heartbo still remains a pragmatic choice for active lifestyles. Some garments display harsh details, but these are balanced out by clean lines and structured shapes.

It seems the fight for independence has been contagious these last few years, as both Sarah Elbo and Bernadette Penhov cut themsevles free from their former partnerships and went out on their own. Although Penhov was born in Hungary, she's now based in Berlin. The essence of her design process is opposing aesthetics: her wonderfully wearable styles mix elegance with street, sleaziness with prim, and big with small. Favoring black and gray tones, Penhov has mastered the tailored look of her coats and trenches. Although her pants have a slightly athletic aesthetic, her beautifully detailed necklines and ruffled colors appeal to more fussy, pretty types. Well thought-out use of pleats and fabric-gathering techniques go a long way toward making the wearer feel subtly sexy. Penhov was recently chosen by Federal President Horst Köhler [25] to appear as an ambassador for German fashion in Japan. Her luxurious and relaxed looks should succeed in the Far East as well.

Ramiro Calderón Alvarado and Ulrike Seidel, the team behind the label Miroïke [26] joined forces after they attended a class taught by Vivienne Westwood. Established in 2003, the duo discovered a blithe attitude toward experimenting with different designs. The final result: a line that offers classical elegance with a charming precision. The designers describe their clothing as "a new elegance of Nouvelle Vague." Garments are best suited for the utilitarian woman looking for a smidgen of prettiness. Miroïke has definitely put a new twist into the asymmetrical dress, with details like carefully placed folds or strips of brown leather completing each outfit's nonchalant but no-nonsense look. The most coveted items in every collection are the exclusive range of shoes, which never fail to impress buyers. Our favorite is Miroïke's new take on the après-ski moon boot, in which faux white fox fur is replaced by synthetic black poodle hair, and the seamless white sneaker boot with black, drawn-on laces.

Berlin is an emerging city on all fronts and with its new spate of boutiques and cutting edge group of designers, the city is aggressively defining an identity on the style front.

Buenos Aires

As follow-up coverage, we traveled to the emerging fashion week in Buenos Aires [27], Argentina, for the a/w '06 collections and focused on four up-and-coming labels that are all vying for the type of adoration presently enjoyed by Tramando [28], the city's blockbuster brand.

Inspired by London's post-punk era, A.Y. Not Dead [29] staged a boisterous show with smoke-filled rock 'n roll revelry. For menswear, there were slender black suits, while taut black and distressed gray jeans à la Dior Homme [30] anchored slouchy t-shirts, cropped nylon trenches, and purposely disheveled button-down shirts. With silver chains dangling on their faces and graphically printed ankle boots, women paraded in black leggings adorned with images of spiderwebs and skulls, velvet dresses and boleros, and black trenches (in wool and nylon) over torn hosiery. And the vampy minidresses with outsized sleeves — in varying prints of graphic colors and black patent leather — not only captured the design collective's cool ethos, but were emblematic of their position as the ruling oligarchy of Porteño hipdom.

Following in the footsteps of A.Y. Not Dead, Marcelo Senra [31] pillaged the cultural and geographical landscapes of Salta — the stunning and topographically diverse province from which he hails — for inspiration in creating his own fashion folklore. Accordingly, the most exquisite fabric story of the week, mostly inspired by Andean Argentina, unfolded in Senra's presentation: a lightly structured barracán coat over a long, cream-colored dress; raffia sweaters and a crocheted coat with hexagonal Incan patterns of the same material; and a silver top with alpaca-wool tassels over sheer silk chiffon. But Senra's crowning achievements were the Marni [32]-esque Empire-waist gowns and the lustrous silk dresses with plunging necklines of monastic proportions, which were refreshingly less literal than his other looks but seemingly right for any worldly urban mujer.

While thematic presentations typified the week, for Cora Groppo [33] it was about form in strict, somber hues. In stride with the voluminous layering and languid silhouettes currently embraced by fashion, Groppo presented looks in sensual fabrics: an arbitrarily layered silk dress with sequined bustier over slim pants; a black sweater decorated with a cascading leather jabot; a randomly ruched silk jersey halter beneath an asymmetrically tailored jacket; a wool cape-like top with long panels of fabric in the front; billowy charcoal trousers with an elongated black tank; and a champagne-colored number with a softly folded and gathered hem. Throw some alpaca into the mix — mainly seen in vests — and the total look is minimalism with a unique Pampas touch.

If Alice's Adventures in Wonderland [34] had a sequel set in a high-altitude Incan village, it would probably be similar to the whimsical world Mariana Cortez envisioned for Juana De Arco [35]'s predominantly wool outing. Amid the many incarnations of llamas (oversized versions on bags and mini versions found grazing on countless knitted scarves, trousers, and tops), lightheartedly rendered gypsies in heavily tiered layering, and muñeca-like ladies adorned with shaggy raffia strings, there were less fantastical and wearable pieces. The body-hugging cream minidress, a below-the-knee raffia dress, knitted micro-mini shorts, shirts with prints reminiscent of storybook contour drawings, and the many skillfully knitted alpaca sweaters all had the markings of a luxurious, non-intimidating kind of coziness that only Indian weaves indigenous to northern Argentina can engender.

Like Berlin, Buenos Aires must overcome the economic set backs of the last few years, but with the talents that are emerging from these regions, fashion is one clear form of currency for rehabilitation.

-Romy Uebel and Robert Cordero