Bernhard Willhelm German designer Country: Germany

Biography of Bernhard Willhelm

Bernhard Willhelm, a German designer, was born in 1972 in Ulm, a city in southern Germany, on the banks of the Danube River. His family later moved to Belgium, where he studied fashion design at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp from 1994 to 1998. During his time there, Willhelm had the opportunity to work with renowned designers such as Walter van Beirendonck, Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, and Dirk Bikkembergs. He completed his studies at the academy in July 1998.

The label 'Bernhard Willhelm' was founded in 1999 in collaboration with his business partner Jutta Kraus. The first ready-to-wear women's collection was presented to the public in March 1999 at Paris Fashion Week. Willhelm's distinctive style quickly gained recognition in the fashion world, and his brand's products started appearing in major stores and are now sold worldwide.

In October 2000, Willhelm introduced his first men's clothing line. In 2001, he was awarded the Moët & Chandon Fashion Award, and in 2002, he was invited by B-magazine to serve as a guest editor for the second issue of 'BW Atelier moves to Paris'.

In January 2003, Willhelm showcased his first solo exhibition of men's collection at the Art Foundation URSULA BLICKLE. He collaborated with the event curator, Nikolaus Schaffhausen. To commemorate the occasion, a book titled 'Bernhard Willhelm 1999-2004' was released, featuring photographs by Carmen Freudenthal and styling by Elle Verhagen.

In 2002, Willhelm was offered the position of creative director of ready-to-wear collections at the Italian fashion house 'Capucci' in Milan. He revitalized the brand's products using the 'Capucci' archives and his own imagination. Willhelm collaborated with 'Capucci' from 2002 to 2004, releasing three collections under the label - Autumn 2003, Spring/Summer 2004, and Autumn 2004.

In 2005, Willhelm received the ANDAM fashion award from the French Minister of Culture. Later that year, he took over as the designer of women's clothing for the fashion house 'Chloé' after creative director Phoebe Philo announced her departure. In 2006, the flagship 'Bernhard Willhelm' store opened in Tokyo.

In 2007 and 2008, Willhelm worked on costume design for Rainer Werner Fassbinder's play 'Die bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant' at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin. He also designed all the costumes for Björk's 'Volta' world tour, as well as the stage design and album cover. The same year, a retrospective exhibition of Willhelm's work, titled 'HET TOTAAL RAPPEL', took place in Antwerp. Additionally, he presented the film 'Red rose pink donkey' in collaboration with Dirk Bonn at the Athens Biennale in 2007.

Willhelm's Fall/Winter 2008 men's collection was presented as a film called 'Men in tights' during New York Fashion Week. In 2008, he released the 'Bernhard Willhelm-Camper-together' footwear line. In 2009-2010, the 'Bernhard Willhelm Jutta Kraus' exhibition was held at the Groninger Museum in the Netherlands.