c.neeon probably presented the Spring/Summer collection 07 with the most unusual and contradicting name: “Local foreigner GRZ VK59“. Doreen Schulz and Clara Leskovar designed a collection that combines familiar and foreign influences found in the German capital Berlin.

 There’s always been a unique flair about the once divided city, not least because nearly half the population of Berlin has migrated. Doreen Schultz, one half of c.neeon, knows why. After living there for nine years, she still feels like a foreigner in some way.

 I spoke to Clara Leskovar, who is responsible for designing the patterns about showing in London and their latest collection.

 I asked her why the design duo had chosen London to show their collection. “Mainly, we chose London because we received the New Generation award and were sponsored by TopShop,” Clara explains. “But we also think London is the city which is most open to young, up-coming designers and new ideas. And this is certainly a plus.”

 According to c.neeon the key trends for spring are the following; they’ve selected navy blue, broken white, green and a vivid orange as the prime colours as they represent the Berlin lifestyle for the designer duo. Clara further describes the silhouettes as being closer to the body than previous seasons. They used more feminine fabrics, mainly fine knits and light cottons. “Our dresses now feel like a second skin, as if they weren’t really there at all. The prints on the transparent outfits are developed from vertically and diagonally mirrored triangles. Fine lines stand in contrast with larger monochrome surfaces. The cuts follow the rhythm of the print and some pieces are inspired by Origami.”

 Asked how LFW went for them, Clara seemed delighted that some new buyers have shown interest in the spring/summer collection and it couldn’t really have gone better. “We’re happy to be part of LFW.”

Please visit www.cneeon.de to view past collections and for further information.

By Christa Catharina Muller