Germany faces a few stereotypes when it concerns fashion. Inside Berlin: all-black everything. Outside Berlin: socks and sandals.

Yet these stereotypes aren’t quite fair. Germany has spawned some huge designer brands and high street labels that are worn worldwide – people just don’t seem to realise the roots are aus Deutschland.

Adidas

Sportswear as we know it today wouldn’t exist without Adidas. The Bavarian label was conceived in 1949 as the brainchild of Adolf Dassler. The purpose? To create world-leading performance shoes for Olympic athletes – the brand outfitted the all-conquering Jesse Owens in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, and the all-conquering GB Team at Rio.

Today the label has taken to fashion just as effectively, with several diffusion lines (including the standout Originals collection) and collabs with industry big-hitters – Yohji Yamamoto, Rick Owens and Jeremy Scott to name but three.

adidas.co.uk

Example Styles

Beastin

Germany is by no means a hip-hop mecca (heard of Alligatoah’s album Triebwerke? Didn’t think so), but Beastin’s iteration of West Coast cool is gaining popularity.

Denim jackets, basketball jerseys and mesh shorts all nail sports luxe, though Beastin mixes it up with iconic branding and frequent collabs (Nike Sportswear, Cazal, Baracuta etc). Das ist dope, ja?

bstnstore.com

Example Styles

Closed

Think it’s just Scandinavian labels that do minimalism? Think again. Teutonic brands have long leaned towards everything clean and crisp; Closed is a case in point, with a collection that offers a multitude of quality blouson jackets and cashmere knits.

Granted, there’s a sizeable cost involved, but that’s the good thing about simple design – your investment never dates.

closed.com

Example Styles

A Kind Of Guise

Imagine an American woodcutter ordering a flat white in the cafeteria of a Shoreditch design agency, and you’re pretty much at A Kind Of Guise.