Laurèl’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin runway show started off with a live drum solo. And indeed, head designer Elisabeth Schwaiger seemed to be marching to a new beat with her collection “Viva la Vida.”
There was a more refined feel to her separates in sunny yellow and black solids and stripes, as well as flowing long silky dresses in azure or white that could go from playa to party at the drop of a sun hat. Instead of towering heels, Laurèl girls strode confidently down the runway in rope-tied platform sandals, and they carried no handbags.
It wasn’t all subtle and breezy — a handful of crochet looks in eye-popping orange seemed to be aimed at the Ibiza crowd. But on the whole, Laurèl’s latest collection had a good rhythm, and moved this exemplar of mainstream German fashion in a more contemporary direction.