Vogue's guide to the best places to shop (and eat) in the city on everyone's
travel list.
By Megan O'Grady.
The secret is out: Berlin is Europe's current capital of cool, and Mitte, a district that once formed the center of the East, is now at the heart of it all, with vibrant galleries and nightlife—and, of course, shopping. International fashionphiles have already made deservedly famous such überemporiums as The Corner (Französiche Str. 40) and Quartier 206 (Friedrichstr. 71), but locals prefer the smaller boutiques across the Spree, many of them invisible from the street (and thus unnoticed by the tourist hordes). Just off the bustling hub of Hackescher Markt is Acne Jeans (Münzstr. 23), an oasis of Swedish minimalism and Berlin's destination for perfectly cut denim, cotton dresses, and jackets. As for what to wear underneath, proceed next door to AM3, where owner Andreas Murkudis offers irresistibly nostalgic, cotton-knit underwear by Schiesser Revival, sold in old-school cardboard boxes that line the shop walls. Murkudis's other wares can be found at AM1 and 2 (Münzstr. 21), a trove of Margiela shoes and Yohji knits, as well as a Pantone chart's worth of pieced chiffon dresses by brother (and onetime Helmut Lang protégé) Kostas Murkudis, all tucked away in a series of clandestine courtyards.
Closer to Alexanderplatz—walk toward the disco ball of a TV tower, otherwise known as the Fernsehturm—is Wood Wood (Rochstr. 4), where the whimsically wearable Copenhagen label (cropped trenches, Day-Glo sunglasses) shares space with Dansk design stars Camilla Staerk and Heinrich Vibskov. On the opposite corner, an unmarked underground lair (look for the empty white storefront with a spiral staircase) known as Apartment (Memhardstr. 8) lends Cold War mystique to rock-and-roll chic—this season, Rick Owens and Cheap Monday mix with one-of-a-kind oxidized silver jewelry. The GDR lives on at Immaculate Heart (Rosa-Luxemburg-Str. 28), a standout among the city's countless vintage boutiques (especially gratifying: larger shoe sizes). At the same address, milliner and stylist fave Rike Feurstein brings the hat into the twenty-first century with candy-colored Rasta caps and close-fitting cloches worthy of an aspiring Dietrich.
Hair artfully mussed, it's time for a breather, perhaps at Eve and Adam (Rosa- Luxemburg-Str. 24-26), an organic café offering spelt croissants and ambrosial smoothies—we like the blackcurrant-melon-rosewater—or at Leo Bettini (Mulackstr. 33), masters of handmade knödel, dumplings made of wild mushrooms or sundried tomatoes. For a more leisurely lunch, vie with the creative types for an outdoor table at the unsigned Mädchen Italiener (Alte Schönhauser Str. 12), where Cynar and soda and fresh tagliatelle with figs await, to be followed by Kaffee and Kuchen at New York deli-inspired Barcomi's (Sophienstr. 21), accessed through a baroque passageway.
And then it's back to shopping, and a stroll through a scenic tangle of quiet back streets. R.S.V.P. (Mulackstr. 14) is the place to stock up on hand-embossed stationery and purse-size Semicolon notebooks in shades of marigold and punch—the perfect gift. Indie fashion goes upscale at Konk (Kleine Hamburger Str. 15), which specializes in such native wunderkinder as C. Neeon—a sort of Teutonic Missoni—and Kaviar Gauche, while Pulver (Torstr. 199) sells its own locally-designed line of Valkyrie-style dresses and tops, just the thing for an evening out. But where to go? Our choice would be to unwind with a glass of Alsatian white at Altes Europa (Gipsstr. 11), a classic Berlin bar-café, and then on to a sampling of Neue Deutsche Küche inside a postmodern interpretation of an Alpine chalet at Alpenstück (Gartenstr. 9). Even if you aren't actually a Berliner, you can certainly eat—and look—like one.
Closer to Alexanderplatz—walk toward the disco ball of a TV tower, otherwise known as the Fernsehturm—is Wood Wood (Rochstr. 4), where the whimsically wearable Copenhagen label (cropped trenches, Day-Glo sunglasses) shares space with Dansk design stars Camilla Staerk and Heinrich Vibskov. On the opposite corner, an unmarked underground lair (look for the empty white storefront with a spiral staircase) known as Apartment (Memhardstr. 8) lends Cold War mystique to rock-and-roll chic—this season, Rick Owens and Cheap Monday mix with one-of-a-kind oxidized silver jewelry. The GDR lives on at Immaculate Heart (Rosa-Luxemburg-Str. 28), a standout among the city's countless vintage boutiques (especially gratifying: larger shoe sizes). At the same address, milliner and stylist fave Rike Feurstein brings the hat into the twenty-first century with candy-colored Rasta caps and close-fitting cloches worthy of an aspiring Dietrich.
Hair artfully mussed, it's time for a breather, perhaps at Eve and Adam (Rosa- Luxemburg-Str. 24-26), an organic café offering spelt croissants and ambrosial smoothies—we like the blackcurrant-melon-rosewater—or at Leo Bettini (Mulackstr. 33), masters of handmade knödel, dumplings made of wild mushrooms or sundried tomatoes. For a more leisurely lunch, vie with the creative types for an outdoor table at the unsigned Mädchen Italiener (Alte Schönhauser Str. 12), where Cynar and soda and fresh tagliatelle with figs await, to be followed by Kaffee and Kuchen at New York deli-inspired Barcomi's (Sophienstr. 21), accessed through a baroque passageway.
And then it's back to shopping, and a stroll through a scenic tangle of quiet back streets. R.S.V.P. (Mulackstr. 14) is the place to stock up on hand-embossed stationery and purse-size Semicolon notebooks in shades of marigold and punch—the perfect gift. Indie fashion goes upscale at Konk (Kleine Hamburger Str. 15), which specializes in such native wunderkinder as C. Neeon—a sort of Teutonic Missoni—and Kaviar Gauche, while Pulver (Torstr. 199) sells its own locally-designed line of Valkyrie-style dresses and tops, just the thing for an evening out. But where to go? Our choice would be to unwind with a glass of Alsatian white at Altes Europa (Gipsstr. 11), a classic Berlin bar-café, and then on to a sampling of Neue Deutsche Küche inside a postmodern interpretation of an Alpine chalet at Alpenstück (Gartenstr. 9). Even if you aren't actually a Berliner, you can certainly eat—and look—like one.
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