When he began showing in Paris in 1999, Bernhard Willhelm—a Belgian transplant from Germany—broke about eight million fashion rules by using colors, volumes and themes that defied categorization. Ingenious pop references from toys and computer games to trash and American footballers suddenly seemed as obvious a course to chart as mimimalism in the 90s. Now, at 32, he's still the fashion world's darling, confounding and enlightening more than ever with a relentlessly novel, dazzling and egalitarian approach to design. In his cheery Paris studio, he opens up to DARYOUSH HAJ-NAJAFI about dirty underwear, sex clubs and his generation of designers.
Is there such a thing as too crazy?
When I'm designing I don't see the clothes as crazy. You've got to exaggerate to find the essence of an idea. In starting a collection, the most important thing is to bring an idea out quite clearly. Fashion people only react to very strong ideas. I was into rubbish one season, so I based the collection on McDonald's Happy Meal figures. That's all I needed. I design to express something. Cutting off completely, then being free to do whatever I wanted has always appealed to me. I always had the feeling I was in a prison. Maybe that's why I've always chased the exotic.
There's also a childish playfulness.
In some cases, when I've been inspired by kids' naïve artwork, it's okay to label that childish. But with the collection based on American footballers, or an older one based on the Japanese car industry, that sort of inspiration isn't childish. American footballers just look amazing. All that padding brings to mind superheroes.
Is it in part a reaction to the blandness you grew up with in Germany?
It's part of growing up in a small town. I've never believed in national identity. I'm completely not sentimental about Germany. Being a foreigner is an opportunity in Germany. They refer to it as the "freedom of the fool." Away from your own culture, you see things differently. If I had stayed I wouldn't be who I am. It's vital to get away. It wasn't so hard for me. I fell in love with a friend in Antwerp and decided to move there. I didn't even move there to study fashion.
Falling in love moved you toward fashion?
Love changes you, and the people around you, and being in love is the best reason to do something.
What's your design process? It has a lot to do with accident. We will get an idea, then move on to the next, working on anything we love at the moment. I never think in terms of needing five skirts for the next collection. I wanted to do something with dinosaurs one season, and it's possible. I have that freedom. The beauty thing isn't important to me. It's about making a strong idea and producing the image. Beauty comes from emotion. It's satisfying if I can feel something. That's the nice thing. The next collection is always better. There's that chance every season.
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