Berlin’s Best Vintage Clothing Stores Unwrapped
Fashion designer Anne Isabella Rasmussen’s top picks.
Danish-French designer Anne Isabella Rasmussen spent her childhood living in Strasbourg and Brussels. Now based in Berlin, Rasmussen runs popular fashion label Anne Isabella, known for its innovative prints and modern-retro vibe.
Believe it or not, it was an art teacher from Ireland who first opened Rasmussen’s eyes to the alluring world of fashion. Her interest piqued, Rasmussen took a summer course at prestigious London arts and design college Central Saint Martins before moving to London permanently to pursue studies in fashion full-time.
Rasmussen has spent most of the past three years developing her Anne Isabella label, whose creations are characterized by optical effects, knitted fabrics, and a commitment to environmental and social sustainability. She explains that while Anne Isabella’s persona borrows heavily from vintage fashion, especially styles from the ‘60s and ‘70s, she always strives to recast this inspiration to create pieces relevant to today’s world.
We interviewed Rasmussen to get the low-down on her favorite vintage stores in Berlin—a city she describes as being “fashionable in its own way,” with a rich vintage heritage. Find out what she had to say here below.
Follow Anne Isabella on Instagram: @anne___isabella
The store with everything
Humana
“Everyone in Berlin has some kind of connection with Humana. It’s a charity, and they have 11 stores located all across the city, so their range varies. One Humana store is gigantic, though—the one at Frankfurter Tor. It covers 21,500 square feet spread across five separate floors. You can find everything under the sun at Humana, from bras to fur coats. It’s also super cheap, and definitely one of the places I go to whenever I want to experiment or to refashion a piece. It’s a good fit for people who have the patience to sort through tons of clothes in the hunt for that genuine find.”
Y2K fashion
Sing Blackbird Vintage
“Sing Blackbird has been around since 2010. It’s a cute little store with a café inside. Their range tends towards Y2K fashion—garments from the early 2000s and the ‘90s. The ‘90s is an interesting era for me, since even back then designers were re-interpreting ‘60s- and ‘70s-style fashions. Sing Blackbird’s prices are quite reasonable, and the store is close to the river, so you’ll find loads of good restaurants in the area too.”
Designer fashion in mint condition
Kryza
“Kryza is probably my favorite store. It’s on Hermannplatz, right in the heart of the Neukölln borough. It’s housed inside an apartment on the second floor of a regular residential building, so you can’t see it from the street. You have to ring the doorbell to get in. The store is really beautiful inside, and the prices are a little on the fancy side too, but they have a lot of great designer clothes by Prada, Blumarine, and Moschino, for example, both from the ‘90s and more contemporary collections. Everything is in mint condition, and I challenge you to go there and not find something you want to take home with you. It’s impossible!”
Vintage without the vintage vibe
Hardt
“Hardt sells clothes with a more everyday kind of feel. This is the place to come if you’re looking for a pair of really great jeans. I’d say it’s a store for people who aren’t regular vintage shoppers, and who may never even have shopped at a second-hand store before. Hardt doesn’t really feel like a true vintage store. It’s more like a cute boutique. Their clothes are all top quality, and they stock a lot of basic wardrobe staples. It’s kinda pricey, but still good value for money.”
Great selection
Soba32
“Soba32 is a little on the quirky side, and has that authentic vintage store feel about it. They have a bunch of different lamps hanging from the ceiling, they play techno music, and the staff aren’t always around, so I recommend calling before you head over there. Oh, and there’s no sign on the door either. FYI. Here you’ll mostly find designer items—and very special ones at that—by brands like Jacquemus, COMME des GARÇONS, and ISSEY MIYAKE. They tend to mix clothes from different decades, but their range is always amazing. The best time to visit is on a weekday, when it’s less crowded.”