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On a quiet street in Berlin's Mitte
area, there are constant curious stares as
by-passers catch a glimpse through the window of a WW1 era building.
Inside the building, underneath torn wallpapers and bullet holes,
one can find vivid memories of past times on
old newspapers plastered on the wall. After several dimly lit rooms
and halways, enter a rugged looking room with beaten wood and
concrete floors. Lit by a candelabra atop a white grand piano, the
room is filled with clothes racks - almost all black - and leather
boots scattered on the floor. Welcome to Darklands.
When Campbell McDougall decided to move from Vancouver to Berlin, it
was far from a business driven choice. "It was a personal decision. I wanted to live in Berlin and be surrounded by the great contempory art, avante garde dance, cutting edge architecture and over the top music scene that exists here."
Having succesfully run Komakino in Vancouver for several years,
McDougall had the know-how to open a store, but the scene was all
new. Catering to a very niche market, most of the designers and
labels carried at Darklands were not available in Berlin before
this. "That is true - most of the labels are being shown here for the first time"
McDougall ponders. "Like in most cities, I think there is a tiny audience of people that have this taste level and the money to go with it."
Located in the back of Seven Star gallery in a building formerly
housing a brothel,
Darklands opened its doors in
late July. The soft opening party also served as a closing for the
Berlin Fashion Week. "[The party] was pretty over the top - over 400 people and we had to turn away some 150 more"
McDougall explains. "Since it was also a closing party for the fashion
week, everyone wasn't there to see Darklands, but we certainly got a high quality audience through
it." The party also had special guests as designers Maurizio Amadei
and Damir Doma stopped by. "Boris Bidjan Saberi was caught up in
Paris so he was unable to make it" he adds. A week earlier, people
from Japanese cult label Julius had been over to make an
installation for the store.
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The store will follow in the footsteps of Komakino's guerilla concept
by switching locations more or less regularly. With two stores at the
same time, however, it would be too much to handle the pace Komakino
has been moving in the past years; 6 locations in just 5 seasons. "I signed a one year deal in Komakino's present location, something I hadn't
done before. Darklands will be here til next spring" McDougall says.
Locations play a key role in both stores - it took nearly a year to
find a good one for Darklands. The search was worth it though as the
backroom of the gallery is perfectly hidden, but still discreetly
visible to the street. It's very mysterious and has an eerie
atmosphere, but at the same time the daylight flowing through the
windows and candle light bring a certain romantic feel to it.
So far the store has taken of at a great pace, attracting both local
and international customers. Designers such as Carol Christian
Poell, Damir Doma and Boris Bidjan Saberi cater to a very small
market, but it seems like such a market exists in Berlin as well.
Japanese brands like The Viridi-Anne, Undercover and Julius have
also gained interest alongside the Europeans. Overall the store
presents a very coherent style, a style which you can tell Campbell
McDougall loves himself. With such a strong
start, it will be exciting to see where the dark ship is steered
next.
visit Darklands at Gormannstrasse 7 and
darklandsberlin.com
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