Fashion designer Danny Reinke will present his new fall/winter collection "GRIEVED SERENITY" on January 17 at BOLLE Festsäle.

Berlin, January 17, 2022–In the context of the W.E4. FASHION DAY and Berlin Fashion Week Danny Reinke will present his latest prêt-à-couture fall/winter collection 23/24 "GRIEVED SERENITY" that includes men’s and women’s wear. The collection is a tribute to brown bears, the presentation is a statement against the sadistic keeping, training and "dressing" of dancing bears in Europe. 

"We humans invent ever more absurd forms of entertainment and we do it at any cost. We don't even stop at animals and accept that they are hurt and tortured for the purpose of our entertainment." notes Reinke.

Despite the ban on dancing bears in the EU and the tireless efforts of animal welfare organizations, this cruel practice to animals still continues. Using heated metal plates, pokes and other torture methods, dancing bears are forced to follow predetermined movement patterns. Music plays during this process. The animals suffer pain and fear, with the goal of entertaining people.

Drawing attention to the cold and sadistic treatment of brown bears in Berlin has a further relevance: The Berlin bear has adorned his city's coat of arms since 1935.

The confrontation with extremes is at the center of his latest collection. Although Danny Reinke reflects on the beauty of these tortured animals, he translates his sorrow for this form of execution into his aesthetic and form, by manipulating fabrics, using rough hardwear (zippers, eyelets, chains, buckles) and ruffles. He integrates them into asymmetrical shapes as well as straight silhouettes.

In his latest collection, Danny Reinke works primarily with upcycled materials, such as leather, wool and silk. The color black frames the entire collection and lines up with an earthy color palette. This includes different shades of brown, beige and gray, with golden accents, subtle patterns and color interruptions.

A portion of the proceeds will go to Müritz Bärenwald, an animal welfare project run by VIER PFOTEN, that offers bears an alternative in near-natural enclosures where the bears can live out their natural lives.

As part of the W.E4. FASHION DAY, an official format of the BERLIN FASHION WEEK supported by the Berlin Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises in cooperation with the Fashion Council Germany, the collection will be shown for the first time at BOLLE Festsäle on Jan. 17, 2023, at 5:00 pm.