Butterfly Soulfire

If you’re in the mood for a trip to Weißensee—the lovely district oft-forgotten just behind Prenzlauer Berg, housing the prestigious art school that bore fashion talents like c.neeon—don’t miss visiting Butterfly Soulfire, the studio of designer couple Maria Thomas and Thoas Lindner.

Six years ago, when Thomas started studying costume design at Weißensee, Butterfly Soulfire also began its design work. In the beginning it churned out mostly political statements, printed by hand in wild colors on re-used vintage fabrics. After a show at Berlin’s famous, now-vanished hip hop bar Kurvenstar at Monbijou Platz—where the couple first met just a few weeks before—they gained the attention of MTV. Butterfly Soulfire provided the costumes for the VJs in the Designerama competition, attended the Bread&Butter Fair and received immediate response of buyers and press.

After some years of quite successful work on the label, Lindner and Thomas changed their concept. They stopped printing and started with a much more conceptual way of designing clothing for men and women. Don’t fear: they may be a bit more avant-garde, but the cuts stay highly wearable.