Danny Reinke presented his Autumn/Winter 2025 collection, 90 Sec to Midnight, on day one of Berlin Fashion Week as part of the COLLECTIVE FOUR event.
This prêt-à-couture collection felt like a dark fairytale; a gothic dreamscape where power and fragility danced together on the edge of a world in decay.
Inspired by the Doomsday Clock and the feeling of living in constant anticipation of collapse, Reinke translated existential tension into couture.
This collection is a poetic nod to the state of the world, both personal and global. As the name suggests, “90 Sec to Midnight” captures that brief, haunting pause before everything might fall apart. In particular, its inspiration comes from Doomsday Clock—a symbol that represents the estimated likelihood of a human-made global catastrophe—and the eerie moral tales of Struwwelpeter, a 1845 German children’s book written and illustrated by Heinrich Hoffmann. In light of this, Reinke creates a narrative that is both emotional and political, eerie and satirical. Each look tells a story. It’s bold, dark, and strangely romantic.
What really stood out was how this collection managed to feel delicate yet dangerous. There were tailored, armor-like silhouettes softened by layers of tulle and embroidery.
There was a balance between the romantic and the radical: floral pieces brought softness, while classic plaid suits were reimagined with exaggerated proportions and unexpected styling.
90 Sec to Midnight was all about details
Particularly, a brown plaid coat intricately embroidered with floral motifs—a beautiful contradiction of structure and sentimentality. It perfectly embodied the collection’s central tension between tradition and emotional vulnerability.
Mesh gloves adorned with super-long nails added a touch of eerie elegance, while vintage suitcases and whimsical bag accessories—like a knitted bear by Rainbow Wool, and a black chicken-shaped bag charm—infused a sense of dark humor.
Notably, from a craftsmanship perspective, this collection was undoubtedly breathtaking.
Intricate smocking techniques, fabric manipulations that played with transparency and texture, and a moody, industrial color palette (think coal black, rust, steel, and ash) dominated the runway.
Particularly, a standout piece featured a coat with deliberate holes, each filled with jewelry, creating a striking contrast between destruction and adornment.
Another symbolic element of the collection was the hairstyling: some of the models models sported hair that was meticulously groomed on one side, while the other half remained intentionally messy—visually representing the duality of order and chaos.
It was fashion as theater, but also as resistance. A refusal to be passive in the face of chaos.
“90 Sec to Midnight” proves that Reinke is not just riding Berlin’s creative wave—he’s helping shape it. The collection felt distinctly Berlin: raw, conceptual, and deeply self-aware. Yet it also marked a maturity in Reinke’s voice. Less about shock, more about depth.
At a time when the world is obsessed with speed and virality, Reinke invites us to slow down and feel—even if it’s uncomfortable. And maybe that’s exactly what we need.
Photography by Sebastian Reuter/Getty Images for Danny Reinke.
Written by Paulina Gonzalez for KEYI Magazine
Check out other highlights from Berlin Fashion Week 2025 here.
Berlin Fashion Week Event by KEYI Magazine on February 3rd at OXI!
