Welcome back! Season 4 of the Threads of Conversation podcast is underway, and we’re starting off strong. My first guest is none other than Brenda Weischer, aka. @brendahashtag, fashion’s favourite monochrome multi-hyphenate. She’s the founder of secondhand fashion platform Disruptive Berlin, the fashion editor at 032c, and a tastemaker to thousands thanks to her ever-expanding social media following. With her distinctive aesthetic, dry sense of humour and enthusiastic attitude, Brenda has cultivated a loyal community of fans who look to her for style inspiration, advice and education. She’s also the keeper of the keys to one of Europe’s most enviable archives, featuring rare pieces from Rick Owens, Margiela, Helmut Lang, Tom Ford, Chanel and more.
On a chilly Berlin morning, Brenda welcomed me into her infamous closet, where we talked through the eight items of clothing which define her life and career (pictures below!) I hope you enjoy Brenda’s Threads of Conversation as much as I did.
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On the piece that reminds her of her childhood:
“Levi's remind me of my childhood because it's one of the first times I remember making a distinction of: ‘these are jeans, and these are Levi's’. I moved around a lot as a child, and I was always in the countryside. Up until I was about 12 and moved to a city, fashion wasn't a topic at all. It was more like, ‘Are you warm or are you cold?’ So I was thinking about remembering the first brand - distinguishing between ‘these are clothes’ and ‘this is a brand.’ And one of the first brands that I knew was Levi's. I have about 15 pairs - they're all from eBay.”
The piece that reminds Brenda of her career:
“I’ve chosen the first pair of Tabi boots that I got gifted from Margiela. I have this belief as an influencer that if you support a brand and it's organic support, at some point you will be recognized for it. But I really put myself in this box of wearing the most exclusive brands that never work with anyone. And I always got told, ‘They're not gonna notice you,’ - you know, all of these things. But two and a half or three years ago, Margiela started reaching out to me.”
The piece that reminds her of a high…
“In 2022 I walked my first (and probably last) ever fashion show. Peter [Do] is a dear friend of mine, and it was a show for his own brand in New York. He asked me a few months before if I would walk and I just said, ‘Yeah, sure.’ Not really knowing what I was getting myself into. I didn't tell anyone that I was walking and they are the highest platform boots ever! It was on untreated concrete, so very wobbly. I walked out and it was a huge show - there were so many people that I knew in the crowd. An ex-boyfriend that I had blocked, people that I hadn't seen in two years… So as soon as I walked out I was like, ‘Oh my God, what am I doing?’
I love wearing these shoes because I was so wobbly in them, but now whenever I wear them I think, ‘I did a catwalk in these!’ I can manage, so now I'm very confident in them and I love them.”
…And one that reminds her of a low.
“It’s so cheesy to say, but this is the question I struggled with the most. I've had lots of lows in my life but really in the past two/ three years I gave up control on a lot of things; on bitterness or trying to achieve things with force. And ever since I let go, only good things have happened to me. So I really struggled finding a low, but I have this custom-made ring from my friend Ambie. She has the most incredible handwriting and she writes words that you give to her and 3D prints jewelry out of them. And mine says ‘timing’. I had so many disappointments within fashion, like getting declined for a show or not getting the dream client or whatever. My management always said to me, ‘They will come eventually. It's all timing.’ It's very hard to believe that at first. But since I gave up control and was more relaxed and let timing take care of things, things have gotten so much better for me.
I wear this ring every day and she's one of my best friends. I just believe everything in the world is timing. One of my favourite things I own is this ring.”
The piece that makes Brenda feel part of something:
“I've had this top for 10 years. It's one of the first things I ever bought from Rick Owens, and I still wear it. It makes me feel super confident and it's been with me for so long. New things make you excited for a week or two, but it's really the things that you go back to over and over again.
I think a lot of brands say they have community but they don't really. And what I like about Rick is that he doesn't dress anyone for the shows. Most shows that you see now, the front row is dressed by the brand and the samples have to be returned the next day. And the closer I got to this Rick Owens universe, I realized they don't gift anyone anything. They don't pay anyone for anything. They don't put advertisements in magazines. When I go to a Rick Owens show, I see all of these people that I don't see at any other show. There's really a community and you feel part of something.”
The piece that reminds her of a great party:
“I rarely go out. But I do love to go to Berghain every few months and just be by myself and dance in the crowd. And I'm a big advocate for actually wearing the things that you buy, even if they're expensive, because what else is the point? I have this Dior Columbus bag - I think it's Spring Summer 2002, John Galliano era. I have it in black and in white, and they're super sturdy. They don't make them like this anymore. This bag has been to so many Berghain nights with me because it fits my phone, some gum, my hair scrunchy, sunglasses for the next morning. This bag has been out with me so many times.”
The piece that makes her feel sexy!
“I have this pair of Tom Ford Gucci heels. They're so uncomfortable, it's basically as if you're walking on wood. And the whole foot is out. I'm not a foot fetishist but I think that's something so scandalous about a really naked shoe.”
And the one that (nearly) got away:
“So I still have this piece, but I lost it and it found its way back to me. I was going from Paris to Berlin and changing trains. I sit down in the train and I'm like, ‘What the f...’ I just left the jacket on the train.”
Hear the rest of Brenda’s story and more on her episode of Threads of Conversation, and subscribe below for more interviews, essays and podcasts about the stories we tell through style.
Threads of the week
Bom dia from Lisbon! It’s sort of hot and cold here so we’re going spring goth. Secondhand fishing vest and boxing pants from Depop, boots from Ann Demeulemeester. Hoodie is just some generic black one. Tote is merch from my friend CC:Disco! (a DJ you need in your life).
Loose Threads
Dazed are launching a new social media app. Perfectly Imperfect recently did too. Is this the new media vertical?
This brave soul dismantled the new Apple Vision Pro.
Obsessed with these toe-shoes-inside-shoes from Marie Lueder’s show at Berlin fashion week. (I interviewed her for Threads of Conversation a few months ago). If Margiela Tabis and Jacquemus’ double kitten-heeled sandals had a lovechild in the year 3000, I think this is what they’d look like.
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