Julia Ballardt and Nico Verhaegen graduated from the legendary Antwerp Fashion MA. Counting Martin Margiela and Ann Demeulemeester as their spiritual forefathers, it is no wonder that the duo’s work under the moniker ‘Milk of Lime’ is poetic and darkly romantic. In a sweet little country home where the pair grow their own flowers and produce, the designers have created a safe haven to work on artistic projects at their own pace. Choosing to limit their runway presentations to once a year, the rest of their time is spent working on cultural projects – like an ongoing collaboration with contemporary dance choreographer Michiel Vandevelde. A recurring theme for Milk of Lime is exposing the process behind their craftsmanship. This was best expressed in a grey linen sheath dress crafted out of the ‘start of bolt’ – the first couple of metres on a roll of fabric that are usually discarded. Elsewhere in the collection, tied collar details found on silk shirts and leather jackets are inspired by the Shibori dyeing technique used throughout the collection. words by Robin Burggraaf

In a season of this much industry-driven shifts, it’s certainly no mean feat to break out and become the next big hit. The result is that, with an increasingly commonplace pace, designers are tasked with creating stories (read: old) threads into pioneering visions. But for Milk of Lime’s Julia Ballardt and Nico Verhaegen, crafting garments for next Spring was a simply straight-to-the-point affair: reinterpreting the classics through natural fibres, unfolding their “loneliness”—a pulsating thread weaved across the lineup staged at the Zeiss Major Planetarium, as both creatives come from the countryside—and bringing forth a spectrum of neutrals that brought novelty to the surface textile treatments. Rounded shoulders, undulating necklines and flounced hemlines were the type of go-to details that felt fresh and contemporary, in line with the subtly provocative undertone punctuated by see-through garments. Silhouettes were sheer-yet-see-through enough to defy all manner of basics: because unlike other artistic minds on a hot pursuit to contend with the archives, this alumnus of Givenchy has considerable freedom to define his identity without the pressure of historical underpinnings. words by Chidozie Obasi

Swarovski Foundation Creatives for Our Future is a global mentorship and grant program designed with advisor the United Nations Office for Partnerships to identify and accelerate the next generation of creative leaders in sustainable development.

“Say hi to Earth next Sunday, April 23rd at Soho House Berlin For me, sustainability at its core ultimately comes down to interconnection – between us and the planet but also between us as humans. For this year‘s Earth Day I have curated a market at Soho House Berlin with kindred artists and designers who are creating the most wonderful things with mindfulness at the heart of their practice.” – Marie Wez

“We are pleased to announce the winners for the current edition of the BFW concept competition. Our jury of experts, consisting of renown fashion professionals, chose 18 winners in the category „Berlin Contemporary” to be awarded with 25.000€ each. The winners are: Acceptance Letter Studio, Esther Perbandt, Fassbender, Haderlump Atelier Berlin, LML Studio, Milk of Lime, Namilia, ODEEH, Olivia Ballard, RIANNA + NINA, Richert Beil, Sia Arnika, SF1OG and William Fan.” – Fashion Council Germany

The competition is funded by the state of Berlin and EFRE funds.

Fashion Council Germany, in partnership with the Swarovski Foundation and The Prince’s Foundation, is committed to nurturing young fashion and textile designers by providing young graduates with a tailored programme in sustainability, craftsmanship and innovation .

The Fashion Council Germany’s mission is to create more awareness for sustainable practices and to promote new emerging talents through initiatives and projects like the Rising Voices Award. This new project, initiated by the Fashion Council Germany in collaboration with UGG®, aims to support, motivate and promote the next generation of emerging German designers who are committed to a more sustainable future for the fashion industry and whose vision and DNA embody the bold, expressive nature of UGG®.

Milk of Lime (@milk_of_lime) showcases a new perspective towards sustainability in the fashion world, as co-founders Julia Ballardt & Nico Verhaegen bring forward a farm-to-table mentality to the processes of material sourcing and garment manufacturing. Ballardt and Verhaegen are both alumni of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, as they both received a Masters in Fashion and Apparel Design in 2020. Their approach to craftsmanship, pattern cutting, and fabric manipulation are a strong representation of their studies and surroundings, as they seek to unite contemporary designs with their communities of rural Germany and Belgium. The two main pillars of Milk and Lime are durable materials and craftsmanship, with the core foundation of the brand being bespoke creations and one-of-ones. The goal is to introduce and maintain sustainable fashion processes, and this is evident through their material sourcing. Ballardt & Verhaegen focus directly on finding deadstock, recycled leather, tencel, and scraps in their local communities. In return, the garments created contain significant properties of natural materials that have longevity, comfort, and health impacts that aren’t synthetic. Ballardt & Verhaegen are genuinely redefining the properties and approaches of sustainability in fashion.

One of the more interesting components of Milk of Lime is their refusal to follow the traditional fashion calendar of seasonal rollouts & releases. Instead, they release products based on the farmer’s moon calendar. So every full moon, new items are released and available for 24 hours. The goal is to avoid overproduction and only produce the exact amount of garments purchased within that allocated time period. While one might question this approach with immense skepticism, I personally love every aspect of Milk of Lime and their product release procedures. While major brands utilize hype and artificial scarcity to promote their new collections, Milk of Lime is actually producing scarce garments with scarce materials. It’s a breath of needed fresh air to an oversaturated fashion industry.

Writer: @artvanstanza