At BERLIN FASHION WEEK, Danny Reinke presented his spring/summer collection 2025 as part of the COLLECTIVE FOUR event. Its title “Stupid Cupid” is a tribute to the emotional turmoil of unrequited love. This prêt-à-couture collection is a fashionable emotional rollercoaster of women’s and men’s looks that addresses the contradiction of hopeless infatuation – when what is close seems so far away, when desire paradoxically ignites through rejection instead of extinguishing. At first glance, the creations appear romantically playful, but on closer inspection they reveal the deeply hidden pain of unrequited love.
STUPID CUPID – I’m lost in you alone Spring / Summer Collection 2025
The title and inspiration for the collection theme is a piece of music by the singer Connie Francis from the late 1950s. With the appearance of exhilaration, the artist sings of this one great love that seems to be forever denied to us – a love that is accompanied more by sadness and anger than by the hoped-for security and happiness.
“Stupid Cupid you’re a real mean guy.
I’d like to clip your wings so you can’t fly.
I’m in love and it’s a crying shame.
And I know that you’re the one to blame.”
– From ‘Stupid Cupid’ by Connie Francis, 1958
The heart of this emotional SS25 collection is made up of vibrant red tones in various shades. In combination with grey, black, white and lime green, the contrasting colour palette is used primarily for heavy fabrics. Other central elements are the high-quality corsets, which are intended to symbolise the emptiness and constriction of the dominant feeling of heartbreak. Like the collection title, which can be traced back to Connie Francis, other allusions to the 1950s also make up an essential part of the collection. A contemporary interpretation of the dandy look combines puffy bow blouses, pencil skirts, and voluminous tulle petticoats with tuxedo shirts, as well as suspenders, sock holders, and Spencer jackets. Recycled leather, which gives the collection a certain hardness and robustness, forms a symbiosis with elaborate draping, which in turn subtly recalls Greco-Roman antiquity with all its mythology and the god of love Armor, who originated from it. Tangled, three-dimensional flower structures on a jaquette made of pure white fabric convey a feeling of chaos, while crochet elements add a humorous touch to the play with appearance and reality.
The Berlin Senate Department for Economics, Energy, and Enterprises supports Collective Four as an official participant in Berlin Fashion Week in association with the Fashion Council Germany.
