2024-01-31 18:36:46
Sturdy boots, cargo pants, a body-hugging top and a multifunctional vest – this is what ravers look like. Or Berlin police officers on duty on city streets, for example during protests. And in contrast to the demonstrators, who often appear fashionably desolate, the officers cut a very good figure.
In addition to the uniform look of the dark blue uniforms, which seems sorted per se, what is also striking about the police officers is that their bodies are slim, their hair is beautiful, their backs are straight. But why is it that the men and women in the Berlin police seem so dapper these days?
If you think back to the brash cops from the old days, the thought of a techno party hardly came to mind. Strippers also used to only appear in the look of American cops. Are Germans now perhaps seeing an increase in young employees from crisis-hit industries? Is it the relaxation of tattoos or the stricter health regulations for civil servants? Can be anything; In the end, however, it is the uniform that gives Berlin law enforcement officers that certain something today – and makes the job aesthetically attractive.
The more stylish the uniform, the more motivated the staff
There is a simple reason why the dark blue uniform of the Berlin police looks so modern: workwear and combat clothing are now an integral part not only of the capital’s club fashion, but also of a hip urban population. Little by little, bomber jackets, high-visibility vests and the like have crept into civilian fashion and have since developed into countless versions of themselves. Dark colors are particularly popular here.
2018 on the catwalk in Paris: a Vetements combat lookZeppelin Photo/Avalon/imago
2022 on the Domplatz in Berlin: police officers in Kevlar vests with Velcro, cargo pants and bootsPeter Gercke/dpa
Luxury fashion has long been inspired by uniforms, as can be seen in details such as double-breasted buttons, shoulder epaulettes and flap pockets. Elements of military and security clothing appeared as subversive references in the collections of Helmut Lang and Raf Simons during the 1990s.
Today, the trendy Berlin label 032c or the Radau brand Vetements represent the very clear textile language of uniform and police. In recent years, Vetements has even repeatedly released hoodies, jackets and coats with the German word “Polizei”. Some of the designs were so eye-catching that some Berlin fashionistas were stopped by the police.
The Berlin police uniform: first green, then blue
But it was a long way to get to the chic blue uniform, which German police officers in East and West initially had to take in green: the Berlin law enforcement officers continued their service in the color-critical and old-fashioned cut ensemble until 2010. This made them one of the last authorities in the country until they could benefit from the new, midnight blue equipment.
A Vetements show in 2018: The Parisian label regularly plays with the German word “Polizei”.Zeppelin Photo/Avalon/imago
Kanye “Ye” West in 2023 in a BalenciagaBalenciaga combat vest
Prada 2023 introduced an elegant version of the battle-tested multi-pocket look for the coming summer.Prada
The Berlin-born designer Heinz Oestergaard, who primarily designed work clothing during his lifetime, had designed the green police uniform for the West in the early 1970s. After the fall of the Wall, our colleagues from the East were also dressed in them. Of course, by the 90s at the latest, this look had completely gone out of fashion.
Nevertheless, the all-German police stuck to Oestergaard’s model for a long time. Until the day on which the disreputable Interior Senator Ronald Schill is said to have demanded that his Hamburg officials design the “sharpest uniforms on the continent”. Once again it was a Berlin designer who got the commission: Luigi Colani, who today is more likely to be remembered from the field of car, aircraft and furniture design. And so it happened that around 2005 the Hamburg Poles wore Germany’s first blue uniforms.
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The Berlin police do not have their own uniform
Even though people now wear blue in Berlin, our civil servants still do not have their own national collection and have to borrow from their colleagues in Brandenburg. The country difference for civilians can only be seen on the coat of arms. The dark blue look includes t-shirts, polo shirts, shirts, pants, jackets, hats and much more.
There are also light blue and white shirts, depending on the area in which the colleagues are deployed, as well as various protective equipment. A look at the details reveals: the Kent collars of the shirts are medium-sized, which fits the period well, and the trousers also have a sporty, slim cut. However, you could do without the white piping on the jackets in the future, as that would look a little more elegant in the overall picture.
So only one question remains: Which designer created the beautiful blue uniform for Berlin-Brandenburg? At the Berlin press office we initially only learn that the uniform cannot officially be called a uniform internally “because of the ban on uniforms at gatherings”. Whatever that means.
In Brandenburg too, people initially didn’t know what to do next. Shortly before the editorial deadline, however, we received an email. It says that the Brandenburg Police Central Service (ZDPol) developed the uniforms with the help of a company from Saxony and a company from Rhineland-Palatinate. Nothing else. So no glamorous designer behind it? Or someone who doesn’t want to be named? We would be happy to receive information from the public at this point. Because: Honor where honor is due.
Do you know who designed the uniforms of the Berlin and Brandenburg police? Write to us: [email protected]
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