PALMWINE IceCREAM brought a kaleidoscope of colour to Berlin Fashion Week

“No, don’t pose like that,” says Kusi Kubi, founder and creative director of PALMWINE IceCREAM. “Just straight on, and relaxed.” The instruction is directed at a model who’s having her photograph taken, dressed in Kubi’s latest designs and about to walk his SS26 runway. The backstage scene is mostly what you’d expect 45 minutes out from a show: assistants huddle around laptops firing off directives about the running order (“she’s not going to have enough time to change!”); models practice their walks while photographers clamber after them to get the shot; Kubi tinkers with the multiple outfits at once, under pressure but in his element. What is different is the spread on offer, laid out across a green marble top counter. Litre bottles of Volvic and cans of Coke Zero sit next to loaves of tiger bread and packets of Pom Bears; glasses filled with cashew nuts and dried cranberries are placed beside chocolate bars and more packets of crisps; there’s even polka dot napkins that say ‘IT’S PARTY TIME!’ on them, there to soak up any potential spills.

It may seem trite, but the scene Kubi has conjured feels like a family affair, which makes perfect sense given the ancestral roots of PALMWINE IceCREAM. Although the designer lives between London and Accra, the brand is intrinsically linked to Kubi’s Ghanaian heritage, having dreamt up the label when he was visiting home. “So I was meant to be in Ghana for a couple of months, and then COVID hits,” Kubi tells me, when we manage to steal some time away from the fray. “I ended up staying for six months in Accra. So that’s when I started working on PALMWINE IceCREAM, and that’s where everything started.”

While PALMWINE was founded in 2020, Kubi worked as a stylist and creative director before then, and also designed for a company called Gogo Philip in 2015. A decade later, the designer held his first ever PALMWINE runway at Berlin Fashion Week AW25, returning this season for a second go around. “The collection is called Muse, and it takes inspiration from the women around me,” he says. “I live between Accra and London, and I have a lot of powerful, elegant, strong women who inspire me. I’ve always been inspired by women, but I think this season, in particular, is much more driven towards that angle, so I ended up doing more womenswear.” While PALMWINE itself was originally founded as a menswear brand, this season’s show only featured five men’s looks, a stark comparison to last season’s 14. “I feel like this season is more elevated and more grown,” says Kubi, on the comparison. “It’s still the same journey, but I feel like this season is more sexy, [hence] more womenswear.”

When it comes to the clothes, sexy is the operative word here, with Kubi’s SS26 collection spanning tie-dyed hotpants, laser-cut minidresses, sheer bodystockings and skirts that are actually belts, mostly in leather and all in dazzling primary colours. A giraffe print splashed across a bra, boots and micro shorts is actually “upcycled leather we’ve handpainted”, and more daring silhouettes come in the form of a corseted “ballerina dress” (Kubi’s favourite this season) and a standout ponyhide bra with matching ponyhide shorts. “I’m inspired by [Karl] Lagerfeld, I’m also inspired by [John] Galliano, so I think they also play a huge reference point for me,” says Kubi of the two designers, themselves driven by fashion’s sexual politics. “Growing up in Accra, that’s what I saw. I’m a 90s baby, so that’s where my inspiration comes from.”

The sexiness of his clothing is obviously something the designer is aware of, but he knows its limits and refuses to let it do the heavy lifting. I ask about his initial instruction to the model when I arrived, the one who was seductively smouldering to the camera while having their photograph taken. “The pose was not a reflection of what the brand is,” he says, confidently and without hesitation. “I want sexy, but I want it to be naturally sexy, and I don’t want it to be overly sexy, because the clothes are sexy enough.” Because, ultimately, underneath that sexual expression is a commitment to craft. Materials are sourced locally, in the north of Ghana, an area known for its leather work. “We hand-dye them, and then we tan them in the sun,” says Kubi, “so everything is done quite naturally and sustainably.”

Fashion Council Germany is very supportive of new designers. They actually invest in me showing out here – Kusi Kubi

The catwalk goes off without a hitch, and only slightly behind schedule, customary for practically every fashion show. Though this season turns out to be a success, Kubi’s journey hasn’t come without its challenges, which occur both systemically and by complete happenstance. The latter, for example, when the designer was preparing for this season’s show, and a crate of his clothes was held by customs. “I usually ship everywhere – to London, into New York – and everything is fine,” he explains. “But this time around they said I had to have this special number to ship into Germany, which I didn’t have. The Senate tried, the fashion council tried, and it just didn’t happen. So I’m showing today without a box – without all my bags and accessories and… yeah,” he trails off, exasperatedly, before immediately bouncing back. “Sometimes these things happen, and you just have to do what you can do!”

But the former challenges – the systemic ones – are harder to brush under the carpet. “As a young African designer, also based in Accra, it can just be challenging,” Kubi says. “Gaining support and also getting funding.” Though Kubi recognises that Black designers often have to work twice as hard for a smaller piece of the pie than their white counterparts, he’s also thankful for Berlin Fashion Week’s efforts at attempting to reset the balance. Last season, Fashion Council Germany offered a €25,000 grant to an African brand to show at BFW, of which PALMWINE IceCREAM eventually won. But this season, the fashion council opened up its standard Berlin Contemporary prize to international applicants, which allowed Kubi to return for SS26.

“Fashion Council Germany is very supportive of new designers. They actually invest in me showing out here, and they kind of take care of me,” the designer says. Despite that progress, when reflecting on the journey, Kubi is pragmatic, and recognises that this is just the start of a long process. “In terms of Black designers, I think it’s quite new for the FCG. I started off in February, and now they have two more Black labels [Orange Culture and Buzigahill] – so there are three of us now,” he continues. “They’re slowly becoming more progressive, and moving in the right direction. But they spend a lot of time on you, and they really help you grow.”

Scroll through the gallery at the top of the page for PALMWINE IceCREAM SS26