As part of Fashion Council Germany’s new immersive format RAUM.Berlin during Berlin Fashion Week, we spoke with stylist Christian Stemmler.

He is curating the eBay Pre-Loved Exhibition, one of the central showcases within RAUM.Berlin. Offering pre-loved fashion a new platform. In this interview, he shares his thoughts on the evolving relevance of pre-loved fashion and how personal history shapes creative direction.

Christian Stemmler’s work is deeply informed by his upbringing in the former GDR, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the vibrant underground culture of the 1990s. He began his creative journey in iconic Berlin clubs such as SO36 and Tresor, later working for the influential record label BPitch Control before entering the world of fashion.

In 2002, he joined STYLE & the Family Tunes, then Germany’s leading independent magazine for fashion, music, and culture, as a fashion assistant. Since then, Stemmler has built an expansive career as a stylist, editor, and consultant for both emerging designers and established brands across fashion and advertising.

Alongside his styling work, Christian Stemmler has photographed artists, queer creatives, and Berlin’s club scene since the 1990s. His book Anfang/Beginning – Berlin 1994–99, capturing the city’s party culture, will be published by IDEA Books in June 2025.

Read more about our exchange below.

FCG: You’ve worked with some of the most exciting names and publications, what drives your visual and stylistic decisions?

CHRISTIAN STEMMLER: The people I encounter are my biggest inspiration. I travel a lot, and I always observe them everywhere I go — especially in very public spaces like airports and public transport. A construction worker or an older woman on a bus can be just as beautifully dressed — or even more so — than a fashion icon from the media. Other than that, everything I see influences my stylistic decisions — as does my humanitarian and political point of view. In my work, I celebrate humans as a whole, regardless of ethnicity, class, or gender.

FCG : Do you think there’s still stigma around pre-loved fashion and how can styling help shift that perception?

CHRISTIAN STEMMLER: For me, there never was a stigma around it — I’ve been shopping pre-loved fashion since I was a teenager. We used to buy second-hand clothes by the kilo in a shop called “Garage” already 30 years ago. Throughout the ’90s, vintage and second-hand played a huge role. It made up at least half of our wardrobes, and we mixed it with cool, made-to-measure techno brands from Berlin or London. Only a very few items came from mainstream fashion brands. When I started working in fashion in the early 2000s, wearing pre-loved fashion — or mixing it with popular brands — proved that you had good taste. Head-to-toe in brands was never really a thing.

FCG : As a stylist, do you approach pre-loved fashion differently than new fashion? Or is the creative process the same for you?

CHRISTIAN STEMMLER: There is no difference — or I would even say a pre-loved piece can often feel more precious. Especially if it’s from a brand you used to love and that has since changed creative directors or closed down. I’ve already been buying less for some time now, especially from corporate fashion brands. If I do buy new items, I prefer to support independent, smaller brands — preferably sustainable ones.

FCG : Do you see this kind of pre-loved curation becoming a more regular part of how fashion is shown, or even sold, in the future?

CHRISTIAN STEMMLER: Well, it should. I think there still isn’t enough progress when it comes to how — and how much — we consume. There’s just way too much stuff. The younger generation is much more progressive. A lot of my friends in their 20s shop almost exclusively on Vinted, Depop, Vestiaire or eBay.

FCG : You have been working with vintage fashion for a long time, how have you seen the way people engage with vintage evolve – especially due to the archive fashion movement on social media?

CHRISTIAN STEMMLER: It feels like vintage is having its big moment. As I mentioned, younger generations understand that there’s already way too much stuff out there, and that it’s more sustainable to buy things that don’t need to be produced again. There are so many beautiful pieces already in existence — you just have to look for them. 

FCG : What advice would you give to someone looking to score standout vintage finds?

CHRISTIAN STEMMLER:  Keep your eyes open, take time to scroll through the resale platforms, save things to train the algorithm — it’ll get easier over time to find the good pieces. But also check out your local vintage and second-hand stores — so many are opening right now since the business is booming.