“The whole collection was about growth, something that is both growing and dying in a way.”
Impeccably tailored latex and a flair for fetishism are two things that you will almost always witness at a Richert Beil show. Jale Richert and Michele Beil founded their namesake label in 2014 and have been dominating Berlin Fashion Week ever since. For their Spring/Summer 2026 collection, “Milieuschutz,” the designer duo explored themes of birth and death, with a significant focus on craftsmanship. I had the pleasure of chatting with the designers, who shared about their latest collection and what it’s been like transforming a 135-year-old pharmacy into their new studio.
Chance Goode: Thank you for making the time to meet with me.
Jale Richert and Michele Beil: Of course.
CG: I wanted to discuss your latest collection with you today. What was the inspiration behind it?
JR and MB: We usually have a very strong theme in each of our collections, but this time, we wanted to focus on our craft. We did not have a proper mood board with sketches or anything like we usually do. It was more about taking what we have and elevating it. We have the feeling that most young fashion brands have to be super commercial, and for us, this is not the reason we started the brand. It was more about having a general message, which for us is always the gender and size-inclusive system, and developing our own. We like to stand a little bit apart from all the commercial brands. So we’ve gone back to a very niche way of working.
CG: One of my favorite looks from this collection was the pacifier baby look. It was kinky. Can you tell me more about it?
JR and MB: It has several meanings. The whole collection was about growth, something that is both growing and dying in a way. We recently moved out of our old studio at the end of last year, where we had been for eight or nine years. And now we’re planning to launch a new place which resonates more with us. So, metaphorically speaking, we used many elements relating to giving birth and dying. In our last winter collection, titled Mutter, which means ‘mother,’ babies cried at the beginning of our show. We thought it would be funny that, now that this baby is born, it would also be in the next show on the runway. Plus, it’s a little bit of a fetish moment where we also get lots of our inspirations from.
CG: The latex coat with rose petals that closed the show was divine! Latex is a medium that you work with a lot. Why is that?
JR and MB: We just love the material. The mood of it has a slightly underground feel. We utilize this material in a non-conventional way and always try to make the latex pieces highly tailored, like a blazer or something, with darts and buttons. It’s not just stretched to the body. It’s formed to the body in our case.
CG: I’m also obsessed with your latex briefs, which I believe debuted in your Spring/Summer 2025 collection. I noticed that there were underwear brief motifs throughout this collection as well. Why underwear?
JR and MB: We like to incorporate the brief motif because before my studies, I collected granny panties, not used ones. I have a fascination for underwear in a different sense. When we had the runway show where we shaved our heads, we included our DNA in the goodie bags. We faked a worn panty and added a little bit of our hair, then gave it to the front row. That was my favorite moment. Of course, the underwear wasn’t worn; you know, just staged.
CG: The models in a Richert Beil show are so unique. The model who closed your latest show recently followed me on Instagram, and they have such a fab look. Why is it essential for you to have diverse casting?
JR and MB: Because it shows the quality of our garments. We believe it’s important to include different people. Also, it looks better. For our collection, it doesn’t fit very well to work with the standardized casting. If you work very binary, you will book people with perfect bodies. Somehow, there’s no fun in this for us. For example, Dorety, who closed the show in the latex coat, we feel is even more beautiful because she’s so special. It’s always the relationship with the people. You get to know these people differently. It’s more personal. When you give room to people who may not have commercial faces or body types, it provides something special to the collection, and it becomes more intimate. If you see people in real life, sometimes they will look even better than the models on the runway could ever look, and that’s what we try to bring to our runway.
Dorety in the closing look from Richert Beil SS26
CG: You recently moved into a new studio, which was a 135-year-old pharmacy. From pharmaceuticals to fashion. Has that been an easy process?
JR and MB: Nope. Anyone who is renovating something will understand what we’re talking about. You’ll get used to it, but there are always complications. Everything is super old, and some of the things we might want to keep are rotten or need to be restored. It’s complicated, but it’s also so much fun to create a space on our own. What makes this fun is that we get to think about the structures we want to build in this new studio. What kind of rooms do we need? Where do we see people working? Where is the showroom happening? We ended up only keeping some pharmacy pieces. In every room, we tried to incorporate a bit of history while making it our own space in the end.
CG: Berlin Fashion Week has become one of the most interesting and exciting showcases of fashion. What has the Berlin fashion scene been like for you both?
JR and MB: It’s a love and hate story. Now there are so many big companies that want to participate, which can be tricky for the quality of the events and runway shows. Of course, many good things are happening now, especially with the funding. It’s super cool that younger brands get the chance to really show their collections. It could always be bigger, but we like to keep things hidden and underground. The bigger it gets, the more responsibilities you have for certain things. The more buyers you attract, the more you have to sell, and the more your collection develops into something more commercial, which we don’t always like, but we have to accept because this is how it works. We are really happy to work here in Berlin because it’s our home, and it’s also very gender inclusive, much like New York. Right now, with all the developments worldwide, where else would you work on a collection like this? And where would you find these people? I think it’s important for us to be here.
CG: What can we expect next from Richert Beil?
JR and MB: To finish the studio and possibly a small event in September. We’re going to Seoul with the fashion council and other brands from Berlin for an exchange program. The biggest priority for us right now is to complete the studio and launch it, hopefully, by next season.