Munich-born DJ and producer BASHKKA has carved out a singular place within contemporary club culture. Of Turkish descent, she spent a decade in New York, where she became immersed in the city’s ballroom and trans communities. That influence continues to shape her sets, which move fluidly between house, ghetto tech and ballroom, while informing her belief in the dancefloor as a space for care, connection and community.

This weekend, she returns to WHOLE Festival, one of the world’s leading queer festivals. The appearance comes just ahead of the launch of INVIGORATE AM., her first party series at Amsterdam’s Club RAUM, an extension of the ideas around intimacy, connection and community that increasingly define her work.

We spoke with BASHKKA about WHOLE Festival, queer joy in challenging times, the importance of protecting dancefloors, and why creating spaces built on care, connection and community have become central to everything she does.

Those entering “Urgency” won’t find themselves in front of a traditional stage. The performers move through the entire space, right among the audience. This makes the environment itself part of the choreography, dissolving the boundary between observer and the action. Depending on where you position yourself, different dancers come into focus. A mysterious figure in a white coat appears again and again, like a recurring thread within a seemingly chaotic yet precisely choreographed structure. The atmosphere is strongly reminiscent of Berlin techno clubs: dark, intense, and full of niches where expressive dance scenes unfold.

Choreographer Renato De Leon explains that the central idea of the piece is based on the figure in the white coat, who initially moves through a euphoric, almost utopian world. This harmony is disrupted by the intrusion of the “normal world”, a reality characterized by rigid rules, regimes, and borders. The dancers represent various internal conflicts, each undergoing their own individual development. This process eventually leads them to come together to break through these imposed barriers.

This is Renato’s first production independently realized under his own label, Leonis Works. The performers include friends he has been collaborating and dancing with for years:

Created by queer artists and shaped by personal experiences of conflict, rooted particularly in Mexican-American border struggles, the piece reveals how power structures and social systems leave their mark on the body. Movement becomes a direct expression of lived reality. This site-specific approach demonstrates that borders are not abstract concepts, but realities that affect us physically and directly.

The performance feels profoundly personal, artfully translating internal conflicts into a stage experience. Each dancer brings a distinct style and individual energy to the space, yet, the choreographers have succeeded in merging these diverse movement languages into a cohesive narrative that remains visually striking throughout. As these personified emotions, represented by the dancers, eventually converge, the piece finds a beautifully harmonious and well-rounded conclusion.

The production features costumes by HADERLUMP, a Berlin label, which recently showcased its latest collection at Berlin Fashion Week. Technically, the production combines live dance, motion tracking, and projections into an immersive 360-degree environment. A politically charged soundscape, delivered via a d&b audiotechnik spatial sound system, surrounds the audience from all directions and completes the experience.

The performance can be seen on April 2nd and 3rd at Haus der Visionäre in Berlin. Shows start at 8:30 PM and 10:00 PM.

In honor of OONA’s exhibition opening at Schlachter 151, the teams from Numéro Berlin and CIFRA hosted a private dinner to celebrate the artist’s vision and her performance ‘For Human Eyes Only’ alongside close friends of the magazine and the art scene. Among the guests were many key figures from the Berlin fashion industry, such as Götz Offergeld, publisher and editor-in-chief of Numéro, as well as deputy-editor-in-chief Antonia Schmidt, Ann-Kathrin Riedl, editor-in-chief of Fräulein Magazine, the editor-in-chief of Gruppe Magazine, Hella Schneider, stylist Marvin Lobodda, and influencers Hanna Goldfisch and Lele Berlin, alongside the curator of the exhibition Anika Meier and other collectors and artists.

Throughout the evening, the artist remained true to her central motif. Despite her physical presence, her face stayed hidden to preserve her essential anonymity. Her work raises existential questions: “If machines are trained to read the body as data, what does it mean to be seen? And what becomes visible when the machine fails to detect the body?” In this context, cameras are transformed from instruments of control into collaborators.

Last week, the Schlachter 151 exhibition space hosted the opening of OONA’s first solo exhibition. Under the title “Dear David: A Surveillance Love Story,” the artist presents a body of work born from an unusual symbiosis. Since 2019, OONA has performed in the London Underground in front of surveillance cameras, appearing not as an anonymous passerby but as if positioned before the lens of a fashion photographer. To obtain this material, she entered into an exchange with David, whose job involves managing this data. Over 400 emails later, a digital connection developed between two strangers, forming the foundation of her art.

The dinner was powered by CIFRA, a platform for digital and video art that provides specialized software and hardware for a precise presentation of digital works.

Stream OONA’s videos from the exhibition on CIFRA

What does luxury mean today? High prices alone are no longer a convincing answer. Increasingly, luxury is defined by individuality, rarity, and craftsmanship at the highest level. It is therefore no surprise that niche fragrances have become one of the most compelling expressions of this new understanding of luxury. More than clothing or accessories, a perfume often becomes an intimate extension of its wearer – a form of self-expression that exists beyond trends, and marketing campaigns. In choosing a fragrance, one reveals something personal: a sensibility, a mood, a sense of style.

Among the houses that have helped turn niche perfumery into one of the most coveted phenomena in the luxury industry is Creed, a brand with a history stretching back centuries. Founded in 1760 by James Henry Creed in London, the company originally operated as a tailoring house. Early on, however, scent became part of its story: the family supplied scented leather gloves and perfumed garments to the British royal court. Their reputation soon spread across Europe, and before long even Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie of France counted among their clientele. Over time, Creed evolved into a dedicated perfume house while maintaining the aura of an old-world atelier rooted in heritage and craftsmanship.

Throughout its long history, Creed has built an international reputation for refined fragrances and meticulous production. The brand’s philosophy has always revolved around carefully sourced ingredients and traditional techniques, with raw materials obtained from around the world. Rather than rushing products to market, the process of creating a fragrance is often compared to the crafting of an exceptional wine: essential oils are blended with precision and allowed time to mature until the composition reaches its ideal balance. If a fragrance does not meet the house’s standards, releases have reportedly been postponed – even when bottles were already prepared for filling. This dedication to craft has become part of the brand’s mythology.

The house’s most famous success is undoubtedly Aventus, the now legendary fragrance launched in 2010 to celebrate Creed’s 250th anniversary. Created by Olivier Creed together with perfumer Jean-Christophe Hérault, Aventus combines bright notes of pineapple and blackcurrant with smoky birch, oakmoss, and musk. The scent, inspired by themes of strength, ambition, and conquest, quickly became a cult favorite among fragrance enthusiasts and is widely credited with redefining modern men’s (niche) perfumery. Through word of mouth, fragrance forums, and social media, Aventus developed into a global phenomenon – one of the most talked-about perfumes in contemporary luxury.

Since this weekend, Berliners can experience Creed’s fragrance universe firsthand. The brand has opened a new boutique in the vibrant Weinmeisterstraße area at Neue Schönhauser Straße 9, one of the city’s most dynamic shopping districts. Housed in a historic building with a striking pink façade, the space feels like a jewel set within the neighborhood’s lively mix of fashion, design, and culture. It is the second Creed boutique in the German-speaking region after Vienna.

Ahead of the official opening on Saturday, March 14, selected guests were invited to a private preview event the day before. The relaxed gathering included guided tours of the boutique, personalized scent consultations, and a fragrance masterclass offering insight into Creed’s most iconic compositions. A particular highlight was the presentation of Wild Vetiver, the house’s newest fragrance, which reinterprets the classic ingredient through a contemporary lens.

Inside, the boutique is designed to feel warm, intimate, and quietly luxurious. Rather than encouraging quick purchases, the space invites visitors to linger and explore. Guests are guided through Creed’s fragrance universe through personalized consultations, allowing them to discover the scent that best reflects their own character.

Because perfume, perhaps more than any other luxury object, is deeply personal. It is often the first signal we send out into the world – something that precedes us before a word is spoken. The fragrance we choose may change with mood, time of day, or occasion, yet it always remains closely tied to identity and style. Creed’s perfumes embrace this idea fully: rich, layered, and expressive compositions presented in iconic, opulent bottles that feel almost like collectible objects.

With its new Berlin boutique, Creed brings this tradition of artisanal perfumery to a city where individuality and self-expression are part of everyday life. And in doing so, it offers a reminder that true luxury may not lie in abundance, but in the rare moments when craft, identity, and emotion come together – sometimes in the form of a single, unforgettable scent.