Chime
Chime is a fashion collection by Milk of Lime for Spring/Summer 2026. The show was held in Berlin during Berlin Fashion Week.
The collection was Milk of Lime's third ever show.
Concept
Background
The collection’s design language reflects the traditional Milk of Lime mindset, where rot, wilt, and decay are huge inspirations to their work. The colour palette is filled with dark tones of black and silver, brown, copper, soft whites and dark silks. All the different colour combinations that can be seen out in the rural German countryside. As always, a punk factor as the pair are frequent attendees of punk concerts, are seen with slashed and frayed fabrics showcasing intricate botanical patterns.[1]
The details of the collection features delicate accessories such as embossed bird rings, another ode to the brand’s relationship with nature. Leather accessories are made into softer shapes, from deep blacks to mossy wet-like aesthetics. Miniscule accessories and draped belts with studded anagrams from the artist Eva Weinkötz, connect the craftsmanship and the arts.[2]
Inspiration
The duo's design language and craft which was honed at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, and the internships at Givenchy and Ann Demeulemeester, can be seen with typical Belgium inspired colour ways. Dark colours such as different shades of black and brown. The clearest of whites to give a clear contrast can also be seen. Ballardt and Verhaegens time in rural Germany is being seen in the collection with several nods to their relationship with nature as flowers and leather are heavily featured.
Themes
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Techniques
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Runway Show
Production
The show took place at Fürst, a popular venue during Berlin Fashion Week 2025.[3]
Milk of Lime's unquestionable relationship to nature contradicts the choice of a high rise building, under construction, dedicated to "urban living". But whilst under construction, the higher floors are surrounded by treetops, giving the illusion that you're surrounded by a forest.
This is ultimately what the brand questions with “Chime”: how can high fashion incorporate the virtues of rural living? Through natural fabrics, chiming accessories, fluid silhouettes, and concept, Milk of Lime moves towards finding that balance.[4]
Guests were provided with a special edition Milk of Lime newspaper that offered show notes, moodboards, poetry, short stories, and the collection’s jewellery. This openness in sharing the inspirations behind the show indicated the brand’s urgency behind the message.[5]
The collection, "chime" featured a melodious ringing sound which the audience could hear through the speakers during the show, fitting to its name.[6]
Models
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Styling
One shirt read “I demand poetry”. The styling was organic, and most pieces hung fluidly over the body. High level tailoring, rustic accessories, and a refined colour palette established a coarse elegance throughout the collection.[7]
Presentation
S/S26 'CHIME‘ SHOW NOTES:
"ON A LONG QUEST FOR WHAT IS HONEST AND WHAT IS PURE, WE FIND OURSELVES SEARCHING THE HEART FOR ALL THA TMOVES US; NOT ONLY IN THE SARTORIAL REALM, BUT FROM THE INTRICATE FABRIC OF EVERYDAY LIFE — OUR RURAL REALITY. LIVING IN THE COUNTRYSIDE REVEALS AND CONFRONTS US WITH OUR VERY NATURE AND WHAT WE
DEEM BEAUTIFUL. IT IS WHERE WE CONFIDE IN OUR SURROUNDINGS, CRAFTING AN HOMAGE TO ITS CRUEL BEAUTY. NATURE IS PRETTY HEAVY METAL WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT CLOSELY. TREES STRANGLING TREES, WEEDS CREEPING TROUGH TENDED PASTURES. AND HUMANKIND, TOO, IS RELENTLESS: GARDENERS ARE SLICING OPEN BLOSSOMS WITH RAZOR BLADES FOR PROPAGATION, WHEN THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH POLLINATORS ANYMORE.
IN THIS COLLECTION, BIRDRINGS ARE EVERYWHERE, SPRINKLED ACROSS OR CLUSTERED, COMPETING WITH THE FINE JEWELLERY THAT IS PRESENT AT THE SAME TIME. IS THERE A HIERARCHY, OR CAN THEY COEXIST? THE POPPY CAPSULE OR THE POMEGRANATE FLOWER, ONE MOTIVE THAT SHARES TWO MEANINGS. FRUITS AND SEEDS TO FEED FROM BECOME A RECIPE FOR EMBROIDERY, QUILTING AND SLASHING; BRUSHED DISTRESSED, AND FRAYED IN THEIR FINAL FORM. A SPARK, A LIFE, A SORT OF RICHNESS, BUT NEVER TOO HOLY.
JACKETS BECOME MORE TAILORED, MORE BUTTONED, REVEALING THE BEAUTY OF NATURAL FASTENINGS: MOTHER OF PEARL BUTTONS, SEA OPAL, HORN, TROKAS SHELLS. VINTAGE FRAGMENTS OF FLORAL FABRICS MERGE WITH LACE AND DEAD STOCK SILKS, LIGHT AS SMOKE, BEARING PEARLY SPINES.
A DEAD STOCK JACQUARD LIKE A CHIMERA OF LINEN AND SILK IS DIPPED INTO A BOTANICAL BROTH OF BARK TO DYE WITH. THE RICH, NEARLY PURPLE BLUES DERIVE FROM LOGWOOD & SCABIOSA BLACK KNIGHT. BLACK DOMINATES IN DIFFERENT TONES AND WEIGHTS THROUGH COTTON, HEMP, GABARDINE, VISCOSE AND SILK. NATURES BRUTALITY IS MIRRORED IN ITS DARKNESS, BUT SO TOO IS ROMANCE; ITS RAWNESS. RIBBONS ENSNARE AND ELONGATE THE FIGURE, OVERLY LONG, BUT ALWAYS DERIVING FROM A UTILITARIAN ORIGIN: BELT LOOPS EXTEND ON WIDE-LEGGED TROUSERS WHILST WOVEN BANDS GROW FROM GATHERED TUNNELS. LEATHER ACCESSORIES ARE THE CARRIER OF POETIC THOUGHTS AND MESSAGES, STUDDED BELTS, LIKE MAGIC BANDEROLS OR SECRET SPELLS. ARE THESE THE THOUGHTS OF A PERSON COMING OF AGE IN RURAL AREAS, JUST LIKE WE DID? WAITING FOR THE MOMENT TO BURST AND BLOSSOM, A HOPEFUL FUTURE IN CHAOTIC TIMES. UNTIL THEN, TOKENS AND MEMORIES ARE COLLECTED. RAW AND VEGETABLE-TANNED UTENSILS BECOME INSTRUMENTS - ECHOING THROUGH TURBULENT WINDS, CHIMING THE BALLAD OF POETIC RURAL PUNK."
Reception
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Legacy
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References
- ↑ https://www.kaltblut-magazine.com/backstage-at-milk-of-lime-spring-summer-2026-chime/#:~:text=Inspired%20by%20their,often%20dangerous%20narratives.
- ↑ https://www.kaltblut-magazine.com/backstage-at-milk-of-lime-spring-summer-2026-chime/#:~:text=Every%20detail%20tells,and%20rich%20narratives.
- ↑ https://www.keyimagazine.com/2025/07/01/milk-of-lime-debuts-chime-at-berlin-fashion-week-ss26/#:~:text=The%20show%20took%20place%20in%20the%20upper%20floor%20of%20F%C3%BCrst%2C%20a%20popular%20venue%20this%20fashion%20week.
- ↑ https://www.keyimagazine.com/2025/07/01/milk-of-lime-debuts-chime-at-berlin-fashion-week-ss26/#:~:text=But%20for%20Milk,finding%20that%20balance.
- ↑ https://www.keyimagazine.com/2025/07/01/milk-of-lime-debuts-chime-at-berlin-fashion-week-ss26/#:~:text=Guests%20were%20provided%20with%20a%20special%20edition%20Milk%20of%20Lime%20newspaper%20that%20offered%20show%20notes%2C%20moodboards%2C%20poetry%2C%20short%20stories%2C%20and%20the%20collection%E2%80%99s%20jewelry.%20This%20openness%20in%20sharing%20the%20inspirations%20behind%20the%20show%20indicated%20the%20brand%E2%80%99s%20urgency%20behind%20the%20message.
- ↑ https://www.keyimagazine.com/2025/07/01/milk-of-lime-debuts-chime-at-berlin-fashion-week-ss26/#:~:text=As%20the%20program,it%20to%20refocus.
- ↑ https://www.keyimagazine.com/2025/07/01/milk-of-lime-debuts-chime-at-berlin-fashion-week-ss26/#:~:text=One%20shirt%20read,throughout%20the%20collection.
The References section should include well-formatted and consistent citations in either APA or Chicago style, including author-date referencing (i.e. APA style) for in-text citations.
External Links
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