Explore the PERLENSAU Collection
Berlin, Germany; In 2004, an old power plant became Berghain, one of the most influential techno clubs in the world. For decades, an evening in Berlin's underground has meant stepping into another identity. Nina Kharytonova has been part of that scene since the '90s, first as a raver, then as a DJ. A decade ago, she turned that identity into PERLENSAU.
That history still shapes how she designs: not a specific track, but the feeling underneath one. Repetition. Tension. Release.
In an exclusive interview with LILIVANT, Nina talks about building a visual language from nothing, shaping a DJ set as armour, and why she'd rather you take up space than disappear into an outfit.
Nina, you’ve just celebrated Perlensau’s 10th anniversary during Berlin Fashion Week ’26. Tell us, where did Perlensau begin?
PERLENSAU began in Berlin ten years ago, almost instinctively. I wanted to create pieces I couldn’t find anywhere else — objects somewhere between jewellery, fashion, sculpture and armour. From the beginning, it was never really about following fashion or seasonal trends. It was about creating my own visual language.
Berlin gave me the freedom to experiment without asking for permission. The underground culture, nightlife, music, art and incredible mix of people here created an environment where something unconventional could exist and evolve naturally. What started as experimentation gradually became a universe of its own. Ten years later, celebrating that journey during Berlin Fashion Week felt incredibly meaningful — not only looking back at what PERLENSAU has become, but also opening the door to its next chapter.
Perlensau’s pieces have become the avant-garde awe of Berlin’s underground. How has the label evolved with the scene over the last decade?
PERLENSAU and Berlin have somehow grown alongside each other. The underground has always been about freedom, transformation and creating spaces where people can become whoever they want to be. That spirit is deeply connected to the brand.
Over the years, the designs have become more architectural, more experimental and technically more complex. I started exploring new materials, laser-cutting technology and ways of constructing pieces directly around the body. The boundaries between jewellery, accessories and garments became increasingly fluid.
At the same time, I think the Berlin scene has changed too. What was once considered very underground has influenced global fashion and culture enormously. For me, the challenge is not to reproduce an aesthetic that has become recognisable as “Berlin,” but to keep moving forward. PERLENSAU has never been about fitting into the scene. It is about evolving with it while maintaining its own identity.
Is there a specific music genre or sound that shapes your designs, or inspires your signature artistic fashion?
Music is a huge part of my creative world. I’ve been exploring music and nightlife culture since the ’90s, and today I also DJ, so sound and design naturally overlap for me.
Electronic music probably has the strongest connection to PERLENSAU — techno, house, electro, experimental sounds — but I don’t think in terms of one specific genre. I’m more interested in the feeling music creates: repetition, tension, sensuality, darkness, energy and release.
Sometimes I imagine how a piece will move under club lights or how the metal will reflect while someone is dancing. Music can completely transform how you experience clothing and the body. In that sense, I don't necessarily translate a particular track into a design; I translate an atmosphere.
Perlensau aims to inspire living with less through timeless objects made to last. How do your designers hand-make each piece with love and ecological sustainability?
For me, sustainability begins with the decision to create less, but create it well.
PERLENSAU is not based on constantly producing new collections simply because the fashion calendar demands it. Many pieces are produced in small quantities or made to order, and a large part of the work is done by hand in our Berlin studio. That allows us to work much more consciously with materials and avoid unnecessary overproduction.
We use materials such as vegetable-tanned organic leather, stainless steel, recycled materials and carefully selected vegan alternatives. With our leather pieces especially, a lot of attention goes into the finishing — edges are polished and painted by hand to increase durability and give the pieces a beautiful, lasting finish.
But ecological responsibility for me is also connected to emotional longevity. I want to create objects people don't throw away after one season. A PERLENSAU piece should be something you keep, rediscover, style differently and perhaps still wear ten years from now. In a world obsessed with consuming more, I think there is something radical about wanting fewer things — but choosing things that actually mean something.
What do you hope a Perlensau piece gives someone that nothing else in their wardrobe does?
Transformation.
I love the idea that you can put on one object and suddenly feel different. Stronger, stranger, more sensual, more powerful — or simply more yourself.
PERLENSAU pieces are not designed to disappear into an outfit. They interact with the body and often change its silhouette. Some feel like armour, others like jewellery, and others almost like futuristic artefacts. They invite attention, but more importantly, they invite the person wearing them to take up space.
I don't want to tell people who they should become when they wear PERLENSAU. I want to give them an object that helps them express a part of themselves that perhaps doesn't come out every day.
For me, that is ultimately what fashion can be at its most interesting: not decoration, but a tool for transformation and self-expression.
