‘Pippi Longstocking is my style heroine'

In a retrospective catalogue of his work, Bernhard Willhelm is described as the successor to the Brothers Grimm. Since presenting his graduation collection in 1998, this German designer has set the tone with fantastical clothing that could be the stuff of fairy tales - and, as in fairy tales, it sometimes has a dark side.

With a great sense of humour and formal flare, Willhelm (b. 1972) has redefined dresses (by adding the tail of a dinosaur), trousers (giving them duck-like legs), and weird and wonderful accessories. The fried eggs and insect brooches that left Willhelm's mother with a tennis elbow from hours of crocheting are unforgettable.

Willhelm graduated from the academy in Antwerp with Le Petit Chapeau Rouge, a folkloristic but hilarious collection. Willhelm's early collections were characterised by references to his birthplace of Bavaria - traditional costume and gateau - as well as by craft techniques such as knitting, crochet, patchwork and embroidery. Colourfully clownish prints followed later, and were primarily employed in the men's clothing inspired by sportswear that this enfant terrible has been designing and showing in Paris since 2000.

In 2000, Willhelm donated more than 1,000 items of clothing and accessories to Antwerp's MoMu Fashion Museum, where a large-scale exhibition is in the pipeline. The first Bernhard Willhelm shop opened in Japan in 2006.