Fashion is dedicated to the mysteries of the visible. It is concerned with appearance – and the meaning we bestow upon it. With seismographic sensibility registers social currents, giving it shape. Not only in terms of colour and shape, but also norms and identity. With a confident expression of androgynous glamour, models Franzi Müller and Corinna Ingenleuf – the alternating cover stars of this issue – leave gender clichés at the door. Mathea Hoffmann goes a step further – she founded Berlin’s first transgender modelling agency and is a proponent for an ever more fluid approach to gender. Asked for portraits of their respective muses, Berlin’s leading photographers supplied images of inspiring individuals who challenge mainstream model ideals. In this way, getting involved with fashion can also be seen as a way to nurture respect for the singularity of human beauty in all its many facets. But don’t worry – if you just want to know where to find something gorgeous to wear, you'll find the best shops in the city listed in this Fashion Book Berlin.