born in Ulm, South of Germany in November 1972
during his studies he assisted Walter van Beirendonck, Alexander Mc Queen, Vivienne Westwood and Dirk Bikkembergs
received his diploma in fashion design with honors in July 1998 at the ROYAL ACADEMY of Fine Arts in Antwerp
straight after leaving college he founded a company together with Jutta Kraus to launch his first women’s collection which was shown at Paris Fashion Week in March 1999
designed his first menswear outfits in October 2000 leading to a complete men’s line which is shown at men’s fashion week in Paris since January 2003
Moët & Chandon Fashion Award received in September 2001
B-magazine invited Bernhard as a guest editor for the second issue (January 2002)
the creative atelier moved from Antwerp to Paris in September 2002
CAPUCCI: from 2002-2004 named creative director for the Roberto Capucci fashion house and created a first ready-to-wear collection under the name Capucci
the Art Foundation URSULA BLICKLE, curated by Nikolaus Schaffhausen showed a retrospective of his work in July 2003
“Bernhard Willhelm 1999-2004” book published by Lukas & Sternberg on the occasion of the exhibition at the Ursula Blickle Art Foundation
the French cultural minister awarded Bernhard Willhelm with the first prize as well as the accessory prize by the ANDAM in April 2005
since October 2005: Bernhard Willhelm women’s line is a license of the Japanese company BUS STOP, daughter company of Onward Kashiyama
February 2006: Bus Stop opened the first Bernhard Willhelm boutique in Parco department store, Shibuya (Tokyo), Japan, designed in collaboration with Cyril Duval, www.item.idem.com
“black is also available in white” showed an exhibition in collaboration with Berlin artist CARSTEN FOCK in Berlin (March 2007) and in Stockholm (August 2007)
theatre play by R.W. Fassbinder “Die bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant”, directed by Philipp Preuss showing at Deutsches Theater in Berlin, Premiere on the 25th January
2007 : making of the costumes for the actresses and showing parts of previous collections
BJÖRK’s WORLD TOUR 2007 and her new album “VOLTA”: created all outfits for her and her brassband as well as a sculpture-outfit for the album cover
“HET TOTAAL RAPPEL”, a Bernhard Willhelm retrospective at the Fashion Museum in Antwerp July 2007–January 2008; the exhibition was created together with the artists Taiyo Onorato & Nico Krebs; a book on the exhibition came out in October 2007, published by the Fashion Museum
invited to the ATHEN’S BIENNALE in September 2007, where the film “red rose pink donkey” made in collaboration with Dirk Bonn was presented
a film “men in tights” on the men’s collection AW08-09 directed by Nick Knight was shown during NEW YORK fashion week in February 2008
from 2008 a collaboration between the shoe company Camper from Mallorca, Spain, results in a special line of shoes called “Bernhard Willhelm-Camper-together” and started from SS09 with shoes for men and women.
within the Six Scents project, Symrise creates a perfume for Bernhard Willhelm in 2008. Six Scents features fragrances created by six perfumers working with six designers, a concept by SEVEN NY and Metaproject supporting the Designers Against AIDS (DAA); International Aids Awareness Education. No.2 stands for Bernhard Willhelm
since 2009 the Berlin-based manufacturer for glasses Mykita develops Bernhard Willhelm sun glasses for men and women
a solo exhibition “Bernhard Willhelm Jutta Kraus” held in the Groninger Museum in the Netherlands from December 12th 2009 to April 11th 2010
in summer 2011 for 2 months the Bernhard Willhelm team temporarily moved to Porta Vallerta, Mexico
in January 2013 Bernhard Willhelm presents men and women AW13-14 collection as a dance performance in collaboration with Josh Johnson and the William Forsythe Company from Frankfurt, Germany during PARIS fashion week in the Caroussel du Louvre
from 2009 till 2014 Bernhard Willhelm is head of the fashion department at “Universität für Angewandte Kunst” in Vienna, Austria
in August 2013 the Bernhard Willhelm team moved to Los Angeles, USA
a solo exhibition “When Fashion shows the Danger then Fashion is the Danger” will be held at MOCA Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles, USA, during 7th February and 17th May 2015