David Urbanke: The Voice Of A New Era
Stunning, powerful and unapologetic: black Filipina trans woman Jari Jones has become a generational icon and inspiration for all the right reasons. Shot by David Urbanke, Jari and her partner Deniz are familiar faces in a new era of inclusivity. Her role as an actress, model, producer and creative provides authenticity, compassion and hope, paving the way for future generations.
Celine Yasemin & Milena Zara: Category Is… Realness
Every transition is also a journey, from self-hate to self-love – photographers Celine Yasemin and Milena Zara wanted to show the realness of transition while shooting iconic model and influencer Steph Barreto. The fruit of an amazing collaboration, their editorial is full of heart, as featured in Container Love’s first-ever print magazine, the Visibility Issue.
Anil Ayhan: Tales From The City
In a world that is relentlessly trying to mold us into predefined shapes, there is immense power and liberation in staying true to yourself – for his series features in our printed magazine, The Visibility Issue, Berlin photographer Anil Ayhan collaborated with musician, dancer, and queer tastemaker Lie Ning. Their duo’s beautiful work is proof that sometimes the best way to break through the noise is to just sing louder.
Ansgar Sollmann: The Present Is Genderless
Musician and queer tastemaker Tarik Tesfu was shot by London-based photographer Ansgar Sollman for Container Love’s first printed magazine. A vital part of our Visible Love exhibition, their collaboration explores the liberating beauty of genderless fashion and how the media should take responsibility in not only displaying queer people but letting them behind the camera too.
Bastian Thiery: Hungry Eyes
It’s not about beauty that’s transformative but about the transformation that’s beautiful – iconic makeup-up artist and drag superstar Hungry was shot by Berlin-based photographer Bastian Thiery for Container Love’s Visibility Issue. A celebration of creativity and queerness, Bastian’s series is one that’s here to stay for a long time.
Slava Mogutin: It’s Hot Out There
As the city sweats and the hot summer sun is melting the streets, the world becomes a playground, and every given moment, an opportunity for celebrating the vibrant tapestry of life. From posing naked on the roof to getting a cool splash on the balcony, New York-based artist Slava Mogutin's series of fun and sexy portraits is an untamed celebration of life and unapologetic queerness.
10 YEARS OF CONTAINER LOVE
Visible Love 2023: 10 Years Of Container Love
Container Love’s Visible Love exhibition brought specially curated diversity-driven photography to the amazing space of Berlin’s POP KUDAMM. Running from August 16th until the 31st, Visible Love has been our way to celebrate Pride and Container Love’s first decade with special and exclusive editorials, exciting events, and the launch of our first-ever print magazine. Celebrating together with a crowd of global artists and creators, our platform has entered its next chapter.
Photo Slava Mogutin
AdeY: To Let You In On Something Big
What stories does your body silently reveal about you when you are at your most vulnerable? – through a blend of humor and experimentation, AdeY sheds light not only on our strengths while fleeting instances of social oppression, isolation, anxiety, and depression that seemingly intertwine with the essence of the human experience. Check out AdeY’s pictures as featured in our Visibility Issue.
Robin Kater: A Little Extra
In a world where conformity and external validation often hold sway, all you need for happiness is to be a little extra – photographer Robin Kater shot talented performer, media personality, and his fellow Berliner Robin Solf. Out of their collaboration was born Robin’s amazing editorial, an essential part of Container Love’s first printed magazine, the Visibility Issue.
Julien Barbès: Wanderlust
The only thing greater than the excitement of discovering is the excitement of being discovered – Berlin-based photographer Julien Barbès’ shot Santa K for Container Love's first printed magazine. A gorgeous visual manifesto of queer visibility, Julien’s series is just as bold, playful, and glamorous as his muse for the day.
Nikk Martin: The Sky Over Your Shoulders
When surrounded by nature, one can be vulnerable and it’s only through letting ourselves be vulnerable that we can find our greatest strength – Nikk Martin shot musician and queer tastemaker Blazey for Container Love’s fist print magazine, the Visibility Issue. His series takes us on a journey into nature, documenting a process of self-acceptance, and celebrating the unique qualities that make us who we are.
Allie & Jesse: Vision Of A Queer West
Changing the cultural narrative – New York photographers Allie Leepson and Jesse McClary’s ongoing series gives us a glimpse into the lives of the bold and defiant LGBTQ+ communities living in the American West. With their pictures published as part of our Visible Love exhibition, Allie and Jesse spotlight their resilience and rightful sense of belonging in a culture that hasn't always welcomed or acknowledged them.
Daniela Müller-Brunke: Istabane
The underestimated power of the community – Daniela Mueller Brunke returned to the semi-desert grasslands of South Africa, to document the life of queer people in an often hostile environment. Her pictures featured in Container Love’s Visibility Issue show the rarely-seen reality of queer folks in South Africa, opening a door to a beautiful, strong community of people daring to be themselves against all odds.
Alex Huanfa Cheng: Leaving Wonderland
Paris-based photographer Alex Huanfa Cheng has been exploring and simultaneously pushing the boundaries of documentary photography all of his career. A beautiful clash of two worlds, he is using his experience in fashion to show everyday scenes from three continents and purify them until the point when there is nothing left of reality but a feeling.
Mehran Djojan: The Right To Live Shamelessly
For an extra special editorial, we asked some of our favorite photographers from all around the world to share a picture of theirs from the past year alongside some thoughts, their hopes and wishes for the next one. This is what they wrote.
The Rules Have To Be Changed – Container Love Artists On The Year Ahead
For an extra special editorial, we asked some of our favorite photographers from all around the world to share a picture of theirs from the past year alongside some thoughts, their hopes and wishes for the next one. This is what they wrote.
Stéphane Gizard: Hunting Down Memories
An archive of unpublished images from 1999 showing different encounters and shades of youth. That is Irréversible, the last book of Paris photographer Stéphane Gizard that shows in a mix of polaroid photos and films a look back with elegance on what is not with us anymore. A trip of nostalgia, a journey of emotions, lovers and memories in conversation with Container Love.
Jamal Nxedlana: I Am Because You Are
The art of letting others shine – Johannesburg-based photographer Jamal Nxedlana captures the reality of queerness in South Africa. In conversation with Container Love, Jamal told us about how a community’s story should be told, the challenges of getting political as an artist and why he sees his world as a part of something larger.
Ryan Pfluger: Until We Are All Free
Los Angeles photographer Ryan Pfluger’s new book Holding Space: Life and Love Through a Queer Lens is not only a rare documentation of couples being both queer and interracial, but an immensely moving piece of art.
Love Has No Label
Introducing our in-house Container Love film project, Love Has No Label, showing that no matter what, labels don't define us.
Love Finds A Way: The Premiere of Love Has No Label
The premiere of Container Love’s Love Has No Label editorial an evening to remember - find out more about it here.
Shayne: Living On A Spectrum
Love Has No Label tells the stories of four individuals and how they manage to remain true to themselves. This episode is about Shayne.
Isaak: Norms To Change
Love Has No Label tells the stories of four individuals and how they manage to remain true to themselves. This episode is about Isaak.
Chiderah: Not The Only Thing About Me
Love Has No Label tells the stories of four individuals and how they manage to remain true to themselves. This episode is about Chiderah.
Kate: The Time To Be Vulnerable
Love Has No Label tells the stories of four individuals and how they manage to remain true to themselves. This episode is about Kate.
The Hidden Dimension: Official Trailer
Awarded with Silver Screen at Cannes Young Director Award, The Hidden Dimension is a portrait of queer photographer and visual artist Leo Maki. An intimate journey into the mind of the artist based in Warsaw, Poland. The film explores the creative process behind his work where sexuality, desire, and reality blends into art.
Jordan Blady: Comfort Zone
Comfort Zone is the latest short film by Paris-based director Jordan Blady, exploring the vibrant drag community in Tbilisi, Georgia, through the eyes of activist and performer Matt Shally.
Hannes Hirsch: Drifter
With a documentary-like sensibility, Hannes Hirsch’s feature-length debut sensitively depicts a new start in Berlin’s gay scene.
Valentino R. Sandoli: Transición
Valentino R. Sandoli directs Transición. Exploring the search for oneself, a sensitive masculinity where the body is a canvas of shapes. Shot in Madrid, Spain.
Faraz Shariat: Futur Drei
Faraz Shariat tells the story of the queer adolescence of an immigrant son in Germany providing a talking-back to conventional German cinema.
Leonie Krippendorff: Kokon
Kokon by Leonie Krippendorff is a film about wild girls who emancipate from the body images of social networks discovering who they want to be.
Visible Love 2023: 10 Years Of Container Love
For years, our annual Visible Love exhibition has marked a very special time of the year: an event that stands for the unapologetic celebration of diversity and queer culture that we are devoted to, 365 days a year. This time, it also stood for the 10-year anniversary of Container Love. And this is how it all happened.
Visible Dinner: An Open Dialogue
Conversation is everything. Our aim with the #VisibleLove exhibition is to encourage people to take that first step toward each other, not only to speak, but to listen, to get the dialogue going.
Christian Ruess Of Container Love: Freedom Means No Fear
Knowledge means less fear and no fear means freedom – in a super special in-house interview, we asked Container Love’s Founder and Creative Director Christian Ruess about why most brands are misinterpreting diversity as a one-trick pony, the story behind our international #VisibleLove exhibition series and how finding the right partners at H&M could turn our simple idea into a global movement.
Visible Love At Mitte Garten: Love And Let Love
It’s the second year in a row for our #VisibleLove exhibition to have its official event at Berlin’s Mitte Garten, an open space in the middle of a buzzing downtown area where queer life and love are there for anyone to see.
Love Finds A Way: The Premiere of Love Has No Label
The premiere of Container Love’s Love Has No Label editorial an evening to remember - find out more about it here.
Visible Love 2021
Container Love celebrates 2021 Pride in Berlin's H&M Mitte Garten with our pop-up exhibition Visible Love.
Container Love
Love Brands
Love Brands is a striking series of fashion editorials, curated and produced by Container Love. We believe in building up a community with brands supporting queer lifestyle, celebrating diversity and all identities, creating a safe space for everyone.
Photo Eduard Galià for FRNKOW
Jean Gritsfeldt: Fashion As A Statement
Love Brand Jean Gritsfeldt’s latest collection, Born in Kyiv. Sculptor of Love, made headlines all over the world when it made its debut at the Berlin Fashion Week. Shooting a selection of designs with Container Love, we could finally ask Jean to tell his extraordinary story of starting from scratch after leaving Ukraine, his commitment to environmentalism, and why each piece he creates should be a statement on its own.
Kust x Lovem: A Skin To Skin Story
Premium underwear brand Kust launches a new line of products in collaboration with skincare pioneer Lovem on a sustainable self-care routine which aims to transform the traditional approach to men’s health and beauty.
Swype Cosmetics: Play By Your Own Rules
Skin care that adapts to our lifestyle, not the other way around. Swype Cosmetics believes that we don't have to choose between flawless skin and a fast-paced lifestyle.
Máthé: Design Is Not An Individual Sport
Florian Máthé is a Berlin-based designer and performer specialising in latex as a medium of unapologetically queer and artistic expression.
Rich Mnisi: Celebrating Culture And Heritage
Introducing Hiya Kaya, the SS21 collection by designer Rich Mnisi – a contemporary, multi-disciplinary fashion brand based in South Africa.
Lukhanyo Mdingi: All Want To Be Seen, All Want To Be Heard
We asked Cape Town designer Lukhanyo Mdingi about his attitude towards colours and how he’s constantly reinventing his African heritage.
Maxwell Poth: Empowering Queer Youth
Maxwell Poth, in conversation with Container Love, presents his latest book, "Young Queer America: The Real Stories and Faces of LGBTQ+ Youth." Through his nonprofit organization, Project Contrast, the photographer and advocate shares details about his life and this project, aiming to continue raising awareness about mental health and create a safe space that fosters a sense of community for young queer individuals in the US.
Ben Galster: The Call Of The Hidden Dimension
Films should make you think about the lives and feelings of others, helping you to learn something new about yourself too – in Container Love’s latest short film, The Hidden Dimension, awarded with Silver Screen at Cannes Young Director Award, director Ben Galster dove deep to capture the beautiful and complex mind of queer visual artist Leo Maki and the challenges behind his craft. We sat down with Ben to talk about his principles in filmmaking, queer visibility, and the unique visual storytelling of The Hidden Dimension.
Ira Lupu: Documenting Homeland Under Attack
Ukrainian photographer Ira Lupu opens up about the implications of the war in her life and career, including her last documentary photo series Time of the Phoenix portraying her nation under attack. She shares with Container Love the decision behind going back to Ukraine under attack, and the ways that society has come together to protect their country, including having queer military units.
Jan Baszak: Sculpting Spaces
After a great reception of his last work “The Discomfort of Evening" Jan Baszak sits down with Container Love to talk about his approach to arts as a sculptor and a designer. The inspiration behind his creations and the ways of crafting space. The queer artist also shares his vision upon the current state of LGBTQIA+ rights in Poland and the political scenario.
Krystian Lipiec: Coming Home To You
Warsaw artist Krystian Lipiec’s story is one of personal growth, one that has been documented through his gorgeous imagery that he likes to refer to simply as beauty photography. In conversation with Container Love, he told us about the forests surrounding his mother’s house, his coming out, and how overcoming hesitation has changed his life forever.
Alex Huanfa Cheng: Leaving Wonderland
Paris-based photographer Alex Huanfa Cheng has been exploring and simultaneously pushing the boundaries of documentary photography all of his career. A beautiful clash of two worlds, he is using his experience in fashion to show everyday scenes from three continents and purify them until the point when there is nothing left of reality but a feeling.
Container Talks: Finding Hope In New Role Models
A new generation of role models has grown up in an era of great societal changes and they are more colorful, more open-minded and – in a sense – more free than anyone who came before them. With our brand new editorial series, Container Talks, Container Love is now set to make their voices heard.
Yha Yha: Giving All Yha Love
We sat down with Yha Yha, otherwise known as Alyha Love, to discuss being an American DJ and big time socialite with Berlin as her new home.
Stallman Gallery: Nothing Linear
From the Stallman Gallery in Berlin, gallerist Lina Stallman and artist Daniel Spivakov show how art can trigger changes in society.
Lani Lees: Shining Like Gold
Coming from the creative field, Lani is the founder and designer of the sustainable and responsible jewellery brand, LANI LEES.
Zsá Zsá: Crossing Borders With Hyper-Femininity
Over the past few years, musician and actress Zsá Zsá has become a rising star among the wilder kids of Berlin. Find the exclusive here!
Charissa Chioccarelli: Nailing It
An all around talent, Charissa Chioccarelli of Isla Berlin was simply wonderful to work with when shooting her #ContainerTalks episode.
Container Love
Specials
Container Love’s Specials stand for curated editorials and interviews, celebrating special topics, in-house productions as well as collaborations with contemporary artists: a wide variety of projects tapping into the queer experience, approaching it in new, bold ways.
Photo Blazey by Nikk Martin
CONTAINER LOVE
Opinion
The space for our guest-writers and columnists, artists, activist, queer opinion-makers to share their thoughts and personal stories reflecting on relevant topics, broadening our horizons by discussing diversity and the freedom of love in our modern day society.
Painting Wojciech Wos
Alex Gessner: Pride For All Or None Of Us
Alex Gessner shares her perspective into the current state of LGBTQIA2S+ communities in 2023, amidst a backdrop of increasing attacks and discrimination. This Container Love opinion sheds light on the urgent need for solidarity and action, calling on companies and individuals to go beyond performative gestures and embrace real inclusivity. From workplace discrimination to global struggles, Alex called out that it's time for true liberation and equal protection for all members of the LGBTQIA2S+ community.
Adrián Gomis Exposito: The Absence Of Love
Adrián Gomis Exposito explores the struggles faced by LGBTQIA+ individuals in understanding and expressing love due to societal norms and mental health issues. This Container Love's opinion emphasizes the importance of creating an open and supportive environment for conversations about sexuality, self-expression, and the self-identity journey at their own pace, free from judment and pressure. Adrian reflects on how empowering everyone is fundamental to live authentically and create supporting environments.
Luise Zücker: Fashion As A Tool Of Identity
Inspired by the immense power of fashion as a tool for self-expression and identity exploration, Luise Zücker shares her opinion at Container Love. From historically secret dress codes to modern-day creative liberation, fashion speaks volumes without words, and Luise shared her own journey of finding identity through fashion and how it has influenced her work as a self-employed powerful female designer. Empowering women and LGBTQIA+ individuals in the fashion industry, she celebrates diversity, representation, and the ongoing pursuit of a more inclusive world.
Cora Hamilton: Fit In Or Lose Out
For trans and gender non-conforming (gnc) models, the use of sample size means stamping out their “otherness” and fitting the cisgender mould, equating being cis to being better – Container Love guest author and co-founder of the exclusively LGBTQIA+ talent agency, uns* Cora Hamilton explains one of the fundamental flaws of the fashion industry and how it’s high time for some of its old rules to be rewritten.
Adam Munnings: Is This A Safe Space?
“Sometimes all we want is just to be, to exist in a space where we don’t have to explain, prove, justify or defend ourselves”, states film director Adam Munnings in a new guest collaboration opinion for Container Love. His interpretation of a safe space and how that translates into a club experience.
Ode To My Suit – A Transmasc Perspective About Masculinity In Fashion
In a personal piece, founder of LGBTQIA+ talent agency uns* and Container Love guest author Max Weiland tells about their liberating relationship with fashion as a transmasculine person and asks brands, especially suit manufacturers, some uncomfortable yet highly relevant questions.
Wojciech Wos: Out Of The Blue
We love the way Berlin-based painter Wojciech Wos sees the world and how it all appears on his canvas as a big bold, colorful celebration of queer life.
Daniel Marin Medina: Loving Without Fear
The essence of Columbian painter Daniel Marin Medina and his work is undoubtedly simple, mapping sexuality through every brush stroke.
Wojciech Wos: Boys Make Me Sad Sometimes
The Polish artist Wojciech Wos told us about the magic of the last brushstrokes and moving to Berlin in the middle of a pandemic.
Daniel Marin Medina: Love Is Fucking Beautiful
In conversation with Container Love, the Colombian painter Daniel Marin Medina told us about his enthusiasm for the human body and mapping sexuality.
Bran Sólo: I Paint To Never Die
Spanish artist Bran Sólo defines himself as a painter, illustrator, designer and photographer as well as many things he never expected.
Wojciech Wos: I Paint Boys
Wojciech Wos is a visual artist from Poland based in Berlin, who shares with us not only his work, but also his personal diary – with the art of painting.