EDGE Berlin: On the uniforms we shred

A uniform is nothing but a skin to outgrow. Twisting the concept of conformity, Berlin’s EDGE collective returns with Recess Never Ends – a bold, clever burst of queer joy and rebellion. A multimedia series and party, it’s a celebration of disobedience, identity, and growth. To understand the stories behind it, we spoke to key members of EDGE about schooltime memories, the unspoken rules of disorder, and the quiet power of refusing to conform.

At its core, Recess Never Ends by Berlin’s EDGE collective is about personal growth. School, often the first place we encounter rigid expectations – rules, discipline, conformity – is also, for many queer youth, a space of surveillance and repression. EDGE’s latest project turns that memory on its head. “The uniform becomes a starting point – a canvas, a question, a provocation,” says Deniz Güzey, EDGE’s coordinator. “As someone from Turkey who wore the same uniform for 12 years, I can say it really sparked my creativity.”

Director Shelbi Gross Creative Director & Photographer Anil Ayhan Producer Benji Gredeson Copywriter Deniz Güzey Styling Berk Karaoglu MUA Liubov Dyvak Talents Axel Rubberax, Bela Belissima, Cedes, Hurricane Alexander, Seyram Noemi Deh, Thom Karstens

In Recess Never Ends, uniforms are distorted and deconstructed. Stripped of authority, they become tools for self-expression. Reclaimed. Queered. “It doesn’t matter if you slash it, bedazzle it, or wear it exactly as it is,” says Benji Gredeson, EDGE’s strategic architect. “If you do it on your terms, the uniform becomes a tool for growth. It reflects the tension between constraint and expression that so many queer people navigate daily.”

Director Shelbi Gross, another EDGE collaborator, emphasizes that not all resistance is loud. “No one should feel pressured to be extraordinary or chaotic for the sake of it. Sometimes queering the uniform is quiet, even mundane. What matters is asking: Who am I, inside all this standardization? What do I want to shift, reclaim, or soften? Those answers form an ongoing story – one we keep rewriting as long as we live.”

That spirit of subtle rebellion echoes EDGE’s previous exhibition, Curious Chaos. But chaos here doesn’t mean disorder for its own sake – it means disruption. A questioning of control. A reimagining of what order could be if we dared to make it more alive, more curious, more free. Sometimes, it turns out, order itself is the real chaos. Founder Anil Ayham adds a personal layer: “As a queer person born in Turkey, you learn early to hide. When you feel different, the instinct is to bury it. And then comes school: more rules. Be normal. Don’t be loud. Dress like everyone else. At first, blending in feels easier. But in the bigger picture, did those uniforms ever really protect us? Not really.”

That’s part of why EDGE chose May 16th – the eve of the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia – for the Recess Never Ends party. It’s a night for reclaiming what was once suppressed. “This feels personal because it’s about finally giving space to those younger versions of ourselves. It’s not just about transformation in a visual sense, but emotional too. Turning fear into joy. Conformity into creativity. Silence into movement. It’s about finding out what freedom looks like when we’ve been told so long to shrink ourselves. Being part of something that helps others reclaim that part of their identity has been the most rewarding and healing part of this journey.

Get your tickets for Recess Never Ends now!