Designer Bernhard Willhelm was born in Ulm, Germany in 1972. After graduating from university with a degree in industrial engineering, he studied fashion at the College of Fine Arts in Trier. He then entered the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp at the age of 22. He gained experience working under many designers, including Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, Dirk Bikkembergs, and Walter Van Beirendonck, and graduated from the fashion department at the top of his class in 1998.
 He then established an office in Antwerp and made his debut at the 1999 Spring/Spring Paris Collection.
 The playful and experimental spirit that was evident in his debut collection, along with expert craftsmanship and wry humor, still remain at the core of Willhelm's designs.
 Currently based in Los Angeles, his designs, full of satire on pop culture, inspired by teens who are into raves, athleisure, and traditional clothing from his home country, bring a breath of fresh air to the contemporary fashion world. His avant-garde velour tracksuits, skirts with free-spirited prints, T-shirts, and accessories adapt to the ever-changing fashion world, but his stimulating and unconventional style, created according to his own sensibility, asserts that fashion should be enjoyed more casually.