Wanderlust.

Byline: MARK HOLGATE Photographed by Mario Testino.

Actress Keira Knightley explores Berlin's vibrant art scene in looks that reflect the capital city itself: cosmopolitan, forward-thinking, and ubermodern.

metropolis

"Satisfaction" is Thomas Helbig's succinct response when he's asked what he gets, creatively and aesthetically, from Berlin. At this very moment, the 41-year-old artist is not the only one to feel a deep sense of satiation with the city--so, too, is the current generation of intriguing, intelligent provocateurs working there, and everyone else around the world looking on in, awestruck by the energy and output of a place only now recovering from the shock waves of reunification nearly two decades earlier. The city's obsession with the Wall has shifted to the gallery wall--or the exhibition floor or the site-specific location--because, unlike New York in the Pop Art sixties, or London's Young British Artists of the nineties, Berlin's art scene really has no commonality. All that unites it is a deep-rooted connection to the energy of its environment. "Berlin is a raw, unfinished city with an extreme heritage of apocalypse and beauty," says Markus Selg. "At every corner you see the leftovers of another fallen empire." Well, either that or the teeming humanity who spill out of the many, many bars, restaurants, and coffeehouses. And even those only briefly acquainted with Berlin feel the force of its urban might. "It was my first time there," says Keira Knightley, "and I had no idea what to expect. What I saw and felt was amazing--a city with absolutely extraordinary architecture and an incredible atmosphere. I'm definitely going back."

For a behind-the-scenes video of Keira Knightley in Berlin with Mario Testino, watch VOGUE Diaries at vogue.com .

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SYMPHONY SPACE Creative minds are ever pushing boundaries; both Knightley's avant-garde heels and the steel forms in sculptural installation artist Katja Strunz's studio are like nothing we've seen before. Knightley stars in The Duchess (see page 638), out this month. Prada bronze guipure-lace dress, black collar, Plexiglas necklace, bag, and shoes.