Soft Power in Hard Spaces: the Women Rewriting Berlin Nightlife
Marlene (left), Kiara (center), and Betty (right), the three forces behind G3 Disco. Photo: Emil Dietrich
Berlin loves to brand itself as a playground for creative freedom — a city where anyone can wear, say, or be anything. But beneath the layers of techno, counterculture, and graffiti there’s a quiet kind of conformity. The kind that tells you to be different… But only in specific ways.
For Marlene Donner, co-founder of G3 Disco, an emerging creative event series in Berlin, this contradiction became an opportunity. “Berlin is super diverse — but only within a certain box,” she says. “If you’re not wearing Doc Martens or dressing a certain way, you can get judged for it. That’s exactly what has to change.”
G3 Disco isn’t your average party brand. Founded by Marlene and her two creative partners, Kiara and Betty, the project is rooted in something deeper than indoor sunglasses and Boiler Room aesthetics. It’s built on the radical premise of welcoming individuals who wish to be many things at once. Human beings are full of nuances and depth, and G3 is carving out a space where party-goers can feel free to be whomever they want: feminine and serious, cool and funny, sexy and smart, high-glamour and low-brow — all at the same time.
Having spent time abroad living in New York City and Malaysia, Marlene describes feeling judged in certain Berlin spaces for the way she was showing up. “We want to show that girls can wear high heels, be sexy and sophisticated - but still feel connected to Berlin’s electronic music scene,” she says. “You should not have to fit into a category, just because you’re a woman out and about in Berlin’s nightlife.”
After working in global event production and navigating the fashion world from New York to Berlin, Marlene saw firsthand how rigid—and male-dominated—creative industries could be. That friction became the G3’s fuel.
Photo: Emil Dietrich
Photo: Emil Dietrich
“The event industry is full of men,” Marlene says. “And when it’s only men behind the scenes, you can feel it. There’s something missing — the soul, the attention to detail, the warmth. That’s what we bring.”
Every G3 Disco is crafted with intention. The team took six months to plan their first event, choosing substance over speed and building every detail from the ground up. G3 merges music, art, and fashion into immersive cultural moments — each event is its own production, shaped through collaborations with local creatives. Recent projects have ranged from underwater lake shoots to graphic visuals developed in partnership with Berlin’s iconic fetish store, THE CODE.
Photo: Clemens Porikys
The group focuses on quality over hype: thoughtful curation, emotional nuance, and a lineup of diverse and mostly female or femme-identifying artists.
“There are so many components you need to get right: the vibe, the people, the music, the energy,” she says. “But most importantly—the love for details. So many events just focus on money and forget the love of creating.”
This isn’t just about nightlife. It’s about carving space for creative women and nonconformists in a city that often tells them how to look and where they belong. It’s about rejecting a tired binary of Berlin’s rough techno vs. glossy commercial scenes and making room for something deeper, softer, and more layered.
Marlene, Kiara and Betty with gender-neutral clothing brand, Amy Lu founders from a recent collaborative event. Photo: Clemens Porikys
“We’re a fusion of art, culture, and good energy,” says Marlene. “We want to show the world — not just Berlin — that you can look good, have fun, and have depth, too.”
It’s not surprising that G3 has global ambitions. Marlene’s eyes are set on collaborations in Miami and New York and the team is building something meant to scale beyond Berlin — without compromising its essence.
“I can’t do another nine-to-five,” says Marlene. “I want to build something that reflects who I am — with strong partners, and a strong message.”
That message is already clear: authenticity is the new exclusivity. And softness — real softness — can be a radical act.
When asked what the G3 signature is, Marlene doesn’t hesitate: “Diversity. Full embracement of who you really are — your deepest inner demon or angel or whatever. Let it out. Don’t try to fit in. You don’t have to.”
Photo: Clemens Porikys
