Archives 2017

Berlin retrospective

Fashion in Berlin – sixth part
The first half of the year 2011 in the retrospective
The visitors of the events in the Berlin fashion week from 16th January 2011 to 23rd January 2011 saw some surprises. Fashion designers came back to the runway, tested other kinds of presentation or changed the sponsor.

Christian Janssen — 1st January 2017

Paris couture spring/summer 2017

	“Puttin’ on the Ritz” Fashion from China and Japan in Paris An opposite cannot be bigger, when the collections for the fresh spring and the warm summer are presented in the middle of the cold winter like in the couture week in January of every year. In the world of high fashion the brand „RALPH & RUSSO“ with its precious, freshening creations could not be assumed away anymore. Christian Janssen — 3rd February 2017
	The fashion designer in the porcelain parlor More Couture from Italy A wedding dress belongs to a complete collection of couture beyond question. Then it is an increase, when the theme of wedding seizes the entire collection. In this season there was a special occasion for the Beirut fashion designer Georges Chakra, namely, his daughter’s marriage in the upcomming summer. Christian Janssen — 4th February 2017
	Kyrie eleison! Fashion with Christian symbolism Advancement and posting do not only exist in the public service, in the industry or in the commerce. In the world of fashion a betterment is also possible, what, for example, is true of the change from the simple couture to the haute couture. Christian Janssen — 5th February 2017
	One more brick in the wall The fashion and the pyrotechnics The 1980s will presumably never pass. The impressive and sensational products of this era do not go out of one’s mind. This applies to, for example, the american television series “DYNASTY”. Christian Janssen — 6th February 2017
	Between kasbah and caravansarai Oriental fashion in Paris In the couture week there are many events in Paris. The members’ and guests’ fashion presentations in the calendar of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture are the kernel. “Single fighters’” presentations without a bond to the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture occur near it. Christian Janssen — 7th February 2017
	The kings’ row Fashion from Israel in Paris In the couture week persons also appear, who want to set another accent or even a counterpoint. The Paris fashion designer Anggy Haif took position against the haute couture with the device “Hart Couture”. Christian Janssen — 8th February 2017

Milan ready‑to‑wear autumn/winter 2017/2018

	When the gondolas are not in mourning Fashion for every day of the week Otherwhile a fashion show left somebody perplexed. For the final of the fashion show on 22nd February 2017 in the Milan Children’s Museum, more precisely in the former San Michele’s Church in the middle of the Rotonda della Besana, the fashion designer Alberta Ferretti from Cattolica near Rimini sent mannequins in black sweaters with glittering letterings – the names of the weekdays each – over the runway … Christian Janssen — 1st May 2017
	Confusion in love Fashion with music from rich and poor people Sometimes a fashion presentation evolves its own dynamics, from which an event of particular quality can result. This is especially true, when mannequins spontaneously take the initiative and congenially expand the preset choreography with their own ideas. Christian Janssen — 2nd May 2017
	In the garden of the Hesperides Fashion for extraterrestrial life-forms For the event series “Milano Moda Donna”, the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana does not manage without a central venue. Christian Janssen — 3rd May 2017
	The two sides of fashion designers Garments and shoes without an end in Milan The Milan fashion week is an occasion to experience the latest fashion trends not only in garments, but also in shoes. One of the most important show rooms in this respect is the collective room “C Divertiamo”, headed by the in Fiesso d'Artico Barbariga near Venice located CDivertiamo srl. Christian Janssen — 4th May 2017
	Disassembling and assembling Mates for the fashion Fashion designers like to escape in worlds of fantasy. For the collection for autumn and winter 2017/2018, the fashion designer Stefania Bandiera, who has been working for the brand “Les Copains”, based in Bologna, since the year 2014, presented a heroine, who equaled Alice in Wonderland and Dorothy in the world of the Wizard of Oz. Christian Janssen — 5th May 2017
	Time, that something is managed Surrealism in the fashion Sometimes it is time to change something. The fashion designer Manuel Facchini also conceived this for the collection of the brand “byblos MILANO”, located in Bussolengo near Verona, for autumn and winter 2017/2018. Christian Janssen — 6th May 2017
	The conjurer The fashion and the purism Combination is one of the most important methods of fashion designers. This applies not only to physical objects, but also to ideas and procedures, when, for example, things from the past are combined with aspects from the present. Christian Janssen — 7th May 2017
	A night for the fur International fur fashion in Milan In the Milan fashion week, the fashion trade fair “TheOneMilano”, which came out of the joining of the trade fairs “MIFUR SALONE INTERNAZIONALE DELLA PELLICCERIA E DELLA PELLE” and “MILANO PRÊT‑À‑PORTER”, debuted from 24th February 2017 to 27th February 2017. Christian Janssen — 8th May 2017
	A man for all cases and furs respectively: Gianfranco Ferré Fur fashion from Italy In the year 1987 the Milan fashion designer Dr. Gianfranco Ferré created his first collection of fur clothing. Nowadays, after his death in the year 2007, the brand “GIANFRANCO FERRE FURS” belongs to the Mondialpelli Spa in Milan, which also produces the garments. Although the “architect of fashion” himself does not live anymore, his ideas and conceptions live on by the Mondialpelli Spa with its creative head Roberto Ravizza. Christian Janssen — 9th May 2017
	Óscar de la Renta far away from baroque splendour The fashion as a total artwork The fashion designer Óscar de la Renta from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic founded the brand “Oscar de la Renta” in New York in the year 1966, after he had worked first in Madrid and then in Paris. After his death in the year 2014 the British fashion designer Peter Copping became the creative director of the fashion house Oscar de la Renta LLC. Christian Janssen — 10th May 2017
	The Tasmanian devil is stuck in the details The fashion and the symbolic figures The multifarious female personalities in the past and present were always the special attention of the Milan fashion designers Tommaso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi. In order to make the collection for autumn and winter 2017/2018, which should be presented in the Palazzo dei Tessuti on 25th February 2017, rigorous, contemporary and sophisticated, they used men’s clothing. Christian Janssen — 11th May 2017
	Elisabetta Franchi, Eva Perón and the mobilization of the masses The fashion and the magic A fashion designer does not go without a certain female image in the creation and design. The ideal woman for the fashion designer Elisabetta Franchi from Granarolo dell’Emilia near Bologna was self-conscious and emancipated, in order to refine her own style with precious details. Christian Janssen — 12th May 2017
	Sculptural dresses The fashion and the Cold War Minimalism is a frequent design principle in clothing fashion. For the collection of the Milan brand “GIADA” for autumn and winter 2017/2018, it should appear more sculpturally than ethereally in shapes and colours. By the fashion designer Gabriele Colangelo, the fusion of strict aesthetics and artistic passion resulted in flowing designs, which were not without a contrast of rigor and suppleness. Christian Janssen — 13th May 2017
	Petra von Kant’s bitter tears The fashion and the cinematography The enthusiasm for cinematographic art knows no limits. For the Milan brand “mila schön milano”, its fashion designer Alessandro de Benedetti explained for autumn and winter 2017/2018: “I am a story-teller; fashion is my novel, the movie my inspiration.” Christian Janssen — 14th May 2017

Paris ready‑to‑wear autumn/winter 2017/2018

	Freedom in the street The fashion and the urbanisation In the fashion weeks something was in motion. Fashion designers reoriented and changed the place for the presentation of their collection. For example, Wolfgang Joop already moved from Paris to Milan in the year 2015. In this season the brand “VIONNET” followed him. Christian Janssen — 15th May 2017
	Sharp, sexy, dusty Fashionable time travels At a time, when the unisex thought was ubiquitous, the Paris fashion house “Guy Laroche” decided to swim against the current and to return to its roots. For the collection for autumn and winter 2017/2018, its fashion designer Adam Andrascik sought for the deposits of sexiness as a backbone of elegance. Christian Janssen — 16th May 2017
	Stendhal meets Maria Callas Chinese fashion designers are coming Design of clothings and design of automobiles occasionally meet each other. Paris fashion designer Christophe Guillarmé presented his collection for autumn and winter 2017/2018 on 1st March 2017 in the shop and restaurant “l'atelier RENAULT” near the triumphal arch. Christian Janssen — 17th May 2017
	Out of Africa The fashion and the tribal culture When a fashion designer can look back on a certain number of years of successful activity, there is, of course, something to celebrate. With the collection for autumn and winter 2017/2018, the Indian fashion designer Manish Arora celebrated his tenth anniversary on 2nd March 2017. Christian Janssen — 18th May 2017
	Rive Droite – Rive Gauche The fashion and the hedonism The ideal woman for the Paris fashion designer Pascal Millet was the “quintessence” of a female Parisian: intelligent, self-assured, sensual and seductive. She liked to walk around streets and parks on both sides of the Seine River by day and enjoyed going out to cafes, bars and clubs at night, wherefore she created her own style by mixing classics and androgynous pieces. Christian Janssen — 19th May 2017
	Ruthless like a chopper Fashion with premiere fever A leisure activity can become a vocation. So the Italians Gabriele Moratti, Vanni Laghi and Daniele Sirtori had fared with their passion for motorcycles of the Chopper type in the year 2013, when they had jointly founded the brand “Redemption Chopper”. Christian Janssen — 20th May 2017
	Punky and loud The fashion and the good taste The Saturday in the ready‑to‑wear week had hitherto marked the middle of the event series “Semaine des Créateurs de Mode femme”, then henceforth, it even belonged to the last half as a result of its reduction to eight event days. Christian Janssen — 21st May 2017
	Embroidery under camouflage Fashion 2.0 Although the Berlin fashion designer Wolfgang Joop had moved away from Paris to Milan with his brand “WUNDERKIND” for the fashion presentations long ago, the Munich fashion designers Johnny Talbot and Adrian Runhof adhered to Paris as a presentation location. Christian Janssen — 22th May 2017
	Without frenzy The fashion and the national epic It must not always be a parade. The Paris fashion designer Rabih Kayrouz from Lebanon presented his collection “MANUEL” for autumn and winter 2017/2018 on 5th March 2017 in his own studio, where the show room with dressmaker’s dummies and clothing racks replaced the runway with mannequins. Christian Janssen — 23rd May 2017
	The axis of beauty: Paris–Moscow Byzantinism in the fashion What a favorable circumstance is it, that there is more than one fashion week, because a truly good collection can be shown more than once! The Moscow fashion designer Valentin Yudashkin presented his ready‑to‑wear collection for autumn and winter 2017/2018 in the Palais de Tokyo in Paris on 6th March 2017 as well as at the event place “Gostiny Dvor”, a former market hall, in Moscow on 21st March 2017. Christian Janssen — 24th May 2017
	Dragon, phoenix und lion Baroque, rococo, classizism and romanticism in the fashion The art history is so rich in styles and works, that fashion designers are gladly inspired by it. By the Chinese fashion designer Shiatzy Chen, it was rococo, classicism and romanticism, which served as a source of inspiration. Christian Janssen — 25th May 2017
	The invasion of the dressmakers Pointillism in the fashion In Paris there was an “invasion” from Canada once more. The Canadian fashion designers Kirk Pickersgill and Stephen Wong presented the ready‑to‑wear collection of their brand “greta constantine” for autumn and winter 2017/2018 in the hotel “LE MEURICE”, more precisely in its Salon Pompadour, on 7th March 2017. Christian Janssen — 26th May 2017

Berlin retrospective

Fashion in Berlin – seventh part
The second half of the year 2011 in the retrospective
Also in the year 2011 the graduates, students and pupils of the Berlin universities and fashion schools showed their creative abilities. The Berlin University of Applied Sciences for Technics and Economy gave a glimpse into the backstage area before its fashion show in the Berlin fashion week.

Christian Janssen — 1st July 2017

Paris couture autumn/winter 2017/2018

	Names are not nothing but smoke and mirrors The fashion and the interior architecture There are no objections to an occasional alteration, videlicet especially then, when it has a practical utility. Punctually for the couture week and the jewellery week from 2nd July 2017 to 6th July 2017, the Fédération Française de la Couture, du Prêt‑à‑Porter des Couturiers et des Créateurs de Mode changed its name into Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode. Christian Janssen — 1st August 2017
	With united forces on the Silk Road The fashion and the women’s solidarity “Viribus unitis” was erst the device of Francis Joseph I, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary. Together one is strong, it is commonly said. The Chinese fashion designer Guo Pei and Caroline Scheufele, the creative head of the Swiss jewellery and watch brand “Chopard”, also thought this. Christian Janssen — 2nd August 2017
	Triumph of beauty The fashion as a modern fairy tale Everyone has a favorite story. For the Moscow fashion designer Yulia Yanina, it was the fairy tale “The Snow Queen” by the Danish poet and writer Hans Christian Andersen. The narrative, in which two worlds, namely the real and the magical, are seamlessly intertwined, served Yulia Yanina quasi as a script for new designs of clothings. Christian Janssen — 3rd August 2017
	Through the lens The fashion and the voluptuousness The special ability to gather the personality and the character of an individual accurately and to register respectively render it with a work faithfully, is a worth, which hold true for the photography as well as for the couture. Christian Janssen — 4th August 2017
	Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld and the inner voice The fashion and the frangance What would be a fashion week without celebration? So the so-called after-show parties do not only follow the fashion shows, but also events, where something other than clothing, for example a new fragrance, is presented in a solemn atmosphere, come to pass. For fifteen years there had been no new fragrance from the house “CHANEL”. Christian Janssen — 5th August 2017
	Wild animals in magical forests The fashion and the infinity A model of femininity has facets, which are subjects to change, and those, which rigidify. With his predilection for women, whose femininity was immense and who knew to accept themselves fully, the Beirut fashion designer Georges Chakra took up the girl in flowers from the last season … Christian Janssen — 6th August 2017
	The Gibson Girl in Paris The fashion and the revolution Ideals of beauty are subjects to constant change. An ideal of beauty of the late 19th century and early 20th century was the Gibson Girl, named after the American cartoonist and illustrator Charles Dana Gibson, as a symbol of modernity, physical attractiveness and personal empowerment: the figure statuary, the waist narrow, the head high. Christian Janssen — 7th August 2017
	Azzedine Alaïa as a revenant in a good kind The fashion and the dystopia On 6th October 1989 Erich Honecker, the President of the Council of State of the German Democratic Republic, had explained: “Persons declared dead live longer.” Here he had thought of his own well-being, but the unintended irony in his words had first come to light, when in the following year the so-called GDR had perished as a political entity and a subject of international law despite the jubilation, ordered by the authorities, on the occasion of its forty years of existence. Christian Janssen — 8th August 2017
	Icons The fashion between Paris and Dusseldorf Masquerades are popular, not only for carnivalists, but also for fashion designers. This was the case, for example, with Parisian Eymeric François. To round his couture collection “ICONE” for autumn and winter 2017/2018 off, he sent all models with masks over the runway in the American Cathedral in Paris on 6th July 2017. Christian Janssen — 9th August 2017
	A bit of fun is necessary More Oriental fashion in Paris Collections are presented – so it is a worldwide habit – in a constant seasonal rhythm. Consequently, there was the Paris fashion week in July 2017 for the couture collections for autumn and winter 2017/2018, whereas the fashion week in January 2018 was reserved for the couture collections for spring and summer 2018. Christian Janssen — 10th August 2017

Milan ready‑to‑wear spring/summer 2018

	Nothing is, as it seems The fashion and the wanderlust It grows together, what belongs together. As a result of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Willy Brandt, formerly Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, had said on 10th November 1989, referring to the national question: “Now we are in a situation, where it regrows together, what belongs together.” Christian Janssen — 1st November 2017
	A question of attitude Abstractionism and experimentalism in the fashion To stand out from the crowd of fashion makers, fashion designers like to follow special paths. The Milanese Francesco Scognamiglio had put out his creative hand to the couture or rather to Paris a long time ago and had presented a collection at the charity event “LIFE BALL” in favour of HIV‑infected and AIDS‑ill people in Vienna on 10th June 2017. Christian Janssen — 2nd November 2017
	In dust with all enemies of Brandenburg! The fashion and the transformism What the eighteenth century had produced, that is omnipresent in the townscape of Milan. At every turn, it even accompanies the fashion presentations. This time it mainly applied to the Milan fashion designers Luisa Beccaria and Lucilla Bonaccorsi; but not only the presentation place, but also the show music belonged to it. Christian Janssen — 3rd November 2017
	Many thanks for the flowers! News from the fashion brand “MOSCHINO” At the Italian brand “MOSCHINO”, one opted for characters. The American fashion designer Jeremy Scott, who had worked for the brand since the year 2013, stocked the ready‑to‑wear collection for Spring and Summer 2018 with tomboyish ballerinas and human flower bouquets. Christian Janssen — 4th November 2017
	Giorgio Armani in the artist’s atelier The fashion and the power of the artistic gesture Mass phenomena, whether swarm intelligence or herd mentality, are not the Milan Giorgio Armani’s matter, because he is not a fashion designer, who jumps through every hoop, which the apparent trend dangles in front of him. His designs are ripe, what results in mature collections. Christian Janssen — 5th November 2017
	The wind of change News from the fashion brand “roberto cavalli” Based in Sesto Fiorentino near Florence, the brand “roberto cavalli”, a local brand with a global audience, had undergone enormous alterations. After Gian Giacomo Ferraris, as head of the management of the fashion house, had completed its restructuring, it had come to a change at the creative top. Christian Janssen — 6th November 2017
	Elisabetta Franchi and the ethereal woman in the prairie The fashion and the self-sufficiency The fashion designer Elisabetta Franchi from Granarolo dell’Emilia near Bologna likes it theatrical. After her homage to María Eva Duarte de Perón, aka Evita, in the last season, she ventured to leap to America in the late nineteenth century for the ready‑to‑wear collection for spring and summer 2018. Christian Janssen — 7th November 2017
	The beauty and the wild civility Fashion in times of upheaval Art worked through resistance. The fashion designer Albino D’Amato, originating from Rome and working in Milan, was sure of that. In this sense, fashion had a social aspiration, but no political aim. For the creative mind behind the brand „ALBINO TEODORO“, a garment as a casing had no contentual depth. Christian Janssen — 8th November 2017
	Fashion designers without borders Metaphysics in the fashion There are doctors without borders and reporters without borders. So it is not surprising, that there are also fashion designers without borders. One of them is Stella Jean from Rome, because she is open to all cultures in the world. Christian Janssen — 9th November 2017
	El Dorado The fashion and the art of moulage For human beings, memory is an indispensable, a worthfull aid in life. At the Milan brand “mila schön milano”, fashion designer Alessandro de Benedetti used his own one in order to bring the brand-typical geometries and the sartorial art back into creative awareness, so that they did not fall into oblivion. Christian Janssen — 10th November 2017
	Colour saturation The fashion and the titulation As a rule, fashion designers give their collections a name, which reflects, describes, outlines the theme. Fashion designer Massimo Giorgetti, working for brand “MSGM”, based in Appignano in the Marches, is in the habit of not naming his collections; but this time, namely for the ready‑to‑wear collection for spring and summer 2018, he made an exception. Christian Janssen — 11th November 2017
	The new number 1 Milan versus Paris in the matter of fashion The relationship of the Milan brand “GIADA” with the world of art had a continuation. For the presentation of the ready‑to‑wear collection for spring and summer 2018 in the Palazzo di Brera on 25th September 2017, the fashion house donated two letters by the Italian writer Alessandro Manzoni, which had never been published before, to the Braidense National Library, having accommodation there. Christian Janssen — 12th November 2017

Paris ready‑to‑wear spring/summer 2018

	Nothing new in the West The Paris fashion week shrinks In ancient times, a competition between the city-states of Athens and Thebes for supremacy in Greece had existed. Nowadays Paris and Milan compete against each other for the top spot among the fashion metropolises. Christian Janssen — 13th November 2017
	Like Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr., across the Atlantic Fashion connects New York and Paris In New York there is the contest “SUPIMA DESIGN COMPETITION” for young fashion designers every year. The organizer is the non-profit association “SUPIMA” from Tempe in Arizona, whose primary mission is to promote the American pima cotton worldwide. Christian Janssen — 14th November 2017
	Bite at dusk Fashion from Romania in Paris What are diplomatic representations for? It is applied to represent the own country abroad. It is best to do this as a so-called cultural ambassador. In a fashion week, then it makes sense to provide the domestic fashion designers with a platform in order to introduce themselves with their own works. Christian Janssen — 15th November 2017
	Lady of the seven seas The fashion and the counter-culture There is always an occasion to tell a story. The story, which Dubai fashion designer Ingie Chalhoub told in Paris, was about life at and in the sea. Therein the brightness of the surface contrasted with the darkness of the depth. Christian Janssen — 16th November 2017
	The fall of the romantic empire The fashion and the stoicism In the face of the environmental catastrophes, the imminent nuclear annihilation and the social evils, the fashion designer Rick Owens, originated from Porterville in California and based in Paris, is in the habit of romanticizing the downfall, because he worries about the state of the world. Christian Janssen — 17th November 2017
	Vivat, crescat, floreat! The fashion and the evolution Paris should blossom. This was the aim of Paris fashion designer Alexis Mabille, who presented his ready‑to‑wear collection for spring and summer 2018 in the event place “SALLE PLEYEL”, strictly speaking in a former concert hall. Under the motto “Paris blossom”, he tried out quite a lot of possible combinations. Christian Janssen — 18th November 2017
	To speak through the flower Fashion from Germany in Paris The message was: “Create love, not war. Stay strong. Be cool.” So the Munich fashion designers Johnny Talbot and Adrian Runhof awaited their guests in the Palace of Fine Arts in Paris on 30th September 2017. Christian Janssen — 19th November 2017
	The cry-baby The fashion and the eucharistic fish It is quite strange, when a respected and famous fashion brand lives a shadowy existence insofar, as the audience consists more of irrelevant, narcissistic “influencers” than of really influential, expert fashion journalists. Christian Janssen — 20th November 2017
	The victory of geometry Suprematism in the fashion Art moves people. An art movement changes the world. At the Moscow brand “VALENTIN YUDASHKIN”, the fashion designer Gala Yudashkina concerned herself with the artistic avant-garde. Her eyes fell on Kazimir Severinovich Malevich, the painter of Polish descent in Russia as the founder of suprematism. Christian Janssen — 21st November 2017
	A Californian midsummer night’s dream Fashion as a cult act and nature experience The Paris fashion designer Sophie Mechaly wanted to tell something about the lost innocence. She thought of the story of a girl from a Puritan family at the western coast of the United States of America and a bad boy as her lover on the common way via Palm Springs with countless pranks to Las Vegas for a beautiful wedding. Christian Janssen — 22nd November 2017

Berlin special

Quo vadis?
The sorrows of the fashion city of Berlin
In politics, one knows the terms “failed state” and “failed town”. In the matter of fashion, Berlin is the latter, because the demise as a fashion location continues. Since the last time of the event series “Mercedes-Benz FashionWeek BERLIN” from 4th July 2017 to 7th July 2017, it is not clear, how the Berlin fashion week shall go on.

Christian Janssen — 1st December 2017

Motor of fashion
New attempts for fashion presentation
The event place “motorwerk BERLIN” recently enjoyed a special popularity among fashion makers. So not only the weißensee kunsthochschule berlin staged its this year’s fashion show there, but also the Berlin University of Applied Sciences for Technics and Economy.

Christian Janssen — 2nd December 2017