The portrait of the actor Romy Schneider, photographed by F.C. Gundlach, was the star of the reception held by Minister of State Cornelia Pieper in honor of the famous photographer and his foundation. None of the 60-odd guests from reputable companies, universities and the creative industry could escape the self-confident, defiant look immortalized in the photo.

If you are interested in Gundlachs work, the Martin-Gropius-Bau in Berlin has an exhibition which runs until 14 March 2010 entitled “F.C. Gundlach. The photographic works.” 

The same location is hosting tonights reception by Germany’s oldest women’s magazine “Brigitte”. The publication has graced newsstands and coffee tables for over 100 years. Gundlach has worked as a photographer for Brigitte since 1962, accumulating over 160 Title pages and over 5000 pages. Over the decades, his photography has helped create the image of the active, young, self-confident, independent working woman. At present, Brigitte is making international headlines due to an editorial decision to stop utilizing professional models for their shoots.

A further topic of conversation: designer Michael Sontag has no more seats for his show in his 700 person venue at the Bebelplatz. This is in part due to the column written by Suzy Menkes in the International Herald Tribune, awarding him the accolade of “Designer to Watch”.

This morning the London photographer Nick Knight presented his key visual to the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin. Knight made a name for himself through the use of cutting-edge image editing and 3-D scans and his video animations are stylistically highly influential. The motif proved to be highly controversial as German media pounced upon the absence of German photographers. Knight’s answer: “Fashion is international, but we need to keep our national identities. Berlin is different from London or New York. I am fan of this city.”

The opening show of Schumacher was unfortunately a little disappointing. Of course, every journalist and buyer has their own expectations of a new collection. I feel that the romantic touch could have been accentuated. On the positive side nearly all trends were covered: the powdery rose hues – a trademark of Schumachers – the small black dress, and the cashmere knitwear with color-blocking in vibrant green and red.

As the day draws to a close I am struck by what an inconvenience the abundant and excessively strict entrance controls are proving to be – every entry requires proof of importance. Before you get to the catwalk you walk the gauntlet of three checks…

Published/Released

Young Germany, January 20th, 2010, with the heading “First impressions“