Patricia Riekel illuminates the context for Fashion Week's flashing-camera lights. Her unique perspective into Germany's celebrity scene provides real insight into why stars' wattage flares or fizzles. As the Editor-in-Chief of Bunte, Germany's premiere celebrity publication, the Munich-based Riekel oversees Germany's glamor industry. Here, we prepare for another day of star-studded events over coffee in the lobby of the Hotel Adlon and chat about the distinctions between German stars and the rest of the world's bright lights.
Ana Finel Honigman: I don’t read German yet, so I don’t know how the tone of your celebrity reporting differs from English-speaking publications. Are you abusive like the Brits or as adoring as the Americans?
Patricia Riekel: We are more polite in Germany because we have very aggressive lawyers. Fifteen years ago, a lawyer went after stories about Princess Caroline. He went to European courts and had the laws changed. The current situation stipulates that we can report on almost nothing. We tried to run a story about Caroline buying a blue sweater and we couldn’t because the law will not even allow that level of coverage.
AFH: What exactly is the law? Is it an issue with libel? Is the onus on the publication to prove the veracity of stories or on the subject to disprove them?
PR: The law is actually just about privacy. We cannot violate a celebrity’s privacy at all, even when they are just buying a sweater. However, we can write whatever we like about American and British stars, so our coverage from abroad is very different than our coverage on local celebrities. The minute that a starlet has her first mention in a magazine, she immediately gets a publicist and a lawyer.
AFH: Don’t the local stars resent the difference? Aren’t they keen to be on equal terms with their international counterparts?
PR: Everyone wants to be a star here. But they just want compliments. All they want are the same articles about their artistic integrity and great talent.
AFH: And their style?
PR: I launched InStyle here, so that we can compare our style to American and British stars. But the privacy laws apply even to issues of fashion. German stars worry that having too much style is cheap.
AFH: Is there a typical German celebrity look that differs from stars in Hollywood, Bollywood or Spain?
PR: German stars are most understated in the evenings. French women go to the hairdresser constantly. German women don’t. German women rarely wear big jewels and they have a more simple and streamlined aesthetic than their high-gloss counterparts elsewhere.
AFH: Do they consider American stars cheap or glamorous? What do they think of American press coverage?
PR: American stars are more professional. They know that they need to support the press and play with the press if they want attention. But German stars still worry that they will not be taken seriously if they speak to the celebrity press. They refuse to participate on the red carpet. They believe that an air of reserve is necessary to maintain faith in their artistic integrity.
AFH: What about someone like Michael Michalsky who creates an aura of Hollywood-style fun?
PR: Michalsky is different. He knows the business. He loves the press. He is always open, funny and candid. I love speaking with him.
AFH: Me too. He is a great guy. But what about the rest of the German fashion scene?
PR: Fashion Week is changing. There are stars now who love being photographed and featured in celebrity press. Fashion Week is generating a greater culture of glamour in Germany.
AFH: Does Fashion Week represent a greater shift in German style or a German sensibility towards glamour? What are the greater effects of Fashion Week?
PR: Fashion Week is very important for Berlin and Germany. We have a lot of young talent here and these designers deserve attention from buyers and the media. Germany and fashion used to be antithetical. Berlin and fashion were like ice and the sun.
AFH: What about the rest of the country?
PR: I come from Munich, which is a lot more fashionable and fashion-focused. People have more money in Munich. They are well dressed at parties and they care about fashion. Berlin is still very wild.
AFH: Doesn’t the wilderness rear the most interesting young talents?
PR: Maybe. But the problem with the young fashion scene is that designers lack a sense of balance between vision and business. I’ve been on the jury for various awards and much of what I’ve seen coming from “young talents” is just boring. Too many designers can’t even finish a collection. They present three pieces and can’t articulate their direction. They bring things that are half-finished. We need a Galliano or Comme des Garçons to move here and bring an assertive, wild, powerful style. We need that power and imagination.
AFH: Is some of this problem simply an issue with financing the finishing touches?
PR: It is expensive to create a new, individual style and make it work. Everyone wants to create fashion. But they cannot seem to create real clothes that women can wear. Women want sexy, every-day, elegant clothes. But too many of the young designers can’t create clothes for real women.
AFH: Perhaps. But there are a lot of designers here creating clothes for real Berliners. The sensibility is more artistic and the demands are different from a professional place like Munich or London.
PR: I like Berlin. I like Berlin’s style. It is not complicated. The real fashion ethos here is not caring about fashion. Berliners look at people’s faces. They aren’t interested in whether you’re wearing the newest item or the most expensive brand. They just look at you and wonder whether you’re funny, smart and interesting.
AFH: Munich might have the money and market for fashion but it seems that Munich mostly buys the same international brands that sell well in every wealthy city.
PR: This is why Fashion Week shouldn’t be held in Munich. Munich is very elegant but it lacks Berlin’s integrity.
