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FASHION

The Germans who long for the life of an English gent

For Germans chasing the ultimate in style, one man holds the key to dressing in the timeless manner of the English gentleman.

The Germans who long for the life of an English gent
German men's fashion guru Bernhard Roetzel. Photo: h.f. ullmann publishing/Erill Fritz

Bernhard Roetzel might not have topped a list of German style icons if you had been compiling one in the early 1990s.

But with the release of his book “Der Gentleman” in 1999, he was on his way to becoming a fixture of the fashion scene.

Leafing through the latest edition of the book – also available in English – you'll find tips on everything from finding a good barber and picking out a cologne, through suits, shirts, ties, and shoes to knitwear – and even jeans.

“Today the classic style is even more sought after than in 1999, and perhaps more sought after than ever,” Roetzel writes in the foreword to the 2016 edition.

The author shows off his knowledge of his subject by not just making recommendations, but going deep into the origins and history of every item.

“The good old barber shop is a paradise for men,” writes Roetzel. Photo: h.f. ullmann publishing

Attentive readers will learn how to distinguish the different notes of a perfume, how to store cigars, or which Hollywood star was famous for wearing grey flannel trousers on set.

It might not be the guide to up-to-the-minute fashions that will get you past picky bouncers at Berlin nightclubs, but it's one that he claims will make you at home in a more refined milieu almost anywhere in the world.

“As a German, if I want to dress in a good, classic way, so that whether I'm in Milan, New York, London, Paris, or Hamburg I'll look equally as good, I have to choose a style that is English or Italian,” Roetzel told The Local.

Childhood fascination

He himself puts the success of his book and the fashion tips tucked away inside down to a certain type of German's deep love of the United Kingdom.

“In Germany it's a form of exoticism to love this style, almost to dress up as an Englishman,” Roetzel said.

Sipping coffee at a table outside a Berlin cafe, Roetzel could almost have been the picture of an English country gent up for a day in the capital with his waxed jacket, woolly cardigan and loosely knotted scarf.

And behind his neat round glasses and German exactness of speech is an abiding love of Englishness that goes back to his childhood and student days.

London's Savile Row is “one of the last outposts where designing a garment is the province of the craftsman who makes it,” Roetzel writes. Photo: h.f. ullmann publsihing

“There were particular English films that I liked when I was a child in school in the 70s,” he explains, name-checking the classic TV series All Creatures Great And Small about a vet in rural Yorkshire.

“Somehow the clothes had a particular aura, a particular history that I found fascinating. That got me interested, it marked me.”

Later, Roetzel spent time in London as a student, snapping up beautiful old hand-made clothes in the British capital's second-hand shops and coming to understand the unbalanced relationship between the two countries.

Cool Britannia

“The Germans always admire and love the British – but for the British, the Germans are just a curiosity,” he explained.

Germans are more likely to be the butt of jokes about the Second World War – a time Brits have found very hard to move past – than the object of admiration.

Roetzel told the story of a visit to a Berlin tailor's shop just before the interview, where as the owner unwrapped a package of material from England he found a joke note with a drawing of a WW2-era Messerschmidt Me 109 fighter plane.

The German-British relationship is“like if a man who isn't particularly attractive has a super attractive wife,” he joked.

“He will always be on his knees before her, while she'll just think he's fine, but…”

All that admiration means that there's definitely a market for classic English menswear – and its offshoots from Italy and elsewhere – this side of the Rhine.

Nowadays Roetzel spends his time travelling around Germany and abroad, writing and giving lectures and readings from his books to his fans – and he's even recently set up a Facebook page.

Even outside his official events, he said, “I see someone walking around in a covert coat [a style favoured by British figures like Prince Charles and UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage] and I think 'oh, maybe he read my book.”

A style icon to Germans? UKIP leader Nigel Farage wearing a covert coat on a visit to 10 Downing Street. Photo: DPA

“There's a great fascination for this theme, although it's really a dream world – that's what clothes are for, we choose them for completely subjective, emotional criteria. They express something.”

'The fantasy of an Englishman'

So just what is it that so many of Roetzel's fans in Germany and abroad are trying to express by chasing Savile Row suits or handmade shirts from Milan?

“Well-dressed men dress as their fantasy of an Englishman. This type of clothing is usually chosen to express a certain desired or actual status. Most people think clothing expresses taste, but actually it expresses status,” he explained.

“In theory you can roll up a true Panama hat and put it in your pocket. But should should not subject it to this treatment too often.” Photo: h.f. ullmann publishing

The majority of Germans “have to have something new,” he went on. “Germans aren't good at what's called classic. They're good at modern products, modern architecture, cars, and that extends to fashion too.”

“This classic, old money look of the upper class – that's a way of signalling something in particular.”

And for passionate German fans of the shrinking world of the pre-war English upper class, that cachet is even worth the odd bit of ribbing from a Brit unable to move past the Second World War.

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FASHION

Paris exhibition celebrates 100 years of French Vogue

A new exhibition in Paris will tell the story of 100 years of French Vogue - from the post-war 'New Look' of Christian Dior through the sexual liberation of the 1960s to the dangling-cigarette waifs of the 2000s.

French Vogue celebrates 100 years
French Vogue celebrates 100 years. Photo: Thomas Olva/AFP

But as well as celebrating the magazine’s storied history, the exhibit comes at a time of turbulence for the publication.

Just last month, it was confirmed that its editor of 10 years, Emmanuelle Alt, was out and wouldn’t be replaced.

She was not alone.

Looking to cut costs, owner Conde Nast International has axed editors across Europe over the past year, and put international Vogue editions under the direct control of global editorial director, Anna Wintour, in New York.

New York-based Anna Wintour now has overall control of French Vogue. Photo by Christophe ARCHAMBAULT / AFP

Like much of the media industry, Vogue is struggling with tumbling sales and ad revenue in the digital era.

But the latest twist is also part of the endless push and pull between New York and Paris going back to its early days.

“The whole history of French Vogue is one of back-and-forth with Conde Nast in New York – growing more independent for a while, then being reined back in,” said Sylvie Lecallier, curator of the new exhibition, “Vogue Paris 1920-2020″, which opened this weekend after a year’s delay due to the pandemic.

The Paris edition was often the loftier, more bohemian sibling to its more hard-nosed New York version.

But it was also the hotbed in which much of 20th century style and womenhood came to be defined.

“Paris was the place to hunt out talent and content and bring it to New York,” said Lecallier.

The exhibition charts the evolution from art deco drawings of the 1920s through the erotic image-making of photographers like Helmut Newton in the 1960s and 1970s.

Its last peak was under editor Carine Roitfeld in the 2000s, who brought back a provocative Gallic identity by ridding the newsroom of foreign staff and becoming a fashion icon in her own right.

Her successor, Alt, was a quieter presence, though she still oversaw key moments including its first transgender cover star, Brazilian Valentina Sampaio, in 2017.

But internet culture has created “a perfect storm” for Vogue, says media expert Douglas McCabe of Enders Analysis.

“The first 80 years of Vogue’s life, it had the market to itself, it was the bible for fashion,” McCabe told AFP.

“But online today, there are so many other ways to get your information. Influencers, Instagram, YouTube — everyone’s a threat.”

In a world where new fashion trends can blow up around the world in seconds, it has become much harder for a monthly magazine to set the pace.

“It’s not that they can’t survive for another 100 years — but they will be differently sized,” McCabe said.

Vogue has tried to branch out into different areas, including events.

“I used to work for a magazine, and today I work for a brand,” Alt said on the eve of French Vogue’s 1,000th issue in 2019.

But the big money was always in print, and Vogue Paris sales are dropping steadily from 98,345 in 2017 to 81,962 to 2020, according to data site ACPM.

It is perhaps unsurprising that the new top job in Paris, redefined as “head of editorial content”, went to Eugenie Trochu, who was key to building the magazine’s online presence.

She declared herself “thrilled to be part of Vogue’s international transformation”.

For the curator of the exhibition, it is ironic timing.

“We had no idea it would end like this when we started work on the exhibition,” said Lecallier.

“Who knows where it will go from here.”

The exhibition Vogue Paris 1920-2020 is at the Palais Galliera in Paris’ 16th arrondissement. The gallery is open 10am to 6pm Tuesday to Sunday and is closed on Mondays. Tickets for the exhibition are €14 (€12 for concessions and under 18s go free) and must be reserved online in advance. 

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