Berlin Fashion Week counters euro crisis with fun

Berlin - Designer Michael Michalsky, one of the stars of the Berlin Fashion Week that ended Saturday, set out to counter the doom and gloom of the euro crisis with outfits based on the 'principle of fun.'
Flashes of pink and a psychedelic overall punctuated his show, under the German motto 'Lust' - which translates as a mixture of fun, desire and, yes, lust - alongside more demure shades of beige, silver and gold.
'As I was making my new collection, all I heard on the radio was reports of horror - the collapse of the euro, state bankruptcy, budget deficits,' Michalsky, 44, told dpa.
People had to learn again how to enjoy life, he said.
'We have subjugated ourselves to the treadmill, have adjusted our lives towards success, the fulfilment of other people's expectations and so forth - that is idiotic.'
In a move aimed at challenging stereotypes, the designer sought out curvy models and ensured that Berlin's multiculturalism was reflected on the catwalk, drawing applause from an audience that included former tennis star Boris Becker.
Michalsky, whose show is always a Fashion Week highlight, was not the only one to veer from the usual gaunt, fresh-faced models, as fellow German designer Anja Gockel sent Veruschka, a 1960s supermodel, down the catwalk - at the age of 72.
'Style never ages,' Gockel pointed out.
German countess Veruschka von Lehndorff was a fashion icon who went on to achieve fame with a role in the movie Blowup. Tall and slim, however, 50 years after her heyday she still offers little comfort for those with a less fortunate build.
At the other end of the spectrum, Miss Piggy - who was in town for the German release of the Muppets film - put in a brief appearance to meet Michalsky, who saw in her a role model for women everywhere.
'She has assertiveness, she won't let herself be stopped and she is pretty self-confident,' the designer said. 'Many women don't dare to do certain things - that wouldn't happen to Miss Piggy.'
Despite Europe's economic gloom, the 10th Berlin Fashion Week - held each year in summer and winter - was expected to draw about 200,000 people to the German capital.
Alongside the main catwalk, set up at the city's iconic Brandenburg Gate, other fashion events - most importantly the Bread & Butter streetwear trade show - turn Berlin into a fashion mecca for two weeks each year.
Organizers estimate that Berlin's summer and winter Fashion Weeks each earn the city about 100 million euros (130 million dollars).
Berlin struggles to boast the same calibre of celebrities as fashion shows in Paris or New York - the biggest names in Berlin included actors Rupert Everett and Julianne Moore - and many labels are considered niche outside Germany.
Nevertheless, the city is establishing itself on the international fashion circuit, as well as reflecting global trends.
This week's shows drew on inspiration from Asia, as up-and-coming Wang Yutao was the first Chinese designer to present a collection.
Meanwhile, Germany's Guido Maria Kretschmer drew on inspiration from Mongolia, and fellow German designer Dorothee Schumacher incorporated Japanese designs into her sensual, feminine styles, after visiting the archives of the fashion museum in Kobe, Japan.
Visitors to the Bread & Butter show, at Berlin's former Tempelhof airport, were given a more immediate overview of the looks likely to dominate the shops next year, as high street brands competed for the attention of an estimated 100,000 industry representatives.
After heavy days of shopping around for next year's trends, they were treated to the biggest show of all, by Argentinian performance troupe Fuerza Bruta (Brute Force), whose gravity-defying spectacle included water-fulled dance acrobatics - far preferable to the endless rain awaiting Berlin's fashionist as between events.