German Fashion History Podcast
By Christiane Nickel
German Fashion History PodcastDec 05, 2020
Weimar Fashion: Made in Germany Ep. 6 - Special Announcement
Made in Germany: Weimar Fashion Ep. 5
Weimar Fashion: Made in Germany Ep. 4
Weimar Fashion: Made in Germany Ep. 3
Weimar Fashion: Made in Germany Ep. 2
Weimar Fashion: Made in Germany Ep. 1
FINALE--Supersized: Denim on Demand/in Demand––the Story of Jeans in the GDR.
From plagiarised Levi's to the GDR's own designer-label denim, explore the contentious history of all things jeans and their coveted status. For episode notes, please click here: bit.ly/3h18PH5
BONUS: Putting the Krampus Back into Christmas
Das ist Punk: DIY, Punk and the Black Market Fashion Economy-PT 2
Das ist Punk: DIY, Punk & the black market fashion economy—PT 1
Gespenster der DDR - A Halloween Special
Fake It Til You Make It: Synthetic Fabrics, Weaving a National Identity
This episode explores: the East German textile industry, synthetic fiber production, Malimo, Dederon & Praesent 20, fashion, DIY, 60s fashion fads.
Whose Bauhaus Is It Anyway? Fashion & Architecture Part 2
This episode explores: socialist modernism in Germany, East German fashion photography, Arno Fischer, Günter Rössler, Berlin architecture, ’70s DIY fashion. Transcript & images to this episode can be found here.
Whose Bauhaus Is It Anyway? Fashion & Architecture Part 1
This episode explores: Post War Germany & the Bauhaus, Political Tensions & Contested Definitions of Modernism—East be West, East German Interior Design, Consumerism & Fashion as a Common Denominator. Images and transcript to this episode can be found here.
Season 2 Trailer - Mark Your Cals for Friday, September 4
Got a Haute Minute? Weekend Reads: Sozialistische Moderne/ Socialist Modernism in Germany
FINALE--Eighties Ragers of Fringe Fashion & Perestroika–PT 2
Eighties Ragers of Fringe Fashion & the People’s Patterns–PT 1
From underground fashion collectives like CCD (Chic, Charmant & Dauerhaft) to Sibylle under scrutiny, step into this 80s throwback. Click here for images this this week's episode.
Weekend Reads: Mode Fotografie Underground DDR 1979-1989/ Fashion, Photography, Underground 1978-89
From punk, queer and counterculture to fashion photography explore the visual activists & creative collectives of East Germany who saw sartorial expression as the ultimate revolt. Check out images from this groundbreaking exhibit here.
Seventies Dreams of Denim & DIY—PT 2
From the GDR’s newly branded “Wisent” , “Boxer”, and “Goldfuchs” denim jeans, Sibylle’s escapist editorials to the Stasi’s efforts in psychological warfare, explore fashion under a surveillance state. Find all images and editorials referenced in this week's episode here.
Seventies Dreams of Denim & DIY—PT 1
Got a Haute Minute? Weekend Reads: Off the Wall: Fashion from East Germany 1964–1980
BONUS Episode Reviewing Off the Wall: Fashion from East Germany 1964–1980, Bloomsbury 2005. Images to accompany this episode can be found here.
The Sixties, Sibylle & the Berlin Wall--Part II
Explore the latter half of the state of ‘60s fashion in East Germany from the tumultuous times at Exquisit to the politicized fashion image at Sibylle & the photographers that defined a decade. Accompanying blog post can be found here.
Got a Haute Minute? Weekend Reads: Sibylle 1956–1995
BONUS Episode Reviewing the exhibition catalogue, Sibylle: Zeitschrift für Mode und Kultur 1956–1995. Andreas Krase et al. Hartman Books, 2017. Images to accompany this weekend's episode are here.
The Sixties, Sibylle & the Berlin Wall—PT 1
Explore fashion behind the Berlin Wall and Sibylle’s elegant restraint with a bold new vision—1961–1966. For featured editorials from the episode & show notes click here.
Fifties Fashion, GDR Style PT II
Explores the early years of the GDR’s predominant fashion magazine Sibylle, Berlin Fashion Week & more from 1956–1960. For images & additional references please refer to the blog.
Got a Haute Minute? Weekend Reads: Fashion East, by Djurdja Bartlett
Fifties Fashion, GDR Style PT I
Explores early beginnings of the East German fashion industry & influences from the West. For images and references to this episode, click here.
Got a Haute Minute? Weekend Reads: Fashioning Socialism by Judd Stitziel
A Fashion Framework: Postwar Germany, the Flickenkleid & the Formation of the GDR
Welcome to our very first episode as we delve into the state of postwar Germany, its manifestations in fashion & the origins of the German Democratic Republic’s clothing industry.
For additional images and references check out the blog
Season 1 Trailer
Welcome to the East German Fashion History Podcast. This is an English-speaking podcast dedicated to better understanding the fashion culture of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1949 through 1990.
Tune in every Tuesday where we’ll do a chronological deep dive into the canons of the GDR from iconic fashion publications like Sibylle, to the Dior of the DDR, Heinz Bormann and the often brooding glamor of its tastemakers & photographers like Arno Fischer, Sven Marquardt and Dorothea Melis.
We will also explore the storied aspirations and harsh realities of East German fashion retail and the need for a strong DIY culture. Another, critical component is looking at punk & counterculture movements like the CCD (chic,charmant und dauerhaft).
Above all else, this podcast is about sharing research & resources to build a good foundation for understanding German Democratic Republic through fashion, textiles, dress & style.