German Fashion History Podcast

From the Prussian Royal Court to '20s Berlin RTW, listen for small sampling of what's to come and a special announcement.

Come dream your wildest phantasmagoric dreams of fashion in this episode where we explore the storied allure of the display window and Berlin department stores.

Explore a fresh take on the story of fashion journalism and women like Johanna Thal, Helen Grund, and Lily von Nagy, who became the voice of style for Weimar-era Germany. In this episode, we will revisit Ullstein Verlag––one of Germany's illustrious fashion publications, Die Dame. And if you love lil feminist or Marxist theory, you're in for a treat!

Escape with me as I explore the scintillating world of fashion & Weimar film. From, Metropolis, to the Konfektions Komodie and the Silent Era catwalk, listen to how it all came to life.

From the street style of sex workers, Irmgard Keun's The Artificial Silk Girl, to the birth of the "Neue Frau" & flapper, explore the grit & glamor of it all.

Explores the many social, political, and economic currents that laid the foundation for this iconic zeitgeist. From revolutionary artists and movements like Georg Grosz's November Group to Berlin's black market economy, explore the Weimar Era's varying shades of austerity and intrigue.

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: https://bit.ly/3h18PH5

Discover lore and life of Krampus from his Germanic pagan origins to his celebratory presence today. This episode covers: Krampus, Krampuslauf (Krampus runs), Frau Perchta, Perchtenlauf (Perchtenruns) the Kinderschreckfigur, Witchcraft, Paganism, German Folklore & the Wild Jagd

Explores the GDR's underground fashion scene, Chic Charmant & Dauerhaft, Allerleirauh, Sibylle Bergemann, Sven Marquardt, Ute Mahler, Dorothea Melis, Robert Melis

Explores DIY, home sewing, Punk subculture, the black market fashion economy

From East Germany's haunted hospitals to Sarah Khan's “Séance with the Stasi”, discover a more spectral side of the GDR

This episode explores: the East German textile industry, synthetic fiber production, Malimo, Dederon & Praesent 20, fashion, DIY, 60s fashion fads.

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.

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.

Get ready for a brand. spanking. new. season where we'll dive deep into the world of fashion in the German Democratic Republic. While last season was all about gaining a concrete understanding about tastemakers, gamechangers and the every day realties of fashion and dress in the GDR, this season we're nerding out hard on fashion/art theory and big ideas. Checkout some key ideas for what's to come: -Fashion & Architecture -- Signifiers of a Communist Utopia -Selvaging Dreams & a Fashion Economy--Denim in the GDR -The Rise of Punk & Fashion Counter Cultures in East Germany

Take a tour of the GDR's most-celebrated architectural monuments, stroll through the beautiful austerity of its abandoned buildings and listen to my latest book review. Follow @scattermyashesataldi for images.

From Perestroika to the provocative fashion photography of Sven Marquardt and the fall of the Berlin Wall, it's time to bid your goodbyes to fashion in the GDR with our season finale.

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.

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.

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.

From paper dresses, Erich Honecker's rise to the romanticized eye of Sibylle Bergemann, discover the new voices of fashion. 1971–1975

BONUS Episode Reviewing Off the Wall: Fashion from East Germany 1964–1980, Bloomsbury 2005. Images to accompany this episode can be found here.

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.

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.

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.

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.

BONUS Episode Reviewing Djurdja Bartlett's Fashion East: The Spectre That Haunted Socialism. MIT Press

Explores early beginnings of the East German fashion industry & influences from the West. For images and references to this episode, click here.

BONUS Episode Reviewing Judd Stitziel's Fashioning Socialism: Clothing , Politics and Consumer Culture in East Germany. Berg Publishers.

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

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.