Foto: F. Braiten

ROSA BURGER 2001

> Assistant of fashion stylist HELMUT LANG in Paris / Milan / Vienna > cooperation for collections women, men, traditional costume in the field of >materials > fabric development >color conception > research > design > image definition and styling for fashion shows in Paris.

Studies of science of drama-, film- and media, as well as journalism and science of communication, University of Vienna.

> FILM COSTUME - WOMEN IN FILM NOIR, 1993 (Thesis)

> FILM COSTUME - MODERN FEMME FATALE, GOOD / BAD GIRL, INDEPENDENT / ACTION HEROINE, 2001 (Doctorial thesis)

> Editress of fashion magazine DIVA, R & D publisher > > free journalist in the field of fashion for the newspaper DIE PRESSE and others > > editress of Austrian Television - ORF > > fashion text for online-presentation: INTERFASHION AUSTRIA > > editress of online magazine www.fashion.at/film.

What is the fascination of the fashion line?
The fact that somebody who has no particular training, an autodidact like HELMUT LANG has determined the fashion since the 1990ies. In my opinion it' s impossible to learn creating of fashion. You feel fashion, you don't learn it! It' s about an intuitive comprehension of still inarticulate trends and a formulation of atmospheres and influences brought over from music, street fashion, contemporary art and others - Avant-garde.

Why are you interested in the fashion of the movies?
Fashion is an integral part of society, one of the numerous forms of communication in everyday life. In films, too, the language of fashion is used specifically, a dress code is established for both the glamorous diva and the insignificant gangster moll. The costume label 'worn by the stars' from the Golden Age of the Hollywood dream factory has faded. In the past years other interesting developments in costume design have taken place. Fashion stylists like Calvin Klein, Jean Paul Gaultier, Giorgio Armani, and others turned the cinema screen into a catwalk and gave a fresh impetus towards the relationship of film and fashion.

When did you get in contact with fashion for the first time?
I have already created clothing as a child, but never realized them, unlike my Barbie, she looked always very current in her self-stitched dresses. At the age of six, I refused my mother's clothing combinations. Since I am able to think, I am conscious of clothing. About twenty I met HELMUT LANG, the one who is well known for his uncompromising attitude towards fashion. He teached me all fashion is really about.

Which criteria do influence the selection of your personal clothing?
Purism, modernity and portability. Usually I combine designer pieces with adapted ones to a personal style of fashion. All under the motto: it' s hell to be overdressed. You could say I favour fashionable outfits for a 'second sight'.

What is your favorite color? What's your favorite material?
In addition to black, I like beige and powder pink. Beside that fluid transparency is important. The tension resulting from the combination of traditional fabrics like jersey, leather or cashmere with modern hi-tech materials exits me as well.

Who is your favorite fashion stylist?
To seize the opportunity of individual interpretation it's easier to have several favorite couturiers. I prefer outfits consisting of selected pieces by HELMUT LANG, PRADA, Hennes & Mauritz, and second hand pieces - a feeling of modernity without being a victim of fashion.

How will it go on in the fashion line?
There are no indications of structural modifications in the fashion line. The system stylist - producer - marketing - customer has been steady during the economical recession as well as during the decreasing trend to super-expensive designer clothes. Even if more low priced and trendy ready-to-wear collections push onto the international market, the stylist - I mean the creative potential of the couturier - will continue to be an absolute guarantor for fashion itself. Concerning current trends of fashion, innovation seems to be rare. Variations and refinements of topics, like transparency and the 1970ies, last for several seasons, and are worked out by stylists of the avant-garde as well as by the 'classical' ones.

How could the Austrian Textile Economy get a more important position in the fashion world?
Unfortunately, Vienna is not a center of fashion like New York, Paris, Milan or London, that's a fact one must admit. Young Austrian stylists have to present their collections, where fashion really happens. Therefore comprehensive single promotion (e.g. sponsorship by Austrian companies) is necessary - Austrian Textile Economy for Austrian stylists!

How do you like the Fashion Navigator?
A medium, in order to be able to react spontaneously to latest trends, very good.

Thank you very much for the interview!

Currently to read in www.fashion.at/film by Rosa Burger

ROSA BURGER
e-mail: film@fashion.at
Herrengasse 8, 1010 Vienna, Austria