THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE
Katja Fuhrmann | MTV Designerama

23 year-old Katja Fuhrmann is in charge of the styling for the Veejays - short VJ's - at the music channel MTV Europe. The German head office of the channel is located in Munich. From there she shuttles between the studios in Berlin and Hamburg. Sometimes she even has to go to London, Wien or Zürich, to assort the outfits for the VJ's and MTV staff members at public appearances. She has been working there for almost two years now. She consults, proposes, and is responsive to the desires and styling preferences of everybody she advises. "Most of the VJ's do already have their individual style, otherwise they wouldn't have made it up to here", she explains. "Some are more open minded for new ideas than others, and some insist on their favourite fashion labels. We don't force anybody to wear something, to me it is important that they feel comfortable with the clothes they are wearing in front of the camera. And that the viewers don´t get the impression as if they were dressed up as something."

Her office is located above studio 2, in which the "MTV News" are recorded on the verge of broadcast. Right next to it flows the little Eisbach river, which is at the same time the border to the English Garden. The spacious area at the Osterwaldstreet moreover harbors umpteen agencies and showrooms. The entrance to the studio leads through a small kitchen, where the production crew is fed. Further on passed a well the styling room is located on the ground floor. Filled up with the latest styles for every occasion. A collection that ranges from suit to leather jacket and from evening dress to jeans-mini - just everything. There is a huge shelf on the right hand, which lets the heart of every sneaker-lover and shoe-fetishist beat faster. In the list of labels, who are outfitter of MTV (you can find them at www.mtv.de/designerama - VJ outfit) the complete 'who is who' of the colourful fashion world shakes hands, with the exception of maybe two or three. Passed a small room-labyrinth with huge mixing desks and numerous small monitors, a stairway leads to the first floor. That's where Katja's office is, in which there are two desks and one TV. From there, she and her assistant, Gonca, coordinate the daily stylings in Hamburg and Berlin.

In the cafeteria in the MTV-main house she fixes us two lovely Latte Macchiato and tells us what she did before she came to MTV. After her graduation, she started an education at the agency 'Jung von Matt' as a business woman engaged in advertising, which she absolved in one and a half year. Afterwards, she worked there for another year. Head over heals, she decided to do her own thing as a freelance stylist. Due to a number of contacts, that she made during her time at 'Jung von Matt' the start wasn't too difficult. Print campaigns for huge banks and insurance companies brought the needed money, whereas she gained the experience values needed through collaborations with great photographers, producers and talented young artists.

At that time her own label "de la rubia" was in the fledgling stages. "Necessity is the mother of invention; - if you can't get the things you have in mind for your work as a stylist anywhere, you just reach for the needle yourself - or the sewing machine in most cases." The MTV European Music Awards 2001 in Frankfurt changed her life sustainable. "They just asked me and I said 'yes'. MTV grabbed me 200 percent. There was no time for anything else. The tailoring won't run away. Who knows - one day I might dedicate myself to my own line again."

These days she dedicates herself to a great number of lines, as one of the initiators of the MTV project Designerama. The project considers itself as in initiative for clothes which break conventions, and the channel takes over the sponsorship for young talented designers. Every week a new label is featured, the VJ's wear the styles in their TV shows and allude to them from time to time. There is a portrait to every designer on the homepage, including the links to their homepages and the current list of retailers. Among them are for example the labels "16+1" by Liz Akuéson and Felix Pahnke from Berlin, "evaeva" by Eva Dreher and Matthias Eisele from Darmstadt, the Cologne resident Eva Gronbach, the charming Caroline Beeser with "Lin" from Frankfurt, the Hamburg based guys from "FKK", the jewellery designer Suzanne Bergfelder from Munich, as well as the labels "Goya", "Berliner Raum" and "hardbo + L´wig" from Berlin.

All of these are designers who work with love to the detail, most of the time produce their originals by hand or only produce them in a small number of pieces. Katja´s conclusion after the first year: " Step by step, Designerama became a steady part of MTV. One can see results and that makes me happy. Not only the crew grows with the tasks and gains experience - also the designers. Some of them experience a great dynamic impulse. Thinking back to the beginning of some of them, I can proudly say that their name recognition and the demand for them increased immensely." For the future there will be the aim to optimise the distribution, to expand and to stabilize it. "Fame and honour are very big, but to die in beauty doesn´t help anybody", Katja explains, which means that even young designers have to make money at the end of the day.

In 2004 there will be a change in distribution, and also the skeletal structure will change a little. "We will have the opportunity to supply 20 to 30 stores at the end of next year. The collections are very manifold and offer a wide space to vary with different premium-products, unique pieces and new designers in the testing period, so that this is absolutely realistic." Henceforth it will be possible to order every half year, according to collection rhythms. Katja adds: "Parallel to these two regular delivery dates there will always be the possibility to purchase the products on a flexible and spontaneous basis. Thus also collections of new designers, who participate for the first time at Designerama, can be launched immediately. Furthermore unique creations and on top productions can be delivered exclusively to chosen retailers. This project is a wonderful puzzle and offers a great deal of freewheeling activity..."

And the results are surely remarkable. In collaboration with Adidas and Levi's Designerama went on a Pop Up Store Tour to Munich, Cologne, Hamburg and Berlin. In every city they rented a room for one week and the clothes were sold in a shop, which was specially arranged for this occasion. On the1st of October, 5 MTV Designerama-designers (Lin, Little Red Riding Hood, Daniel Herman, hartbo&L'wig and Goya) presented their collections in the freshly renovated dome hall of the BCC, near the Alexanderplatz in Berlin. The 'On Stage' Event was presented by shooting star Eva Padberg and the Veejays Patrice and Anastasia, while the Chicks On Speed, Sophie Ellis Bextor and the Pet Shop Boys rocked the boat musically. One day later, the collection of more than 40 Independent Designers could be purchased and ordered. Katja's most important goal is to put the collections further forward and on stage. "The event 'MTV Designerama On Stage' shall become a steady constant, to offer a platform for young designers and to get them known."

INTERVIEW

What appealed to you most concerning the job at MTV?
The challenge to move something. I wanted to know, how far one can possibly go? The telecommunication market and especcially MTV does have such a power, which, if used the right way, is able to move and change a lot.

Which connection do you see between fashion and music?
Usually my quick-fire answer is: music and fashion are one. And that's true - in a way. Music and fashion are two forms of communication, which overlap on their way. They are mixing inevitably and in most cases amplify each other. One underlines the other. I can make my statement more clear, point out statements more precise in the combination of the two elements, define myself through fashion and music. Both of them can cause, touch, move, activate…etc. so much. It´s just never to forget: Above all and in particular both should imply to have fun. The music, and the fashion.

What does in your opinion, determine a label´s credibility?
It is credible, if the producers have a story to tell. If they have an own handwriting from the very beginning. If their clothes have a certain spirit. No far-fetched stories. The true story.

What does a label need to do in order to be outfitter of MTV's Veejays?
If the brand is innovative, creative, unique, groundbreaking…if the MTV runs in its blood…then we equip our VJ's in their respective clothes.

Where do you catch incitements or where do you inspire yourself for your stylings?
The inspirations come from everywhere. Sometimes in the morning, while having a look out of the window on the new BlowUp at the construction site of the Gärtnerplatz, or while reading the new issue of the 'Vogue' or of the 'Streetwear Today'. While waiting at the bus stop and throwing a glance at the city-light, with plugs of the mp3 player in my ears and listening to the music, no matter where or when. All these means of communication and its mixture stimulate the senses and the unconscious is made aware and conscious.

Are fashion shows in Paris, Mailand and London important for your work and do you go to fairs?
The fairs are just as important as the visiting of shows, the eliciting of trend stores, getting up in the morning …but yes, that's the best way to find all new brands including their contact persons, packed in best case. Every brand has the chance to present their philosophy in a more intense way to the world outside, and to get the brand alive and available.

Which influences do you consider trend-setting these days?
The connection of individuality and stylish design with the touch of comfort as a second skin. Wearability and comfort are urgently needed and always the challenge to new designers. Please don't invent the wheel new. Innovation at any price - no thanks. Fashion with function is of course an interesting topic in general, but not for me personally. Maybe it is due to the fact that I'm a woman and I'm more happy about delicate, valuable, stylish details, than about the fact that I can change my functional jacket also into being a backpack.

You had your own little label, what advice would you give to people who just finished fashion school and started doing their own thing?
Never before there has been such a great range of designers before. The market is flooded. The competition has never been tougher and to survive on the market is extremely hard. Make sure you know: what are your signatures and where are your values?! Express yourself and define your vision…