Jessica Weiss: Berlin, Backstage

It’s no secret that in the world of fashion, it’s all about who you know. At Berlin Fashion Week, Jessica Weiss, founder of the über popular German fashion blog, Les Mads, is your main contact for access to the best shows, backstage passes and tips on which new designers to watch. Weiss started Les Mads in 2007 with her friend Julia Knolle (who recently stepped out on her own to focus on the art world) and admits that they “had to work very hard to be at the place where we are today…we were always explaining why we should attend the shows.” But with the site’s number of monthly visitors currently spilling over the 500,000 mark, brands are awake to the importance of having bloggers like Weiss at the shows. NOWNESS sent photographer Ben Lamberty to spend a day with Weiss at Berlin Fashion Week and capture the moments between shows, presentations, interviews and openings. A standout was Boss Black show, which drew top models such as Jourdan Dunn and Jessica Stam to the catwalk and was followed by a dinner for 1200 guests. “[Hugo Boss] is a big player on the German market and we need them to show what we do, internationally,” says Weiss. But Berlin Fashion Week is perhaps most interesting for its mix of classic commercial brands—this season saw the debut show from one-time Escada label, Laurel as well as shows from young labels such as Arrondissement AQ1 and Mongrels in Common. Weiss’ personal favorite? The C.Neeon show, at which designers Clara Leskovar and Doreen Schulz presented their geometric maxi designs in the sunny back-garden of Berlin club Picknick: “I especially loved the braids—and of course, the painted-on freckles,” laughs the naturally befreckled Weiss.