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...1980s East Germany, there was a group of independent fashion designers, photographers, models and stylists who refused to play along with the socialist regime's excessive egalitarianism. They called themselves "the Mob" and, rejecting the notion that you had to live in the free Western world to make something happen, their confident motto was "New York is where we are." The young fashion designers in the group created vibrant, often unwearable designs that were the opposite of the official fashion industry's ideal of clothing for the masses. From July 4 to Sept. 13, a new exhibition at Berlin...
...designers themselves were not specifically targeted. "The secret police was too busy hunting the punks, so they let this motley crew of ours walk around as we liked," says designer Frieda von Wild, a former Mob member and co-curator of "Free Within Borders." But as curator Gericke explains, another reason they were left alone was that by the time the independent fashion scene's activity reached its height in the mid-'80s, the regime was showing signs of weakness. "The state was already pretty helpless at that point ... it was completely overstrained," he says. "In the late 1970s...
...East Berlin's independent fashion scene reached its artistic climax at the end of the 1980s, when Allerleirauh was putting on spectacular events that had little to do with conventional fashion shows. Visitors to "Free Within Borders" can watch video footage of Allerleirauh's fashion extravaganzas, which - with music composed especially for the shows and special effects including fountains of fire, fake fog and giant human "birds" flying through the air on steel cables - are best described as a mixture of apocalyptic party, theater and performance art. "It was a comment on the downfall of the G.D.R. without really knowing...
...also playing into the strong rhetoric on the part of European leaders like Sarkozy and Merkel, according to Niblett. "It is in Sarkozy's nature to be plain-speaking and tough, and that's played well domestically. His popularity has dropped recently, so his stance on the importance of free elections plays well. It does for Merkel too, as it distinguishes her from [Social Democrat Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor] Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who has been more measured in his response...
...real splits between the U.S. and Europe in other international crises - most divisive, Europe's reluctance to send combat troops to Afghanistan - the allies are hardly at odds in their basic response to the Iranian election. "There isn't a deep underlying difference - both sides would like to see free and fair elections in Iran," says Niblett. "But there are various factors that have prevented a unified response. And that's O.K. In this regard, Obama should play it differently...