Fashion Trends

Burda Moden publication (or simply “Burda”) has become extremely popular in the West and the former USSR, as it allowed the most ordinary women to dress fashionably and stylish, despite being rich or famous. There is a detailed story how the ordinary German housewife Aenne Burda has created this legend of the world’s gleam.

Women in the former Soviet Union liked the reserved style of “Burda” which were not really ready to perceive patterns and colors of the haute couture from the Western fashion after their inadequate domestic comfort of everyday life. This style brought up the tastes of almost the whole beautiful young generation who have left away the bad Soviet style clothes in favor of the inspirational “Burda” with its independent creativity.
By admiring the high quality pictures of the models, hairstyles, makeup, delicious food, exquisite interiors, the girls of the late 80′s were dreaming about a beautiful life which suddenly appeared somehow realistic and achievable, the items, the recipes and the patterns were attached to it.
The principle of “do it yourself” served as a motto for the housewives and the founder of the Aenne Burda magazine. She literally made it herself.
Anna Magdalena Lemminger was born in the provincial Offenburg in 1909 in the family of a driver, and at the age of early twenty-two she got married with the owner of the printing shop of Franz Burda. She has got three sons.
They were leading a modest life, Aenne’s days were filled with the daily errands, though her husband paid for the services of the maids and the nannies on her obedient demand. It took almost twenty years, and maybe the whole her life would have been spent like this, and she would remain as an ordinary happy German woman, if not the only predictable news which has completely overturned her life.
One day Aenne found out that Franz has been having an affair with his own secretary for a long time, from whom he had a daughter. In order to support this spin-off family, the disloyal husband gave one of his printing shops and a small fashion magazine “Effi Moden”, which shortly enough overflowed by mismanagement. Forty-year old Aenne was not afraid to turn the family tragedy into a personal opportunity. Filled with a healthy anger, she called a lawyer, but not in order to start the divorce process, but to take away from her husband’s mistress the fashion magazine to manage on her own.
She succeeded brilliantly, and the borrowed magazine got a new concept: the pictures and the patterns of the simple, convenient and elegant dresses (those that any German woman was able to sew, by being able to keep in her hands a needle), plus recipes and tips for home renovation and furnishing.
In postwar Germany, where women were altering the old soldier’s uniforms, and longed for beautiful and non expensive clothes, for a comfortable and peaceful life, Aenne’s ideas were revolutionary, and the new styling editions for only the first half of the year rose from one hundred thousand to a half a million copies. The magazine got a new name in the honor of its new owner, whereas Franz Burda became the junior partner of his ex-wife.
Aenne Burda, how paradoxically it may sound, has never done a single stitch in all her life and hated the housework duties in all its forms (except perhaps for cooking). However her business proficiency and her intuition were above of all the praises, as she was said to be a woman ofintelligence, emotion, accustomed to achieve all she finds necessary and useful.
Aenne participated in fashion shows of Paris and Milan, by selecting models for her own magazine and trying to accommodate with the tastes and the financial abilities of her readers. She managed by her own her sprawling media empire (dozens of magazines, millions of readers) till 1994, when, she, at the age of 87, has decided to retire. Aenne passed away on Nov. 3, 2005.
The empire was inherited by her youngest son, Hubert, who also bought from his brothers their shares. The name of Aenne will always remain in our memories. The street where she lived almost all her life, in Offenburg will be named after her, as well as the humorous title of “Burdapesht” will be given to the local residents in this town, besides, it is also located at the headquarters of the company of Hubert Burda Media Holding.
“Burda Moden” is sold in kiosks even nowadays, but its bought mostly by those who really need high-quality patterns. It stopped being the symbol of beauty and glamour of the “foreign” life. Now it became one of many other magazines for sewing and housework.
But the history of Aenne Burda and her famous magazine not only “emerged fashion into people”, but also became an example of the fact that “smart women do really succeed “, as Aenne herself almost always did.