1. Who are you?
I’m from Hamburg, late twenty something, and always looking for new and individual styles. I love fashion, traveling, my Mac, the ocean and mountains – the higher the better. My motto is “Bah!” (a funny word I picked up accidentally from an African language), it means something like “ACTION! GO! GO! COME ON!” And this is exactly the way I live and work – life’s just too short for boredom. My favorite dream would come true if I could spend a day in a cage full of monkeys – which, in a way, very well applies to the worldwide fashion circus.

2. What do you like about what you do?
I do love the freedom of speech – I can always decide what I write, when i write and how I write. I can respond to news around the world in an instant an I can share my opinions with other people. The exiting aspect is: you never know what happens tomorrow – will my next article be a breakthrough or is it going to vanish in the nirvana of www? I put it this way: I am what I do and that’s all what I’m responsible for.

3. What don’t you like about what you do?
I wonder why blogs in Germany aren’t considered as much important as in the US or in Sweden? But I think it’ll change soon and even the big players and fashion companies will appreciate and support our work, because in the meantime some blogs are much more popular than “classic” print magazines. Well, it’s all about future: blogs offer up-to-date information for free, blogs are individual, funny and often critical – which is outstanding in an industry of PR-driven journalism.

4. Please tell us about “Style is the alibi” and your aims?
Last year in August I started Styleisthealibi just like that. Shortly before a friend of mine told me about her blog, so I visited her site and thought: really nice, but I can do that too – my way. Since I felt a little “underchallenged” in my regular job I suddenly had found all the creative space I wanted. So my baby was born and I enthusiastically jumped into a new universe; I learned the basics of programming, what’s crucial in a “post”, how to behave in the blogger-scene and all the basics you should know when going online and putting you face on the web. Never forget: everything you publish is visible for anybody in the world. So don’t bullshit around. Nevertheless for me Styleisthealibi is kind of a private area where I can do whatever I want. Here I can meet interesting people and exchange opinions. And of course I always get instant feedback and can monitor how many people visited Styleisthealibi, which posts where triggers, who left a comment and so on. It’s a great experience when you can share all the things you like with other people – things I discover in every day life, by traveling, in the office and even in my dreams can be subject of my next article. Just expect the unexpected, even from yourself.

My objectives:

Maybe someday Styleisthealiby will change from “just” a hobby to profession. This would be a dream coming true, but I don’t depend on it – it’s just an occasion. There’s always plan B, lots of new ideas for the future and influence – whether I’m online or not. At the moment I just enjoy writing about things I like and I’m completely optimistic about tomorrow and the days after tomorrow.

5. Are you working with blogs and if yes, what is your favourite blog and why?
I cooperate with other bloggers and work with them indirectly, i.e. I visit various blogs around the world and look what they publish, how they write and which style they prefer. Some bloggers soon became friends and we share information, the newest gossip or just leave comments on posts. What you shouldn’t do is copy other bloggers – if an article is interesting you can post the whole thing on your site but always mention the source and set a link. That’s how it works. However – I don’t have much “double-posts” on my blog, because writing my own stuff is more fun anyway.

My favorite blogs are:

anywho.cover.dk
eclaesson.blogg.se
seaofshoes.typepad.com
weareyouneak.wordpress.com
www.lalila.de

These blogs are written very well, many deliver really new stuff and some have a lovely unique style.

6. Your experiences with the fashion/lifestyle industry in general?
After school I started working as a Booker in a Model-Agency and soon made lots of contacts and friends in the international fashion business. At the beginning it was all very exciting of course, but after a while you get used to all the Models, Photographers, Designers and some special habits of the fashion crowd. After all the most successful people I met, were the nicest and, well, were just normal – maybe because they don’t need to be arrogant. Years later I worked for the film-/advertising industry and collaborated with Top Models like Heidi Klum for a TV commercial. Right now I concentrate on Styleisthealibi and do lots of acquisition stuff, cooperate with fashion magazines, designers and promote my blog. So I’m in the middle of a very special business that I don’t take too serious. Because there’s so much right about bitchy fashion editors, obnoxious models and all those clichés – and there’s so much wrong about it too. It’s always the same – everything works better when you stay relaxed, be self-confident and a little cheeky with a big smile.

7. Any comments you want to share with us?
All I can say is: don’t forget to link – it’s the only way how blogs (and bloggers) become successful and get the appreciation they deserve. Don’t copy, always indicate credits of pictures you use and have fun!

Thanks very much to JJW Austria & Eastern Europe for inviting me to this interview!
It was my pleasure.
*style is the alibi – britt*