Jacket like pants?
That’s behind Angela Merkel’s blazers
© Getty Images
If, after 16 years in office, there is one thing we know about Angela Merkel, it is her fondness for jackets and blazers. Is there a message behind them – or is it just a coincidence?
Since November 22, 2005, more eyes than ever have been on Angela Merkel. No matter what she does, no matter what she wears. On this day she becomes Chancellor of Germany. Even if the 67-year-old is known for her confident and calm appearances rather than for her unusual taste in fashion, she has still made history with her style. The jacket in particular is a part that the Chancellor wears almost every time she appears.
If we think of women politicians from the USA, like Kamala Harris, or even the Queen, then we know: What they wear always has a meaning – at least almost always. Symbolic colors or family heirlooms – they all bring a statement or a story. Is that the same with Chancellor Angela Merkel? Because no matter where she is – on the whole, she always wears the same thing: a jacket with three or four buttons, usually buttoned up. With black pleated trousers. She told Süddeutsche Zeitung in an interview in 2016: “There are occasions when I have to wear dark colors; then there are sometimes indications that you will be standing in front of a white background, so it doesn’t have to be a light blazer.”
Serious occasions, dark colors
When Angela Merkel spoke to the flood victims in Euskirchen (North Rhine-Westphalia) on July 20, 2021, she was wearing a black jacket. Black is considered the color of mourning in Europe. The Chancellor will also appear in a black jacket at the memorial ceremony for the victims of the corona virus in Berlin in April 2021. So here she looks very carefully at which outfits she is wearing. Calm, serious and reserved.
Apart from such serious occasions, you never see Merkel in black. On the contrary: a whole truckload of brightly colored blazers has to hang in her wardrobe, because the Chancellor usually uses all the colors that the rainbow has to offer. When Merkel appears in front of large crowds, she wears tones that immediately catch the eye: red, blue, yellow, turquoise, orange, green and many more. According to the Chancellor, which color she chooses should not have any special meaning. “Sometimes I spontaneously feel like putting on something brightly colored,” she says in an interview with the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. Often she doesn’t have time to think carefully about which color to wear.
She knows what she wants
Regardless of whether it is a “coincidental product” or not – Merkel’s style is unmistakable. Even the editor-in-chief of the American “Vogue” Anna Wintour 2019 says to the “Zeit Magazin”. Your fashion judgment is feared and sought after by many well-known people. “She seems to me like someone who knows who she is. I don’t get the impression that she’s trying to pretend.” And she seems to be right about that. The fact that Angela Merkel wears almost the same clothes on most occasions – just in different color combinations – is a sign that she knows exactly what suits her and what she feels good about herself. It is especially difficult for women politicians not to be judged by their choice of clothing. Is that why Merkel keeps relying on the tried and tested station wagon and thus the “safe bank”?
The typical “Merkel jacket” was designed by the Hamburg designer Bettina Schoenbach. However, there are few details on the work with the Chancellor. “It is important to find your own style and to feel comfortable in it”, explains the designer “dpa”. Incidentally, a tailor-made jacket by the designer is not available for less than 1000 euros. Not a bargain but no one said the fashion of power would be cheap …
Sources used: Süddeutsche Zeitung, Zeit Magazin, dpa