Trend setters popularize or begin a new fashion whether they are wearing the most stylish dresses or most hideous outfits in public. Their impact on the fashion world make them icons in their field with people from all corners of the globe trying to copy their styles.

Katie Holmes

The wife of Tom Cruise and star of Dawson’s Creek, Holmes probably revived the concept of borrowing your boyfriend’s denim. She launched Holmes and Yang, a collection of high-end, stylish dresses.

Kate Middleton

The Duchess of Cambridge is a trend setter in her own right. Although fashion critics admonish her for rehashing outfits and shopping at mass retail shops, this has just made her style more accessible. She is best known for turning up in classic outfits and a mix-and-match of clothes.

Kate Moss

Popular for the “heroin chic look”, Moss made the skinny jean popular among the main stream masses. Named as one of the best and worst dressed celebrities, the former supermodel designs her own clothes for Topshop, a UK retail store. Wearing stylish dresses, designer gowns and retro outfits, Kate Moss has a cool and elegant style.

Michelle Obama

Not since the time of Jacqueline Kennedy did an American First Lady feature so heavily in the fashion news. The clothes Michelle Obama wears to gala dinners and official functions make the front pages. She is admired for her elegant and classy taste.

Olsen sisters

Mary Kate and Ashley are the cute twins who took turns in playing the role of baby Michelle on the defunct sitcom, Full House. Since then, they have been constantly in the limelight designing and selling clothes which appeal to a younger generation.

Sara Jessica Parker

The Sex and the City star, “Carrie Bradshaw”, is a fashion icon on and off the screen. In real life, she has her own line of clothing called “Bitten” featuring stylish and affordable outfits and accessories.

Undoubtedly, the panache of these trend setters inspires people around the globe to wear stylish dresses and outfits. The question is, will you be a fashion follower or initiate a trend on your own?

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Germany has a strong and influential media, with both print and broadcast journalism playing a large role in the country’s culture. Publications such as the Bild and the Spiegel are known around the world, while more local papers also carry much weight in the country.

Print media

Germany has a considerable number of print media. One of the leading media players is the Axel Springer Corporation. This was founded in 1945 by the late Axel Springer. Before his death, he had built a vast media empire which published both newspapers and magazines. The corporation has over 170 publications. Top among them is Bild newspaper.

Another leading player is FAZIT-Stiftung which owns 93.7 per cent of Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), one of the most circulated newspapers in Germany. The leading business paper is Handelsblatt. It is published by the Verlagsgruppe Handelsblat. The print media is not all about hard news.

There are also fashion magazines aplenty in Germany. One of the leading magazines was started by Aenne Burda in 1950 under the banner Burda Fashion. There are eight news agencies in Germany. The leading one, which all newspapers in this country subscribe to, is Deutsche Presseagentur (DPA).

Broadcast media

Private, commercial television is owned by two families. These are giant media entities Bertelsmann and the ProSiebenSAT.1Media AG which belongs to Permira and Kohlberg, Kravis & Co. (KKR). The latter’s market share stood at 21.6 percent in 2008. Bertelsmann was founded in 1935 and the Bertelmann Foundation owns a majority share of 77.4 percent. Its market share was 24.1 per cent in 2008. The rest of the shares, 22.6 per cent, are owned by the Mohn family. Its market share in TV was 24.1 per cent in the year 2008. Public broadcasters control a market share of 43.6 percent. All these players also have an online website as well.

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Germany has produced some of the most influential people in the world. They consist of the greatest achievers including singers, writers, philosophers, actors, poets and politicians, all of whose influences have helped shape our modern culture.

Michael Schumacher

Born in 1969 in Hurth, Germany, Michael Schumacher is one the most celebrated Formula One drivers in the world. In 2004, he was ranked the 17th most powerful celebrity in the world by Forbes magazine. Schumacher has won World Champion seven times, more than any other drive, making him one of the most successful sports personalities in the world. In 2002 he won Laurels’ World Sportsman of the Year award. The same year saw him clinch the title of a UNESCO Ambassador for Sports.

Claudia Schiffer

Claudia Schiffer was born in 1970 in Rheinberg, German. She is a global fashion icon whose face has made the covers of over 700 magazines worldwide including Cosmopolitan, Elle, Playboy, Time, Bazaar and Vogue. In 1999, she was named the worlds’ most beautiful woman by Vogue magazine. Schiffer continues to work for some of the world’s most iconic fashion companies including Dolce & Gabbana, Victoria’s Secrets, Versace, Salvatore Ferragamo and Revlon.

Albert Einstein

Born in 1879, Albert Einstein is one of the most celebrated scientists who contributed to contemporary world’s understanding of the physical reality. Dubbed the 20th century Genius, he won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921. His most notable discovery was the law of the photoelectric effect and he is often referred to as one of the greatest minds of modern times.

Jeanette Biedermann

Born in 1980, Jeanette Biedermann is a musician, actress and a German beauty queen. In 2006, she who was voted the world’s sexiest woman by FHM magazine. In Germany, Biedermann has received numerous awards including for the best female actress.

Levi Strauss

Levi Strauss was born in 1829 in Buttenheim, Germany. In 1853 in San Francisco, Levi partnered with Nevada tailor called Jacob Davis to found the first blue jeans with riveted pockets. In 1873, they patented the design in the United States. At present, the design is registered in over 160 nations worldwide.

Rudolf Diesel

Born in 1858, Rudolf Diesel is an outstanding German inventor who made extraordinary discoveries such as the invention of diesel engine. Diesel engines are significant part of automotive industry. Diesel died in 1913 from drowning. Several theories explained his mysterious demise, among them, that he had been killed by French spies who were scared that his Diesel engine would power German submarines.

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Germany has a rich cultural heritage, which is enthusiastically celebrated throughout the year in the form of various art, music and even beer festivals. Locals and tourists alike come to these festivals every year and seldom leave disappointed.

Music festivals

June 1 to June 3 sees Germany’s the largest open air music festival at the Nuremburg Ring. Featuring rock bands from all around the world, the festival is a must for anyone with a love for live music. For fans of classical music, Leipzig hosts the Bach festival from June 7 to June 17, while the Handel Festival from May 31 to June 10 in Halle, the Richard Wagner Festival from July 25 to August 28 in Bayreuth are also incredibly popular.

On June 21 is the Berlin open air music festival, Fete de la Musique. With 80 stages to choose from, musical styles include reggae, hip-hop, electronic music, jazz and more. The event is free and one of Germany’s most popular annual events.

Parades and festivals

In the summer Berlin hosts the Carnival of Cultures (May 25-28). The colorful street parade is a city highlight and you can see performers from many countries in authentic costumes and floats go through the Berlin streets. Exotic cuisine, drinks, parties, performances and concerts are part of the carnival.

The second and third weekend in September is the time to be in Bad Durkheim. This is when the wine tasting festival takes place and visitors can also enjoy traditional sausages and other culinary delights, concerts, contests and fireworks.

Munich is the place to be during September and October as it is here where the world Oktoberfest beer festival is held. The Oktoberfest really is the quintessential German festival and is famous for its traditional German beers, food and music.

Apart from these there are many other festive occasions in Germany. The Christmas markets, the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, Gay Parades in various cities and even chocolate and cake festivals.

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The German film industry is one of the most prolific and successful in the world, and there are many German cinema classics to back this up. Although maybe not as well-known as some Hollywood blockbusters (obviously handicapped by the fact that more people speak English than German), there are many films to come from Germany that are rightfully considered classics, not just with Germany itself, but throughout the world.

Old School Classics

Perhaps one of the most famous German cinema classics is the irrefutable Das Boot (1981). World War 2 is in full flight and a fleet of German submarines are in the Atlantic monitoring and engaging English shipping. The film explores many relevant political and social topics as the crew battle with their conscience and question the ideology of the government they serve.

Metropolis (1927) is a film that, for the time of its release, was seen as a special effects masterpiece. The ground breaking pioneering techniques involved the ‘Schufftan’ process; a method by which mirrors are used to give the impression that the actors are occupying a miniature set. Another complex and technical piece of cinematic genius in this film involved the complicated action of, wait for it, a camera on a swing!

Modern Classics

Of the more recent cinema classics, Goodbye Lenin (2003) is a film that enjoyed much international success. It’s 1989, and as the Berlin Wall is on the verge of being demolished, Alex’s Mum falls into a coma. 8 months later and upon emergence from the coma, she has missed some historic news that could endanger her life.

Downfall is another film that has enjoyed success on a world scale. This Oliver Hirschbiegel WW2 belter tells the story of tyrannical Hitler’s final days, holed up in a bunker as his war comes to an end. This is a tense and thought provoking film based on the memories of one of the dictator’s secretaries who was with him in the bunker.

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Germany has long been a leading state in regards to shaping Europe’s religious, intellectual and social trends. Modern cultures in German transcend many fields including Art, architecture, music, sports, food, festivals and literature. Needless to say, this is a country full of cultural icons.

Art

German is renowned for early forms visual arts including Renaissance arts. At present, modern arts, commonly referred to as contemporary, art that started in the 20th century have attained iconic status in German society. Germany’s contemporary art icons include Konstantin Grcic is famous for his Chair One design.

Architecture

Germany flaunts a large number of experimental architectures including high-tech buildings and extraordinary structures. Icon German architects who have etched a mark in modern architecture include Ottfried Böhm, who became the first German to be awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1986 and Günter Behnisch renowned for designing the 1972 Olympic Games stadium in Munich.

Fashion

The Berlin Fashion Week has gone a long way to establishing Germany as a front runner in the world of fashion. The event, held twice a year, features over 700 labels inspired by fashion designers across the world. German’s fashion icons – fashion designers — including Karl Lagerfeld, Wolfgang Joop, Annette Felder, Markus Lupfer, Bernhard Willhelm and Stephan Schneider have been largely accredited to German’s successes in the event.

Literature

Germany’s modern literature icons are world-famous and have won the Nobel Prize in literature. They include Günter Grass, Thomas Mann, Paul von Heyse, Herta Müller, Hermann Hesse, Theodor Mommsen, Heinrich Böll, Nelly Sachs and Gerhart Hauptmann. German has also iconic literature events including the annual Frankfurt Book Fair.

Music

The degree to which classical music assumes the role of national significance in Germany exceeds the rest of the European countries. This can be explained by the world famous German composers including Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig Beethoven and Richard Wagner.

Sports

Sports play a central part in German culture. Among Germany’s football icons include Oliver Kahn, Lothar Matthäus, Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Müller and Jürgen Klinsmann. Germany has also produced top motorsports icons such as Sebastien Vettel and Michael Schumacher, two of Formula One racing’s most successful drivers.

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Germany’s current political system came into existence following the proclamation of the Basic Law – German’s constitution – in 1949. The Federal Republic of Germany currently operates under the structure laid out in the Basic Law.

Constitutional Law

The constitution of the Federal republic of Germany is called the Basic Law (Grundgesetz). It highlights the protection of human rights, individual freedoms as well as the duties and rights of German’s institutions. Additionally, the Basic Law divides power between the federal and state government as well as among the judiciary, the parliament, the head of state and the head of government.

Federalism

The Federal Republic of Germany comprises of 16 federal states. Each state’s political system (Bundesländer) prescribes to the constitution of its respective state –similar to the federal constitution. Education, police, communal and cultural affairs are handled by the state legislature. Elections for each states parliament are held after every four to five years depending on each state’s constitution.

Federal Institutions

The German parliament – or federal legislature – called Bundestag resides in the Reichstag building in Berlin, German’s capital. The Bundestag members are elected after every four years. For a party to be represented in the Bundestag, it must garner at least five percent of the vote.

Judicial System

Germany’s judiciary is an independent branch that handles civil and criminal cases. It consists of four levels of courts which in turn have separate branches including labor, tax, or security issues. Germany has a powerful judicial system that enjoys absolute autonomy from the parliament, head of government or head of state.

Cabinet of Germany

The cabinet (Bundesregierung) serves as the Federal Republic of Germany’s chief executive body. It comprises the Chancellor and the ministers. The Chancellor selects or proposes his/her ministers who are then appointed by the president.

Head of Government

In Germany, the Federal Chancellor (Bundeskanzler) is the head of government. He is elected by the members of the Bundestag. He is assigned the role of taking charge of the Federal Cabinet (Bundesregierung). The Chancellor also appoints the Vice-Chancellor (Vizekanzler).

Head of State

The Federal President (Bundespräsident) is the most prominent official of Germany’s political system although his duties are basically representative and ceremonial. Most of the power is exercised by the Chancellor whom he/she appoints (the Chancellor) after being elected by the parliament. The Federal president is elected after every five years by the Federal Assembly (Bundesversammlung).

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