Berlin kicks off fashion week

Markus Schreiber

A make-up artist prepares a model for the fashion show of Austrian fashion brand Lena Hoschek at the Fashion Week in Berlin, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012.

Berlin's twice-yearly Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week has opened its doors, with an Austrian designer giving her collection a low-key look at a time when Europe faces economic gloom.
The Berlin event, running Wednesday through Saturday, is seen as one where young designers who might struggle to get noticed in traditional fashion centers can highlight their creations.
Austrian designer Lena Hoschek, known for vintage looks centered on the 1940s and '50s, gave her collection a new note of simplicity reflecting the financially troubled times.
She said: "The design of my creations (is) simpler and cheaper, although my creations here might be not cheaper, but at the least the shape of my collection is more low-key."
Hoschek's was one of the first shows at the event near Berlin's landmark Brandenburg Gate.