LesMads - This is the story of the once largest German fashion blog

One of the pioneering blogs in Germany is "LesMads" (short for "Les Mademoiselles"), which was launched in April 2007. While other parts of the world are already busy writing blogs, Germany's situation is still lagging behind. Originally a hobby project on the free blogging platform "Blogspot" by two students from Cologne, Jessica Wei ß and Julia Knolle, aimed primarily at family and friends, it quickly became one of the most famous fashion blogs in the industry.

Although Wei ß and Knolle did not receive any training in fashion or journalism, their fresh combination of trends, music, photography, and lifestyle quickly caught the interest of Burda Publishing. After a two month trial period, they received help from the publisher to design their own new website and travel budget. This gives them the opportunity to expand their repertoire internationally. However, bloggers still have complete freedom in terms of content.

LesMads reports on various events such as exhibitions, travels, and festivals, but the focus remains on everything related to the fashion world: the author writes articles about designers, collections, and models, provides live coverage of fashion shows, and offers styling tips and street style photos from different cities and countries, often directly providing information about where to best buy these styles. If you are not enough, you can watch clips of fashion shows and interviews on your blog's own video channel "LesMads. TV".

In 2008, Natalie Weiss, nicknamed "Schnati," joined the team and formed a trio. In 2010, students majoring in Media Culture Studies and Media Informatics in Cologne completed a study visit to the fashion metropolis of Paris and used it as an opportunity to publish articles on fashion shows and other events, street styles, and her personal inspirations on her blog.

In the same year, Julia Knoll decided to leave LesMads and instead maintain her blog in the digital editorial department of Cond é Nast, showcasing it online for the German edition of Vogue. LesMads subsequently expanded to the entire blog network in August 2010 to provide more diversity and diversity through a wider range of perspectives.

At the same time, LesMads has developed into one of the most read blogs in Germany: in 2010, as many as 700000 fashion enthusiasts visited the blog every month.

Bloggers use this attention to promote the book "Fashion Road - Walking with Les Mads" published by Berlin Publishing House in 2011, as well as a series of travel reports, encounters with fashion industry celebrities, and personal experiences. Reflection and contemplation on the development of the fashion industry, as well as techniques for finding and implementing one's own style.

Burda Group also expanded the product range of LesMads, and opened LesMads online store in July 2011, providing designer fashion, jewelry, watches and accessories, as well as perfume, cosmetics and household goods.

In September 2011, Jessica Wei ß also left LesMads blog and became the online executive editor of Interview magazine, which was later taken over by Katja Schweitzberger. Schwyzberg had previously operated his own blog "Bees and Balloons", so he is not unfamiliar with the blogging world.

Then she stayed until the official end of LesMas blog and announced this decision in December 2015, but did not give any specific reasons. As many other fashion blogs have also disappeared from the stage at this time, it can be assumed that the success of platforms such as YouTube and Instagram has replaced the format of fashion blogs, making them no longer sustainable as a business model.

Although it seems that LesMads has now overcome its losses and its founder has turned to new challenges, we should not let this part of German fashion history be forgotten and gratefully recall this project that paved the way for so many people. Paves the way for other exciting new ideas and platforms.