Today, July 28 marks the 110th anniversary of the birth of the legendary Enna Burda, who achieved fantastic success by creating the first fashionable sewing magazine with ready-made patterns for all women.
What underlies such incredible success?
Freedom and courage to make difficult decisions on your own.
The lack of fear to start a career as an entrepreneur at age 40 in a small publishing house that once fell into decay.
Natural talent, insight and natural flair.
Enne's husband, Franz Burda, the conceited and successful owner of a small printing house, at first seemed to her an ideal partner. Enne was a wonderful hostess and a wonderful mother of three wonderful sons. But the success of her husband, the high prosperity of the family and her position in society did not make Enne absolutely happy. Her seething energy and the burning fire of vanity sought a way out. Therefore, her husband’s betrayal was not the reason, but rather the reason for the beginning of her brilliant career.
Enne Burda: A Success Story
Having become the mistress of a small publishing house, which Franz gave her as an atonement for her guilt, Enne took up the matter seriously. She was confident in her abilities and stubborn in achieving goals. In addition, she was pretty and able to win over people. Her working day began early in the morning and ended at 10-11 o’clock in the evening.At her desk, Enne reflected on women dressed in practical, but ugly dresses, already twice turned. About women who wanted to be beautiful and feminine. And the pragmatic Enne understood how to solve the problem - ready-made patterns!
And in January 1950, Enne Burda released her first magazine, Burda Moden, with ready-made patterns. The magazine immediately became successful, giving all women the opportunity to find their own unique style and create handmade fashion dresses!
Enne Burda Style
From that moment, Enne’s career began to develop very rapidly. At first, the magazine was sold only in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, in 1952 eight more European countries were added to the magazine's geography, and since 1953, Burda Moden appeared in the USA, Canada, Argentina and Brazil.
In 1987, the magazine Burda Moden reached Moscow. It was a triumph for the 77-year-old publisher. In Russia at that time, the Burda brand was as famous as Coca-Cola. No one expected such success.
When did the first issue of Burda Moden in the USSR come out?
Coming out of a simple environment, Enne Burda herself made her way up. This incredible woman made a real revolution in fashion history and turned herself into a brand.
Today, Burda Magazine is published in 16 languages and sold in more than 90 countries and boasts that it is still one of the most famous and popular.
Anne movie
In honor of the anniversary, the German channel released a two-part film dedicated to Enna Burda. The film reveals real biographical events from the life of Enne. Its formation as a bisexual, from the moment the idea was born to the first issue of Burda Moden magazine.
The narration in the film is in German, but in the near future it is planned to translate both series into Russian.
Using the links below, you can now watch the trailer for the first and second parts in German:
Part 1
Part 2
“Fashion knows no boundaries,” Enne Burda once said. And she was right. The proof of this is the sincere love of a huge number of women of different ages, professions and affluence, as well as the incredible popularity of the magazine. It is bought in the farthest corners of Russia and around the world. Thousands of needlewomen sew with Burda, and not because they are not able to buy a fashionable outfit in the store, but because they want to create their own fashion! Indeed, if before the dress spoke about the social status of his mistress, today it is an expression of individuality.
"Now that it’s easy to go to the store and choose one of hundreds of dresses, we continue to sew our own dress with our own hands!"
Source: Ute Damen's book Enne Burda: The Burda is Fashionable - It's Me!
Photo: Burda Publishing House archive
Material prepared by Julia Dekanova
