GERRY WEBER OPEN Fashion Night enthrals 1,600 guests
Halle, North Rhine-Westphalia. The most successful grand slam player of all time and a German tennis comeback king, as well as an international supermodel and numerous VIPs from Germany and beyond: 1,600 visitors experienced an incredible fashion night on Saturday evening to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the GERRY WEBER OPEN. Thirteen hours before the dream final on centre court, Roger Federer, 16-time grand slam winner, and German ace Tommy Haas casually chatted onstage on Saturday evening and adroitly answered questions from host Nazan Eckes. ‘I feel almost at home at this party. That’s always a good lead-up to the final,’ said Federer, who stayed at the party with wife Mirka until shortly before midnight.
The Federers also chatted excitedly with the second special guest of the evening, who also came with a plus one – supermodel and fashion icon Karolina Kurková and her husband Archie Drury (film producer). Kurková was able to enjoy both semi-finals on centre court during the afternoon – right in the thick of the action in a box owned by tournament director Ralf Weber. The Czech model, listed by Forbes Magazine as one of the best-earning models, showed her enthusiasm for the ‘tennistainment’ in Halle: ‘The GERRY WEBER OPEN and the Fashion Night are a great event. What has been achieved here is phenomenal. An impressive combination of sport, show and fashion.’ And the catwalk beauty also conversed with the second finalist Tommy Haas. Haas stayed at the party until just before midnight just like Federer and paid the organisers a great compliment: ‘There won’t be another party like this one on the tour.’
Some 1,600 happy guests celebrated into the early hours at the Fashion Night, which featured superb entertainment with Sarah Connor and Mandy Capristo, and of course a glamorous fashion show. GERRY WEBER International AG presented the current autumn/winter trends from the three brands GERRY WEBER, GERRY WEBER Edition and TAIFUN with the help of 22 models – including Luisa Hartema (winner of Germany’s Next Topmodel 2012), former Miss World Rosanna Davison and Barbara Meier. ‘It was the social highlight before the final day of play,’ said tournament director Ralf Weber, looking back happily on the 20th GERRY WEBER OPEN during the onstage interview: ‘I am pleased and satisfied with this anniversary tournament. We put on a great show for the visitors.’
Among the guests at the Fashion Night were businesswoman Liz Mohn (Bertelsmann), Hans-Peter Villis (chairman of the board at EnBW AG), Dr Ernst F. Schröder (personally liable partner at Oetker AG), tournament initiators Gerhard Weber and Udo Hardieck, heart surgeon Professor Reiner Körfer, Sven-Georg Adenauer (district administrator for Gütersloh), fashion designer Barbara Becker, Katarina Witt, Werner Schulze-Erdel and Uli Stein.