"Krone" commentary

Nina Khrushcheva, style icon at the 2024 Festival

Nina Khrushcheva, opening speaker at the festival and style icon at the highest level of independence.

(Bild: Brauer Sabine/BrauerPhotos / M.Siebinger)

Heat stroke, cloudburst and rain vapor! Since the tropical climate has also reached Salzburg, it's rare to be dressed appropriately. Respect for all the ladies who, freshly showered in the finest and most expensive gowns, transform the so-called "driveway" to the Festival premieres into Europe's most elegant catwalk.

Pictures of stunning splendor have been seen over the past few days. In the midst of the haute couture defile, however, I discovered my own personal style icon: Nina Khrushcheva, opening speaker of the festival with a rather problematic speech and great-granddaughter of the more than problematic First Secretary of the CPSU, Nikita Khrushchev, who sank into hell.

At this point, politics and history should be forgotten for a moment. We have been electrified, disturbed and befuddled by the unleashed forces of power and the powerful for many months now anyway.

This column is therefore dedicated to the wardrobe of this remarkable woman with the great name.

Nina Khrushcheva came to the revival of "Don Giovanni" at the Großes Festspielhaus in a simple dress. The rich blue dress exudes a gentle modesty. It looks like good natural fiber and is extremely comfortable. A smart choice for a long evening in a moderately comfortable armchair.

Really cool: the shoes! No high heels that are difficult to walk in alone (except for Westwood widower Andreas Kronsteiner).

The only splash of color with a hint of traditional costume as a possible reference to Salzburg: the scarf with the beautiful flowers.

No jewelry, no fat watch, no glitter. The hairstyle can confidently be described as practical. Make-up: very discreet. The wow effect is her personality alone. Nina Khrushcheva comes across as Nina Khrushcheva. She is what she is. No masquerade, no disguise, nothing exaggerated. Khrushcheva radiates restrained friendliness. The kind of authority we might have known from our teachers and professors at school or university. Someone we respected, but were not afraid of. A woman from whom we sought advice, not comfort. Someone who tells you the truth to your face. Not with brutal harshness, but with unsparing openness.

The simple blue dress shows a strong woman. Born in Moscow, emigrated after her studies and has been a professor at elite American universities for almost two decades. Nina Khrushcheva's origins in both worlds are clear to see: on the one hand the American intellectual as if from a Woody Allen movie, on the other the emancipated and self-confident woman from the lost East.

You don't have to share her views. Nina Khrushcheva is a woman who can withstand contradiction. She comes across as a woman who doesn't really care what impression she makes on others. That is the highest level of independence.