Ladies & Gentlemen: Forever Young

German award ceremonies are a surreal event. Some TV people overdo it and are too self-tanned, too well-groomed, even somehow too American (Laura Wontorra). Others think, "Oh, I don't need a stylist, I'm fine like this," and shuffle onto the red carpet with an old clutch. The result: It's difficult to pretend you're no different at these fashionably awkward events, especially for big TV stars. The very well-dressed Iris Berben, in her elegant Prada looks, always seems like a snob among all these media professionals with limited clothing budgets, even though she probably isn't one at all.

Another major TV star, Maria Furtwängler, won the German Television Award for Best Actress this week. And what can we say, her outfit deserves a prize too. While the TV detective always looks good thanks to her good stylist, she often appeared a bit stiff in the past, perhaps simply due to too much hairspray. But now, at the height of her powers, she's hitting exactly the right note. Here she's wearing a casually flowing crepe vest and trousers ensemble. It's by Max Mara and actually also includes a tuxedo jacket, which she wore on the red carpet. The fact that she left it off to carry the award offstage speaks to a finally found I-don't-give-a-damn nonchalance that you couldn't exude with a Valentino gown. Perfect vibe.

No habitat is more protected in this country than the television landscape, and nowhere does time seem to stand still. At least, that's the impression you get when you occasionally observe the galas and award ceremonies. For decades, the same people have been honoring each other and delivering eulogies, cobbled together by the eternal Schöneberger, and Jan Delay is always there as the grooving show band. But what can you do? German TV stars have civil service status, they are unfireable and not allowed to strike. Anyone who has ever acted anything in Germany or even appeared in a "Tatort" (Tatort) is loyally invited to the red carpet until the end of their lives. At this year's television awards, for example, Otto and Marius Müller-Westernhagen were once again the focus of photographers. Two people who experienced the peak of their careers in the 1980s, although strictly speaking, that was 40 years ago.

Singer Sasha was also invited to perform, which wasn't exactly a surprising choice either – the man has been working as a sonic side dish for a good 25 years and always performs the job confidently and without any emissions. His performance also demonstrated, however, that as wonderful as the industry's loyalty to its old heroes is, there's one tricky clause – everyone has to perform exactly as they always did. Otto has to do a hop and cackle, and 52-year-old Sasha still has to look like an entertainer at Club Med in 1999. To achieve this effect, he chose a suit that didn't resemble evening wear, but very clearly resembled a stick of Hubba Bubba gum: big, pink, and square. At least nothing stuck.