IWC JOURNAL: Keeping time in style

Austrian fashion influencer and photographer Carola Pojer shows us how she stays elegant around the clock with a simple, but stylish, wardrobe and the IWC Portofino Automatic 34.

— Carola Pojer at Milan Fashion Week

My name is Carola Pojer, creative director and founder of Vienna Wedekind – a style blog dedicated to sophisticated simplicity and timeless classics. I also work as a photographer and consultant in Vienna.

I started my professional career as an actress. The switch to the fashion industry happened by accident. I never planned to work in fashion and to make a career out of social media. I started Vienne Wedekind seven years ago because I needed a creative outlet while working as an actress. I also used to study photography so the blog was the perfect place to share my photos and inspirations. But within a few months I gained quite a large audience and more and more brands got in contact with me. So I focused more on fashion topics and after blogging for a couple of years I decided to work full time in this field.

In the end blogging and acting are surprisingly similar: both tell a story and both are dedicated to the audience. The passion for clothes and accessories has been in me since forever, even if I didn’t know I would make a career out of it. I have always loved brands such as Prada, Sportmax, Jil Sander and Max Mara – they all do impeccable tailoring and are well known for their timeless elegance paired with contemporary accents. That’s exactly what I love, also when it comes to accessories and watches.

Around-the-clock elegance

I am definitely a bag girl, to be honest! As I usually wear monochrome outfits, I love to spice up my looks with a nice bag. The same goes with a chic watch. Such accessories can really make or break an outfit. I mean, if you wear a super elegant watch and a perfectly tailored shirt, you don’t need much else. You’ll always look put together.

When planning my looks, especially for when I attend events like the Milan Fashion Week, I either start with the outfit or the accessories. If I pick for example a certain watch - like my IWC Portofino Automatic 34 IW357404) that I want to highlight, I try to build an outfit around it. Something that will underline my timepiece. It also depends on the time of the day, the season and of course my mood. In general I like practical and versatile clothes, they’ll always make me feel confident.

I wanted to give this beautiful Portofino the attention it deserves, so I used a white rib-knit long sleeve as blank canvas and wore the watch on top. In the evening I changed into leather pants, high heels and a monochrome leather shirt, to make the silver Portofino design pop.

— The IWC Portofino Automatic (IW357404)

Taking in the scene

But Fashion Week doesn’t always mean running in high-heels from one show to another. When I have time for a little break, I love to visit museums and art galleries like the Fondazione Prada.

I also love to walk along the Navigli canals and enjoy an espresso doppio in the sun or of course: shopping! The IWC Schaffhausen Boutique is just a few minutes away from Duomo, located in the Golden Rectangle, Milan’s fashion district. This is definitely the place to be during fashion week and it always makes me feel at home.

The IWC Portofino Automatic 34 was the ideal companion during fashion week! While I was rushing from one show to the other, I was always ahead of time. Plus, a beautiful watch like this one is definitely a conversation starter and it feels incredible to wear it.