Co-creation and participation during FASHIONCLASH Festival

Fashion Makes Sense is the name of FASHIONCLASH's ongoing program from which participation projects are organized.

FASHIONCLASH is committed to accessibility and inclusivity by making fashion as a participatory practice where process and embodied learning are highlighted. By giving a diverse group of people, different in experience, background and age, the opportunity to actively participate in activities, a more embodied experience of fashion is created and indirectly this contributes to greater awareness about sustainability and the role of fashion in the society.

For many people, sustainability issues are too far from their reality. Not everyone has the opportunities to participate in discussion and access information and knowledge. Staying in touch with people beyond your own bubble is not so obvious, but it is important if you want fashion projects to lead to positive behavioral change. To contribute to a sustainable, supportive and peaceful world, FASHIONCLASH believes that creating connections between people, disciplines and perspectives is an essential starting point. The world is too big and the problems are too overwhelming, but if we start bringing together values-driven (fashion) makers, initiatives and audiences around our environment, this can already lead to a positive impact on a small scale.

From this point of view, various activities are organized throughout the year in which interested people can participate in the form of workshops and co-creation. All these processes and results are ultimately presented during the annual FASHIONCLASH Festival.

In 2023, FASHIONCLASH has even gone one step further by unraveling the festival even more as a holistic whole and organizing it co-creatively where possible. For example, experiments have been carried out to change the form of model/performer casting; workshops instead of the inspection and selection of bodies. Festival exhibition was created in collaboration with five makers who were invited to develop curatorial concept. Esra Copur, took the invitation to make here performance for The Clash House participatory, read more about that here. Furthermore, the idea of participation has also been tried out at the Afterparty. 

New Fashion Narratives exhibition - FASHIONCLASH Festival

Timothy Scholte
photo_Vladimir Vidanovski

New Fashion Narratives

How would (re)sources from the past, act in the present and create context for the future?

For this year’s exhibition program of FASHIONCLASH Festival, five independent fashion practitioners were invited by FASHIONCLASH to form a curatorial team and collaborate on the concept for the New Fashion Narratives exhibition that was presented at Bureau Europa during the festival 2023.

Starting the curatorial process with a Residency Week in Maastricht in April 2023,  Enzo Aïtkaci, Chinouk Filique, Jonathan Ho, Lotte de Jager and Boris Kollar decided to take a different approach: instead of focusing all attention on the final product, they prefer to highlight the diversity of creative approaches that are often hidden away as ‘process’. “We are interested in what is rarely made known to the public.”

Curatorial statement

How would (re)sources from the past, act in the present and create context for the future?

“What happens during the creation process? What types of creative references get used and lost? What are the different collaborations required in order to make one’s final vision come to life? We would like to explore how multi-authorship is represented in fashion and how to unlock new perspectives by zooming in on the creative processes.”
The bits and pieces you will see throughout this exhibition might not be in line with the usual fashion exhibition. You will encounter clothing without mannequins, inspirational references, material samples, mind maps, collages, paintings, and interactive experiences.
As we get a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes, we get a feel for what inspired the designers and critical thinkers — their thought-process, the troubles they have encountered during the assembly, and the people or environments that have contributed along the way. As a result, the stories behind the collections are getting a well-deserved front seat.
Often in fashion, authorship is celebrated through one person’s name. Curating this exhibition proved once again that fashion, in any form — may it be publishing, designing, retail, performance — is a group effort. Our collaborative process with each other, but also with the participants of this exhibition, shows that creation flows in tandem, and it’s in these moments, the in-between, the back and forth, where the magic of creation happens. We collectively feel that this is a process that deserves more public attention.  - curators: Enzo Aïtkaci, Chinouk Filique, Jonathan Ho, Lotte de Jager and Boris Kollar.

Participants: Annalie van Doorn, avoidstreet, Azalja van Dijk, Bastiaan Reijnen, BAYARTAEV, CHAEWON KONG, FRANK & Moritz Ernst, Fynnandmathis, Ivan Delogu, Jakob Hodel, Justina Semčenkaitė, Kelly Konings, KKJ, Maria Gilmen, Roxy van Kemenade, studio allesingebruik, Svatopluk Ručka, TANJA VIDIC, Teresa Carvalheira x Eunice Pais, Tevin Blancheville, Timothy Scholte/Mary-Ann.

www.fashionclash.nl

Photography by Laura Knipsael, if not mentioned otherwise.

The Clash House - FASHIONCLASH Festival 2023

maatrev

One of the main programs during FASHIONCLASH Festival is The CLASH House, the performance program of the festival. It is a development process that kicks off around May with the selection of participants who are then substantively guided by performing artists in developing a performance. Designers who are invited are selected for their potential to translate the story behind their project or collection into a performance. Not the collection, but the performance is the new work. Performance as a product, or perhaps a new business model for the fashion designer? Today's designers do not want to bring more products into the world, but value-driven stories about the role and possible meaning of fashion in society.
In 2020, FASHIONCLASH started The CLASH House as a program that replaced its spectacular traditional catwalk program. Not because the catwalk is too big, but to further experiment with presentation forms and especially to further investigate the potential of fashion performance in collaboration with the performing arts.
In the meantime, the 3rd generation of The Clash House participants have released their results with a performance during the festival. One of them, Esra Copur, will further develop the project during Winternights festival and in March during the first FASHIONCLASH Tilburg event. Esra Copur took up the invitation and challenge of turning her performance to-be-to-exist into a participatory project in collaboration with five people of different ages and experience. During a number of workshops in Tilburg they worked together on the performance and the outfits for the performance. ‘to-be-to-exist’ is about playing with the concept to take up more space as a person, balancing extrovert and introvert personality traits. This project invited people to join the creative process. Together with them and their stories, this performance was made.

Esra Copur

The others, such as, Ruben Jurriën investigates how his own passion for theater and fashion can be brought together. For his presentation, Ruben sang a newly written song live himself. With a kind of mini musical about love and tolerance, his performance warmed the hearts of the audience, at least mine. How wonderful it is, that a young designer uses a simple story about kindness and love as an activist statement in these dystopian and polarizing times.
‘Super Femboyant’ challenges our associations with the word “strong”. The collection and the performance are inspired by an incident where a kiss between Ruben Jurriën and his lover, triggered an outburst from a classic bodybuilder. In that moment, Ruben froze and felt frightened. He later realised that it was his tenderness, softness, and love that actually scared the “strong” man. So, what is strong really? This performance plays with this thought. 

Ruben Jurriën

The opening performance of the eventing 'CKETJA, la jacket qui te va !' was provided by MAASH, the Brussels duo Miguel Gonçalves-Alver & Ash Lizzies. The duo decided to concretize and merge their mutual fascinations - contemporary art, design, sculpture, and the performing arts.
They aim to create "statement-outfits", with their creations marking the space, moving, and carrying as a statement of being. Local and artisanal, their unique pieces are embodied in natural and urban spaces that can evoke clothing, sculpture, or real architecture CKETJA, la jacket qui te va ! was staged ans an installation where various jackets are hanging, resembling a showroom in a store. One performer, Coppi Antoine, does a convincing solo performance where runway-like walk merges with contemporary dance. We see how the performer, the human body, interacts with the jackets, as it were duets between jackets that are first part of the sculpture and then briefly dance with the performer, only to return to being just a piece of clothing again. It shows the difference between clothing as an object and when the garment in relation to the body becomes fashion or more than that.
'Jackets and sculptures share a common element in their design and creation process. Both require a keen eye for form and structure. Just as sculptors carefully consider the placement of each line and curve to create a dynamic composition, designers consider the placement of seams and the cut of the fabric to create a flattering and functional piece of clothing. Both forms of creation are a combination of function and aesthetics, where each element serves a purpose while contributing to the overall visual impact. Sculptors may mold, carve, or cast their materials, while jacket designers may stitch, drape, or manipulate the fabric to create their designs.'- MAASH

MAASH

Polish designer Barbara Rozenberg shows empathy as a form of activism with her project. If I am not allowed to feel, then I will make a project about how I feel, as Barbara explained the core of her projects. Beautiful garments were shown by dancing models. Barbara Rozenberg focuses on the daily struggle of finding physical and mental comfort. Clothing is a necessary part of accessing the feeling of ease and she always dresses herself with her emotions in mind. She aims to expand this idea into a tale about the acknowledgment and acceptance of the feelings we tend to repress. Balancing on the border between art and fashion she creates wearable art with which she gives shapes to abstract concepts such as feelings and emotions. Barbara always designs with physical and mental comfort in mind, trying to create tools that help people to express themselves. 

Barbara Rozenberg

Central Saint Martins MA graduate talent from Slovenia, Jean-Matjaz Flogie presented 'Fake Oscars' as a subversive two-part performance. Red carpet mockery and staged speeches unveiled the hollowness of fame's pursuit. Inspired by Jean-Paul Goude, surreal challenges replace competition, highlighting the joy in creativity. "The finale strips away pretense, revealing vulnerability and authenticity. Celebrating artistic freedom, we juxtapose ostentation with genuine expression, leaving audiences questioning fame's value while embracing the liberation of true creativity."

Jean-Matjaz Flogie is a fashion and print designer with the urge of living out fantasies fearlessly, dazzlingly, and desperately. Childhood memories blend with urban dreams, resulting in designs that hold both drama and tenderness. By intertwining the natural beauty of the countryside with the dynamics of the big city life, he strives to bring forth a fresh perspective that celebrates the convergence of contrasts and reveals the untamed beauty within us all.
Although the stunning-looking collection initially radiates luxury and glamor, it is a layered project with a sincere message about vulnerability and honesty, as expressed in designers own words 'Honesty is the new luxury'.

Jean Flogie

Last but certainly not least was the performance of maatrev, a duo consisting of Martha Hupfauer and Jonas Konrad, who both studied MA fashion design at Institut Français de la Mode in Paris and have just presented their degree collection at Paris Fashion Week 2023. With their projects they focus on questioning the sociatal topics such as identity, look for references and search for new positionings with and in fashion and art, in order to develop an attitude expressed in shape and textile.
"If a fake is so perfect that you can’t distinguish it from its original, is it or is it not as good as the original?" Their performance ‘pur ist saft fast sirup’ - a German palindrome that translates to ‘pure juice is almost syrup’ - investigates this dilemma: the use of snap bands and their coincidental character of transforming, reflects on the existence of originality, while the accessories deceive the viewer, mimicking the characteristics of the fake. The staged performance aims at directly opposing the notions of originality and fake, inviting the audience to find their own answer to the question above. 

maatrev

The program was moderated by multidisciplinary artist and performer Ariah Lester. After each performance there was a short on-stage interview with the makers, which brought the show's attention back to the content and story behind the work. Ariah Lester wore an outfit by the promising designer Denzel Veerkamp.
Participants of The CLASH House receive a coaching program in which they are supported by performing arts professionals. For this edition the coaches were theater maker and performer Giovanni Brand and dancer and choreographer Laisvie Andrea Ochoa Gaevska. The aim of the The Clash House program is to encourage designers to experiment with presentation formats and thus contribute to the innovation of the field and create a unique experience for the audience. 

Ariah Lester in Denzel Veerkamp outfit

The Clash House is an initiative of FASHIONCLASH Foundation and is presented during FASHIONCLASH Festival. The next edition is planned for 15 - 17 November 2024.

FASHIONCLASH is a development and presentation platform for fashion (culture) that, through crossovers, contributes to, on the one hand, the individual talent development of the new generation of fashion makers and, on the other hand, to general awareness of the role of fashion in the world.

www.fashionclash.nl

Photography by Laura Knipsael.

Recap - 15th edition FASHIONCLASH Festival

TIM VAN DER PLAS at Marres
photo Mitch van Schijndel

15th edition of the international FASHIONCLASH Festival took place from 17 - 19 November 2023 in Maastricht (The Netherlands).

During this three-day festival, a new generation of designers and performing artists from all over the world are given the opportunity to show their work to a broad (inter)national audience. The program with an exhibition, performances, talks, workshops and fashion film screenings, showcases projects that explore, contextualize and celebrate contemporary fashion culture.
During the festival the work of more than 100 designers, artists and makers from more than 30 different countries were presented. Participants are a diverse mix in age, the youngest 8 and the oldest 70+, background and experience.

Opening program, Friday November 17

The festival opened on Friday evening with the New Fashion Narratives exhibition at Bureau Europa in the Sphinxkwartier. During the opening there was a performance by Tevin Blancheville, who recently graduated from the KABK in The Hague. He presented his project FODDER 22, with which he seeks to change your perception and inform you how geopolitical competition have been dividing communities worldwide with propaganda and disinformation.

Tevin Blancheville_ FODDER 22 performance
photo Laura Knipsael

Fynnandmathis, a duo consisting of Fynn Herlinghaus (Germany) and Mathis Hadji (France) also created a happening during the opening. For Fynnandmathis, fashion it is not an industry-governed business, but a cultural phenomenon that arises from people and their daily clothing behavior. By styling existing clothing and working closely with communities, they create events where fashion works as a tool that enables exchange and empowerment. During the opening they photographed the visitors in a spontaneously created catwalk, and then shared the images in the exhibition as part of their work.

For the opening, I had the privilage to wear work by Annalie van Doorn from her graduation project 'Aprés nous, le deluge' inspired by her grandmother’s extravagance, who felt the need to keep up her appearance. It’s centered around the psychological influence of social status, aligned with the abundance of contrast in our values and the irony of its expressions. Abstract drawings converted to innovative shapes are the core of Annalie’s work and are implemented in silhouette and print. The collection is almost entirely made out of waste material.

wearing Annalie van Doorn

Subsequently, on Friday evening at Lumière Cinema there was a focus on fashion films with the visible of five finalists chosen by the jury. Cristian Velasco won the Kaltblut Magazine award with the film RETAZOS and the film 'HUM (we/us)' by Little Shilpa and Ashim Ahluwalia won the FASHIONCLASH Festival 2023 Fashion Film Award worth 1000 euros.
The judging panel consisted of Mira Postolache, Sam Bassett, Odunayo Ojo, Sofia Tchkonia and Marcel Schlutt.



During the opening of the film The Leap, a fashion film emerged from a development process made possible by the Meester Koetsier Foundation. The Leap is an own production of FASHIONCLASH and is a film by 5 makers who made a film under the supervision of FASHIONCLASH and filmmaker Daniel van Hauten. With The Leap, 'A dress leads to the reminiscing of a memory' Amber Rozema, Solar Vlaar, Yana Engelbrecht, Jelena Bondt and Damiano Bodei expressed a mutual fascination for intergenerational and family relations through a fashion film narrative.

FASHIONCLASH Festival is all about discovering, stimulating and co-shaping current developments in fashion and disclosing these developments to a wide audience. Participants of the festival belong to a generation of designers and artists who explore and question the boundaries of their discipline. With their works they move between the transdisciplinary domains of fashion, social design and visual arts.

The multi-voiced festival program is a composite selection from the proposals submitted through various open calls and from the projects initiated by FASHIONCLASH itself that are developed in co-production with various organizations and makers. For FASHIONCLASH, the annual festival is a vehicle for disclosing the results of all projects and talent development trajectories that happen throughout the year program.

The co-creative program is reflected in various program components that arise from different development processes in which the participants are guided in their artistic development, production and entrepreneurship. For some participants, the festival is a first introduction to fashion, which was visible in the participatory campaign project that was visible throughout the city but also in the exhibition at the third floor of Centre Ceramique.

The festival has not one main venue, but the town as the festival heart, with locations such as Bureau Europa in the Sphinxkwartier where New Fashion Narratives exhibition was placed or local initiatives such as S.A.C concept store where you could see and buy work by Floris Wamelink A.k.a. Flowed, Underdog Collective and OUR SHIFT.

During the festival weekend there are events that happen only once such as performance program The Clash House and the Afterparty and a number of continuous and free activities such as the exhibition in the garden of Marres with work by André Konings, Roumans, UGO WOATZI and TIM VAN DER PLAS.

Ugo Woatzi at Marres

At The Green Elephant there is an installation of OUR SHIFT, an activistic fashion brand, fighting against old fashion in order to change it. They are creating a responsible and better alternative to what exists now while building a community of fashion firefighters with whom they can stop the burning issue of landfilling clothes and incineration. They presented their latest project DON'T TRASH TENTS, THANKS, based on upcyling of tents left at a music festival.

"Have you ever seen the festival camp areas, after people leave? It is breathtaking, in the worst way possible. Your eyes cannot believe it, it is like a battlefield... people leave tents of 1300 Euros, just because they don't want to carry them, since they are too “tired". OUR SHIFT is trying to change the mentality of these people and raises awareness about this issue. From the broken and abundant tents that cannot be just packed, they are creating clothes, bags and an exhibition."

OUR SHIFT installation at The Green Elephant

Limestone Books, in collaboration with Warehouse, organized a pop-up around the fusion between fashion and publications and on Saturday they hosted an intimate talk with designers and artists Anouk Beckers, Iris de Leeuw and Muslin Brothers.

These small locations are the small pearls of the festival and very symbolic for FASHIONCLASH, which looks for ways to place fashion in a broader artistic discourse and social context.

www.fashionclash.nl

All images are by Laura Knipsael or Mitch van Schijndel.

Design Academy Eindhoven Graduation Show 2023

Jonah Attalla

Design Academy Eindhoven Graduation Show 2023, took place between 21st - 29th October during Dutch Design Week. During these nine days more than 220 graduate projects were showcased.

This year the show was staged in the heart of Eindhoven city, transforming Heuvel shopping centre into a space where the graduate’s experimental, curious, and provocative design projects met the hustle and bustle of everyday city life.
"Presenting the Graduation Show 2023 in this central, active location will prompt visitors to reflect on how design shapes the way they dwell, work, travel, and play in cities today, and how this will inevitably change as we face the social, technological, and environmental challenges of tomorrow." - from the DAE statement 

The transition from the educational environment to the very public space of this year’s graduation show is made possible by the curatorial vision of Martina Muzi and Nadine Botha, the display concept and production of Mark van der Gronden, and the campaign and graphic design of the whywhynot Collective.

The show also presented the Award Ceremony for the annual Gijs Bakker, René Smeets and Melkweg Awards. The nominees have been selected during the assessment of the Master’s and Bachelor’s graduation projects by a jury of experts who convened at Design Academy Eindhoven in June. The winners will receive a sum of € 2,000 and a trophy designed by DAE alumnus Olga Flor in collaboration with EE Labels. 

Read more about the awards and the nominees here.

Take a look at the picture report and some impressions of the show and projects.

Dutch Design Awards 2023

Tailors & Wearers

The winners of all 8 categories of this year’s Dutch Design Awards (DDA) are strong researchers, skilled makers and they work closely with other disciplines.
On Thursday 21 September, DDA presented the awards to the winners during the celebratory DDA Award Night. During this year’s Dutch Design Week from 21 to 29 October 2023 all the award-winning and nominated entries will be displayed at the DDA23 exhibition.

The boundaries between disciplines have become increasingly blurred in recent years. The expert juries assessed more projects this year than ever before that would not have looked out of place in a different category. So the question is: can design still be categorised in the same way? The majority of the design projects that were submitted are crossovers. Apart from makership, research and collaboration, other themes this year are: taking the personal as a starting point, offering a wide range of perspectives and the need for meaning and connection.

Expert juries
Every year, the Dutch Design Awards are presented to the best designers in the Netherlands with the most groundbreaking design projects. Various disciplines, viewpoints and solutions are assessed in light of the impact they have on our society. Expert juries consisting of independent design experts choose the winners in the following categories: Product, Habitat, Communication, Fashion, Design Research, Data & Interaction, Best Commissioning and Young Designer. They assess projects based on the following criteria: impact, distinguishing features, expressiveness, production method and sometimes additional criteria specific for a category.

Under the supervision of the main jury’s chair Dymphie Braun, the 8 winners were selected by the chairs of the expert juries: Chris Kabel, Femke Bijlsma, Mieke Gerritzen, Iris Ruisch, Daniëlle Arets (on an ad interim basis for Angelique Spaninks), Merel van Helsdingen (on an ad interim basis for Daniël Sytsma), Tijn van Elderen and Evelien Reich. This year, under the chairmanship of Timo de Rijk, the BNO Piet Zwart Award for lifetime achievement was awarded to Karel Martens.

The winners of the Dutch Design Awards 2023 are:

PRODUCT
FROM THE HIMALAYAS | SUPER LOCAL
“From the flow of materials to local processing, and from object design to circular financing, From the Himalayas is super Super Local: groundbreaking in its processes, complete and holistic design.”

The expert jury: Chris Kabel (Studio Chris Kabel), Amanda Pinatih (Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam), Kristina Andersen (Technische Universiteit Eindhoven), Chequita Nahar (Maastricht Institute of Arts, Zuyd University of Applied Sciences) & Floris Schoonderbeek (Studio Floris Schoonderbeek).


HABITAT
BOSK | ARCADIA x MUNICIPALITY OF LEEUWARDEN
“Bosk is a clever, nature-inclusive protest with protesters who you will start to love. The entire project is exemplary, with trees as star players.”

The expert jury: Femke Bijlsma (Kossmandejong), Caro van Dijk (OOSTWEST), Arna Mačkić (Studio LA), Cees van der Veeken (LOLA Landscape Architects) & Jan Nauta (Studio Nauta).


COMMUNICATION
MODEM RESEARCH PAPERS | MODEM
“The Modem Research Papers are hyper relevant, and they are presented in a way that we don’t often see from research agencies: attractively and accessibly.”

The expert jury: Mieke Gerritzen (The Image Society), Thecla Schaeffer (brand & communication consultant), Karen van de Kraats (Wieden+Kennedy), Bas Koopmans (Studio Bas Koopmans) & René Toneman (Silo).

Lisa Konno

FASHION
TAILORS AND WEARERS | TAILORS AND WEARERS – PLATFORM FOR AFRO-SURINAMESE FASHION AND HERITAGE
“Tailors and Wearers puts Afro-Surinamese fashion and cultural heritage powerfully into the spotlights with a multitude of shapes and forms, and modern interpretations for and by different generations.”

The expert jury: Iris Ruisch (State of Fashion), Mehtap Gungormez (fashion & design journalist, trend forecaster), Marga Weimans (Fashion house Marga Weimans), Branko Popovic (Fashionclash) & Rachid Naas (RCHD).

DESIGN RESEARCH
HET WATERWERK VAN ONS GELD (THE WATERWORKS OF OUR MONEY) | STUDIO CARLIJN KINGMA
“Very strong illustrative and journalistic work by Carlijn Kingma. The visual storytelling power and the clever animations spark Het Waterwerk van ons Geld to life for a broad audience.”

The expert jury: Angelique Spaninks (MU Hybrid Art House), Daniëlle Arets (design researcher, journalist, moderator), Jop Japenga (A/BZ) & Eric Klarenbeek (Studio Klarenbeek & Dros).

DATA & INTERACTION
VOICES FROM THE FRONTLINE - AFRICA CLIMATE “CLEVER°FRANKE clearly shows the impact of climate change with Voices from the Frontline. Once again they prove to be a master in making data understandable.”

The expert jury: Daniël Sytsma (Code d’azur), Liza Enebeis (Studio Dumbar/DEPT®), Merel van Helsdingen (Nxt Museum), Bas van der Poel (Modem) & Gavin Kempenaar (MediaMonks).

BEST COMMISSIONING
DE ZACHTE STAD (THE SOFT CITY) | ROTTERDAM CIRCULAIR x CHRISTIEN MEINDERTSMA “With De Zachte Stad, the city of Rotterdam is effectively using the power of excellent design to explain the circular economy with a practical example to its citizens.”

The expert jury: Tijn van Elderen (Brabantia), Rita van Hattum (BNO), Milou Pikaart (HEMA), Tatjana Quax (Studio Aandacht) & Eelco van Collenburg (Valtech).

Marcos Kueh

YOUNG DESIGNER
MARCOS KUEH
“Marcos Kueh manages to incorporate a digital beauty in his expressive visual style with the ancient crafts he uses to tell a story that is screaming for attention.”

The expert jury: Evelien Reich (ELLE Decoration NL), Aynouk Tan (journalist, curator, lecturer, activist), Liv Vaisberg (Liv Vaisberg Office for Art & Design) Gabrielle Kennedy (DAMN° Magazine) & Thomas Clever (CLEVER°FRANKE).


BNO PIET ZWART AWARD 2023
KAREL MARTENS
“With his timeless craftsmanship he seamlessly matches form and function. Karel Martens has made an exceptional contribution to the field of graphic design – both in terms of meaning and prestige.”

The jury of the BNO Piet Zwart Award 2023: Timo de Rijk (juryvoorzitter), Pieke Bergmans, Gert Franke, Joost Grootens, Ed van Hinte en Shahar Livne. Secretaris: Diana Janssen (directeur BNO).


DUTCH DESIGN AWARDS The Dutch Design Awards (DDA) has been leading in celebrating excellent Dutch Design for many years now. The purpose of the organization is much wider than simply rewarding the best design: DDA is keen to encourage an ongoing dialogue about Dutch design. With plenty of openness and curiosity, DDA facilitates the exchange of knowledge and expertise between designers and curators, the general public and professionals. DDA continues to emphasize the impact of design on society, to contribute to continuously developing the field of design and to build a strong design community. 

www.dutchdesignawards.nl

New Order of Fashion - Regeneration

Ruusa Vuori

Regeneration: Fashion from the Ground Up Things have to change. Radically. And not tomorrow, but now, or better yet: yesterday. New Order of Fashion fashion platform aims to contribute explore smart and daring ways to change the fashion industry.

With the exhibition 'Regeneration: Fashion from the Ground Up,' NOoF illustrated a future perspective for regenerative fashion through its unique collective show with a showcase of twelve recently graduated fashion students. During Dutch Design Week 2023, NOoF showed work by up-and-coming designers in their LAB in Eindhoven under the title 'Fashion from the Ground Up'.  

 Regeneration, the theme for this DDW edition, is the process of renewing and repairing after something has been depleted, damaged or lost. Exactly this is what NOoF is fully committed to: finding bold ways to restore and replenish ecosystems. With this in mind, the newly graduated designers were selected: The courage with which they want to radically reverse the underlying system of the fashion industry.

Participants 2023: Katerina Knight, Ivan Delogu, Silvia Acien Parrilla, Charlotte Werth, Ása Bríet Brattaberg, Elīna Siliņa, Jude Hinojosa, Ruusa Vuori, Kelly Konings, Xue Chen, Ju Bao, Bastiaan Reijnen. Artistic Research: Jeppe Juel, Priss Niinikoski 

www.neworderoffashion.com

PROGRAM - 15th edition FASHIONCLASH Festival

photo Laura Knipsael, model and outfit Yorvique Macaay

15th edition of the international FASHIONCLASH Festival will take place from 17 - 19 November 2023 in Maastricht (The Netherlands).

During this three-day festival, a new generation of designers and performing artists from all over the world are given the opportunity to show their work to a broad (inter)national audience. The program with an exhibition, performances, talks, workshops and fashion film screenings, showcases projects that explore, contextualize and celebrate contemporary fashion culture. During the festival the work of more than 100 designers, artists and makers from more than 30 different countries can be seen.

FASHIONCLASH Festival is all about discovering, stimulating and co-shaping current developments in fashion and disclosing these developments to a wide audience. Participants of the festival belong to a generation of designers and artists who explore and question the boundaries of their discipline. With their works they move between the transdisciplinary domains of fashion, social design and visual arts.

The multi-voiced festival program is a composite selection from the proposals submitted through various open calls and from the projects initiated by FASHIONCLASH itself that are developed in co-production with various organizations and makers. For FASHIONCLASH, the annual festival is a vehicle for disclosing the results of all projects and talent development trajectories that happen throughout the year program.

FASHIONCLASH Festival is accessible to everyone through ticket sales and there are also a number of free activities.

More information about the program, participants and ticket sales: www.fashionclash.nl

TIMELESSTIME by MAISON the FAUX

The complex experience of time and timelessness, lack of time and eternal value is at the heart of TIMELESSTIME by MAISON the FAUX.

Do we lose or gain time with the passing of the years? Does physical deterioration make us vulnerable or is this the very thing that drives us to create, to philosophize, to destroy and start all over again...? MAISON the FAUX addresses this with the impressive TIMELESSTIME at MU Hybrid Art House.

Time and timelessness, lack of time and eternal values, are at the heart of TIMELESSTIME, the largest solo presentation that MAISON the FAUX has put together so far, bringing together all their experience in scenography and fashion, visual art and performance, digital culture and choreography. Periodically performers make landscapes full of stone, rubber, straw and flowers come to life, sucking the audience along as if on a story ride without beginning or end on waves of creation and decay. Thus, outspoken characters and their avatars periodically hold up a mirror to visitors. Waiting, struggling or whirling, switching between exhaustion and lethargy, they engage the audience in their seemingly endless quest.

Ten years on, MAISON the FAUX celebrates the here and now; in fashion, in theatres and museums, with high-profile installations. Not to deny the past, glorify the future or face it with fear, but to break through our conceptions of time and identity and all the rigid systems associated with them. Such is also the case in TIMELESSTIME where they put pressure on time and place in five impressive scenes. These 'epochs' are designed from the realization that we will disappear no matter what. Yet sometimes they manage to stop time for a moment, halt decay and let life solidify, until everything starts all over again. With TIMELESSTIME MAISON the FAUX brings together multi-vocal values and meanings. Precisely because, on the one hand, we seem to become more distant from each other in increasingly hermetic bubbles and, on the other hand, merge due to lightning-fast technology, that is making us loose all sense of time and place. We have ended up in a space of flows and a timeless time, as cultural sociologist Manuel Castells once put it. MAISON the FAUX freely interprets these concepts with their biggest installation so far, making 'timeless time' tangible.

As artists/designers, Tessa de Boer and Joris Suk, both creators behind MAISON the FAUX, are obsessed with the fake, the simulation and the constructed: What makes the real real and genuine and the artificial FAUX? And who determines that? And isn't FAUX also a form of 'queer timing', as Jack Halberstam once defined it: a form of resistance to the idea of linear advancing time that reinforces prevailing systems like capitalism, heteronormativity, whiteness and validism. FAUX as a different experience of time that represents life outside the prevailing 'bourgeois patterns' of birth, adulthood, work, reproduction, success and living as long as possible.

Credits
MAISON the FAUX: Tessa de Boer and Joris Suk
Performances by Arno Verbruggen, Jordan Achiano and Nora Monsecour
Choreography by Tatiana Matveeva
Sound design by  A. Crespo Barba
Art objects Esmay Wagemans and Dae Uk Kim.

https://mu.nl/nl/exhibitions/timelesstime
https://maisonthefaux.com

Lichting 2023

On Friday September 1st, the 17th edition of Lichting took place during Amsterdam Fashion Week at Felix Meritis. The 10 selected graduates from the seven Dutch fashion academies showed their collections.
Together, the international jury chose unanimously to select Yousra Razine Mahrah, graduate from Artez Fashion Design, as the official winner of Lichting 2023.

The participants of Lichting 2023: Annalie van Doorn, Yousra Razine Mahrah, Bastiaan Reijnen, Tim van der Plas, Ulkuhan Akgul, Floyd Rorije, Joseph William Raidt, Berke Taslidere, André Konings, and Eva Marie-Louise Vos.

This year, the panel of international jury members included Marlo Saalmink (Curator at large & Artistic Director), Tom van der Burght (Visual Artist and Fashion Designer), Ahmad Larnes (Creative Producer Tommy Hilfiger), and Gry Nissen (Creative Design Director and Brand Developer).

www.lichting.nl 

The First Exhibition – 20 Years of Contemporary Fashion Evolution

The First Exhibition
20 years of contemporary fashion evolution

The First Exhibition – 20 Years of Contemporary Fashion Evolution is a journey into the untold history of contemporary fashion over the past two decades and a glimpse into our future. Guest curator is Olivier Saillard, renowned fashion historian and former Director of the Palais Galliera in Paris.

ITS Arcademy’s inaugural exhibition explores the early creative genius of some of the most exciting fashion, accessories and jewellery designers on the international scene, many of which are now well known within the industry – like Balenciaga’s Demna, Bottega Veneta’s Matthieu Blazy or trailblazer Richard Quinn, – recipient of the inaugural Queen Elizabeth II Award for Design.

ITS Arcademy Part creative Archive and part Academy, ITS Arcademy – Museum of Art in Fashion is the first museum of contemporary fashion in Italy and the first entirely dedicated to the most contemporary forms and expressions of our age – experimental, radical, artistic. It is a forward-thinking cultural destination, with a developing programme of exhibitions, events, projects and educational experiences aimed at fostering creativity.

The ITS Arcademy permanent collection is unique in the world and has been built over the 20 editions of ITS Contest, one of the foremost international fashion competitions. ITS Arcademy preserves the early works of some of the most talented international fashion and accessory designers, many of whom are now well known. Among the notable ITS Contest alumni whose works are now part of the permanent Collection are Matthieu Blazy, Creative Director of Bottega Veneta; Demna, Creative Director of Balenciaga; winner of Queen Elizabeth II’s inaugural Design Award Richard Quinn; Nicolas Di Felice, Artistic Director of Maison Courrèges; up-and-coming duo Chopova Lowena.

more information: https://itsweb.org/exhibitions/the-first-exhibition/

Seville 2023 by PASARELLA

Fashion Family reuntion 2023 in Seville, beautifully captured by Mike van der Ent / Pasarella photography.

The trip feautured an excursion to Ronda and Setenil de las Bodegas.

HKU Exposure exhibition and show

Berber Struiksma

HKU Fashion Design Graduation show 2023

The opening of the HKU Exposure, the annual graduation event, took place on June 28 with a performative fashion show. Exactly at 16:16, also the title of the show, Kay Lambertius Ettema opened the event with an all-black collection followed by two dancing models from Farah Sahupala. Further on in the show, dancing was brought back by Jentl Rietdijk, who based her collection on research into the connection between her grandmother's old house and her life in Tallinn.

Similar to other academies, HKU students worked with upcycling, sustainability themes and created new forms with existing clothing and textiles. All symbolic of the recurring search for new fluid worlds where personal stories are connected to social themes. Mostly hopeful approaches to bring synergy and harmony to the world through fashion.

To play with the autonomy of fashion, Berber Struiksma created her own fairy tale with characters based on stories she found in second-hand books. Rosa Damen makes new compositions of found objects and materials. Marvin Beekman also played with waste and probably his project literally WA(I)ST.

In the search for new worlds, André Konings took the most innovative approach by mixing digital and physical and creating a fluid world. “The collection is a series of looks that represent liminal Spaces that are in line with me. As someone who is half Dutch/half Philipino, floating in between genders and sexuality. I find myself not completely one thing. Being in the gray area can be quite stressfull and uncertain.”
Another innovative approach was proposed by Roxy van Kemenade where digital and physical lives meet. With this 'phygital' collection, Roxy explores a way to make a digital embodiment more tangible.

With Camping Couture, Senne Roeper explored how to connect the pretentious fashion world with the simple and earthy camping life. This research is symbolic to his own life, on the one hand growing up on an island where he lived with people who don't care about fashion and on the other hand studying fashion in a city, where people usually have no idea what it is like to live in nature and outdoors.
Emma Pastoor found inspiration in the techno rave scene that is unknown to many people and that is why there is often a negative image of this community. With her collection, Emma wants to show the other side of this scene where openness to each other and freedom are central.

After the show, the exhibition officially opened where the work of the entire design department was on display, including an impressive textile artwork based on the slavery past that Marleen van der Eerden & Joëlle Wagteveld made in collaboration with Peggy Bouva. There was also an installation by product designer Mathilde Hanneuse who made a series of conceptual accessories. For the show she worked together with Alain Albert Meijnhard van Schor.

Mathilde Hanneuse

There was much more to see.  Take a look at the pictures below for some impressions.

https://exposure.hku.nl/

IG @hkufashiondesign

15th editon FASHIONCLASH Festival

photo Laura Knipsael

15th edition of the international and interdisciplinary FASHIONCLASH Festival will take place from 17 - 19 November 2023 in Maastricht (The Netherlands). 

During this three-day festival, a new generation of designers and performing artists from all over the world are given the opportunity to show their work to a broad (inter)national audience. The program with an exhibition, performances, talks, workshops and fashion film screenings, showcases projects that explore, contextualize and celebrate contemporary fashion culture. FASHIONCLASH Festival is all about discovering, stimulating and co-shaping current developments in fashion and opening up these developments to a wide audience. Participants of the festival belong to a generation of designers and artists who explore and question the boundaries of their discipline. With their works they move between the transdisciplinary domains of fashion, social design and visual arts.

The multi-voiced festival program is a composite selection from the proposals submitted through various open calls and from the projects initiated by FASHIONCLASH itself that are being developed in co-production with various organizations and makers. For FASHIONCLASH, the annual festival is a vehicle for disclosing the results of all projects and talent development trajectories that happen throughout the year program.

The program includes a.o.:
- The Clash House, performance program
- Fashion Film Program, with awards and premiere of a FASHIONCLASH film production powered by Meester Koetsier Foundation
- New Fashion Narratives exhibition at Bureau Europa
- Fashion Makes Sense, with presentations and workshops of participation projects such as campaign project, The Hooooooodie Project, Who cares what you wear? etc.
- Afterparty with performances

Gerrit Rietveld Academie Fashion Show 2023

The annual fashion show of the fashion department of the Gerrit Rietveld Academy took place on Friday 23 June in Amsterdam. Students from the whole fashion department showed their work. In the reception area there were installations and films by a number of first and second year students. 

In the show room there were a number of chairs placed on the catwalk with models already seated and waiting. These were from Bepa Vera Lelie's graduation project The Waiting Room. Then the show started with a dynamic presentation from the first and second year students; in both years interesting proposals as well as early experiments. 

Eventually, it was the turn of the graduates, and The Waiting Room collection by Bepa came to life. This was followed by an outfit inspired by strawberry, a heart-shaped top, and a number of other creations with which Sophie Huizinga investigated the role of food in fashion and, in particular, the tension between the two.
Fleur van Heezik created a surrealistic world of her own with both costumes and sets, taking the audience into a cinematographic world linked to her childhood and the 1970s vintage children's TV shows. The well-made costumes and set pieces were literally wheeled onto the catwalk. Part of her project is also a film for which these were the set pieces. Tom Huijben was also inspired by his growing up, but in a different way, he researched what it was like to grow up on a farm in the south of the Netherlands, which in his own words was 'an alienating experience' even before he knew he was queer.
With the project 'Does the Michelin Man Eat Burek?' Emma Milicevic explored the complexities of a bi-cultural identity and how pop culture influences our memories and thus creates a sense of belonging. Ruben Janssen's project is an investigation into evolution, examined through the prisms of biology, computation and a poetic personal story; on a smaller scale, the idea of ​​family is placed as a microscopic fractal image. Hanne Haug Johne mixed queers from past and present with trolls from Norwegian folklore in a performance in which costumes, fashion and vocal improvisation represent a space between reality and fiction.

Collection by Jakob Hodel is a tapestry that attempts to reveal and document our modern version of the medieval tournament: football. In particular, the Bayeux tapestry, which tells the story of a holy war and mixes it with ancient Greek fables, served as inspiration.

The show showcased a diverse palette of projects exploring the role of fashion in the broadest sense of the word. Mostly performative presentations were strong in pronunciation and effective in their performance. The projects are personal, questioning, materially and immaterially driven and innovative in the respectful connection between tradition and innovation. 

IG @gra.fashion