MAFAD Graduation Show 2018

Nienke Creemers

Under the name Collective 12, twelve graduates from Maastricht Academy of Fine Arts and Design joined forces and presented their collections at FASHIONCLASH Festival 2018. Presenting various visions, material experiments and relevant themes their passion came across. Nathan Klein and Pia Walter are selected for the Lichting Show, the best of graduate show in The Netherlands. Nathan Klein was also awarded with Chapeau Magazine Talent Award during the festival.

Graduates: Nathan Klein, Nienke Creemers, Pia Walter, Sam Schobbe, Laura Van der Spoel, Nieke Verkennis, Michelle Zwinkels, Bojanna Aleksic, Helen Hentschke, Jessie Witters, Valéry Fiddelaers, Pauline Hetger

More info: www.facebook.com/COLLECTIVE12 / Instagram @Collective_12

Picture report by brankopopovciblog, Ginger Bloemen

Recap FASHIONCLASH Festival 2018

The Pink Church

Fashion My Religion!
 
FASHIONCLASH presented with Fashion My Religion! the 10-year anniversary edition of the international and interdisciplinary FASHIONCLASH Festival. During the 15th, 16th and 17th of June 2018 more than 150 promising designers and stage performers from countries such as the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Serbia, Finland, Uruguay and many more where given the stage at the festival. The festival program was composed within a 3-day program The Route: an inspiring pilgrimage along 26 locations with expositions, theatre- and dance performances and talks.

Several projects where specially initiated for the festival, for example the God Is A Woman!? project for which ten designers where invited to create an outfit that is based on research on a subject that is related to the theme ‘Fashion My Religion, focussing on the research on social intolerances exist and how fashion can play a role in creating more inclusivity.

The festival opened in the Gashouder on Friday June 15.  Not only was there pie but also the campaign cakes from Das Leben am Haverkamp could be admired from up close. The opening guests could choose from four routes: Museum, Church, City and Sally. Each route consisted of a number of elements from the program such as the Koorkappen exhibition in the Bonnefantenmuseum, dance performance LUX by Sally Dance Company in the Brandweer, Babel collection installation by Kasper Jongejan, Showpieces exhibition in the Bijenkorf, Inspired by Religion exhibition in 't Dinghuis, installation of Amber Jae Slooten in Entre Deux and Day Dream Space installation / performance by Tim Scheffer and Audrey Apers in Centre Ceramique.

Opening tour of The Route

The Pink Church
On Friday, a rather controversial and much-discussed pink church was literally blown up at the historic square the Vrijthof, where a themed program was organized with a number of speakers in collaboration with Waardengedreven. The Pink Church got a lot of attention and while the churches in the Netherlands are getting empty, the pink church was packed with fashionable guests.

Fashion Shows
The Fashion Show program with more than 30 designers and 12 MAFAD graduates took place on Saturday evening, a spectacular evening in a setting designed by Studio AKATAK and Scott Robin Jun. There were many highlights such as Carlijn Veuring, Annaïss Yucra Mancilla, Daria D'Ambrosio, Jacqueline Loekito, SorteMaria, Teun Seuren, Matteo Carlomusto and Zahra Hosseini. During the show program the impressive LUX was presented, the dance performance of Sally Dance Company, tenth edition of the CLASH Project and Noumenon performance by Mami Izumi and Jivika Biervliet.

Beckhomorehena by Zahra Hosseini
Show scenography Studio Akatak & Scott Robin Jun

Awards 
After the shows four Awards were presented. And the winners are:
- FASHIONCLASH Festival Award: Filipe Augusto
- KALTBLUT Magazine Award: HENKJENZ
- CHAPEAU Magazine Talent Award: Nathan Klein
- Vancouver Fashion Week Award: STEVEN VANDERYT and Rita Sá

Nathan Klein

Fashion Talk
On Sunday there was a program in the LAB Building / Forza Fashion House with three performances and The Fashion Dialogue: a CLASH or VALUES, a talk organized in collaboration with MIND FASHION with special speakers Maaike de Haardt, Dai Rees, José Teunissen, Ben Wubs, Adam Peacock and Mariangela Lavanga.

Performances
The tenth edition was one with many clashes with which the FASHIONCLASH platform gave stage to the experiment that goes beyond fashion. The festival presented a series of theme related theater and dance crossovers, including the performance 'HUNTING' by Nora Ramakers and Timo Tembuyser, a co-production with VIA ZUID, ORACLES by Anna Luka da Silva and Erik van de Wijdeven and 'MISSA HOMO SACER Op. 35 Confiteor Deo' by Timo Tembuyser. At the Mosae Forum shopping center, a special project was presented, called Dialoque Between Fashion and Death by Nina Willems, who collaborated with fashion designer Marlou Breuls and director Eva Line de Boer, based on the romantic poem by Giacomo Leopardi. At Lumière Cinema the performance took place 'I Am Sad', a project by Margreet Sweerts that showed the research of the project Festival of Sadness that will take place in the autumn.

LUX - Sally Dansgezelschap Maastricht

One of the festival highlights was LUX, the dance performance of SALLY Dance Company Maastricht. A choreography by Martin Harriague in collaboration with Maastricht fashion designer Mieke Kockelkorn, inspired by the written word in religion. And last but not least, the number of talented students from Academy of the performing Arts Maastricht who presented their performances, including Anthony van Gog, Timo Tembuyser, Anna Luka da Silva and Kimberly Afua Agyarko.

Dialoque Between Fashion and Deathat Mosae Forum

For more information about the festival and participants: fashionclash.nl

Take a look at some highlights
All pictures: brankopopovicblog

Das Leben am Haverkamp

God is a Woman?!

Mette Sterre

The theme for the 10th edition of FASHIONCLASH Festival was  ‘Fashion My Religion!’.
Within this framework, ‘God is a Woman!?' project is initiated. For this project, FASHIONCLASH selected ten designers to create an outfit based on research related to this theme. ‘God is a woman!?’ invited the designers to explore gender roles in religion, examine existing intolerances and question how fashion can play a role to increase inclusiveness in religion: it is a project on social issues and patriarchal systems.

All the designs where exhibited Centre Céramique during the 10th edition of FASHIONCLASH Festival.

God is a Woman?! Participants
Photography: Sem Shayne & Anton Fayle
Hair: Sigrid Eiting at KEVIN.MURPHY
Make-Up: Rachel Ritzen / Ellis Faas

CLASH Project 2018

Simone Schuffelen

CLASH Project
Fashion By Non-Fashion Designers

Since the beginning of FASHIONCLASH Festival in 2009, CLASH Project invites ten artists and designers (all non-fashion designers) per year to translate their work into wearable catwalk pieces. Participants from different art and design disciplines are challenged to transfer their practice, both materially and conceptually to a different medium. CLASH is the perfect opportunity to step out of your artistic comfort zone – to play and to experiment with other forms of art. The participants are professionals who represent various artistic disciplines, such as fine arts, product design, jewelry, performance and photography. All disciplines except fashion are possible. The CLASH project has become an iconic project, forming one of the highlights of the FASHIONCLASH Festival, and its outcome is always refreshing, captivating and trendsetting. 

More info: www.fashionclash.nl

Encounter with Rita Sá

Meet, Rita Sá, young Portuguese designer, who has won participation at FASHIONCLASH Festival 2018 at the previous edition of Sangue Novo at ModaLisboa - Lisboa Fashion Week.

She will present her collection “Glass of Ceiling” in Maastricht on Saturday June 16.
Get your ticket here

interview by Liliana Pedro

What’s fashion for you?
It’s the perfect tool to transmit emotions, thoughts and feelings. With no shadow of a doubt, that fashion was the best way that I found to show what I think and what I feel. Since the very beginning of the creative process till the last touch before the models walk down the runway, I put myself in everything that I do. Each process phase turns into a discover very personal.

What made you fell in love with fashion at the first place?
It was always fashion. I can’t remember of anything else. My family has a great skills for arts and it was always influenced my interests. With time, the ideas will mature and we will be more sure of what moves us.

Fashion is growing up a lot and it’s becoming more global. In your opinion, which challenges faces a fashion designer nowadays? In what concerns to the difficulties that a young designer finds nowadays, most of them don’t depend on our work, but on external factors. In my opinion, the industry still doesn’t look to the young designers as professionals. From my experience, when I have to develop a collection I don’t aim to develop serial pieces and that's what the industry is worried about, to reaching the numbers. I see the industry still very inflexible to work with designers in their very careers.

Imagine that you had to spend a day with a fashion designer. Which one you would rather spend some quality time? Simon Jacquemus.

Do you prefer the 80’s or the 90’s? 90’s.

What’s the best and the worst fashion trend ever? I think all trends one day become "the worst trends"! Because that's what they are after all: trends !! You may like it for a season, but 4 seasons later you look back and think “hmmmm".

Are you a stiletto girl or a sneaker girl? Sneaker girl.

Name an artist/band you never get tired of listening to. Alt J.

What’s your favorite tv show? I don’t watch tv!

Your latest collection has the name “Glass of Ceiling”. Where this idea came from?
 
“If you have a glass ceiling, don´t throw rocks in the air” is definitely the motto for the collection “Telhados de Vidro” which describes the game played by those who desperately try to be something they are not; masked hypocrites who feel the need of ostentation in a “make-believe” world. Attacking others for problems that they themselves have, each individual from the collection choose to believe that it is preferable to be a false somebody than a true nobody. Forming a gradational process from the first to the last look, the collection presents its first individual who seems to be impervious to anything surrounding him and not afraid of showing his vulnerabilities or weaknesses. The second individual is clearly uncomfortable with this idea and tries his best to show his superiority, even at the cost of being someone he’s not. From here on, every individual tries to impose his superiority upon his predecessor, trying hard to hide all their weaknesses in an illusion game where nothing is what it seems, manipulating the truth and revealing only what is pleasant to the eye. However, what is shown has no real utility and therefor is essentially futile. As we continue, there seems to be a lot of difficulty in controlling the flamboyance created within these individuals and as a result, instead of seeing the silhouettes growing, giving the individual height, they seem to have dropped suddenly. New volumes are now secured by little details which still prevail and the vulnerabilities which were hidden until now are completely exposed. The blue color used reminds us of plastic bags, creating the idea of something that is expendable.

How much time did you spend in putting this collection alive?
From the search for the concept until the creative development was completed I took about three months, and for the preparation about 2 months.

How did you feel when you knew that you will be attending at FASHIONCLASH Festival?
I confess that after so many months of work and a day as fast as that, it is difficult to have a notion of what is happening when we are given a prize like FASHIONCLASH. It is only in the "aftermath" of the parade that we are becoming aware of the importance of what has happened to us. But it is undoubtedly very gratifying and I think the biggest victory is, without a doubt, a few days after the parade we calmly take a look at our work and feel proud of what we have done.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years from now on? I hope that I can achieve all of my goals and still be lucky to continue in the place where I’m happy, close to the ones that make me happy.  

Instagram: @ritasa.brand

Program - Fashion My Religion - FASHIONCLASH Festival 2018

What to expect! FASHIONCLASH Festival - Fashion My Religion! jubilee edition

FASHIONCLASH presents Fashion My Religion! The 10-year anniversary edition of the international and interdisciplinary FASHIONCLASH Festival. During the 15th, 16th and 17th of June 2018 more than 150 promising designers and stage performers from countries such as the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Serbia, Finland, Uruguay and many more will take part in the festival. The festival program is composed within a 3-day program The Route: an inspiring pilgrimage along expositions, lectures, theatre- and dance performances and talks. The Fashion Show program takes place on Saturday evening, a spectacular evening where talents of the future will take the stage at the SAM-Decorfrabriek.

In short, a unique opportunity to get inspired by and discover the world of fashion, the newest fashion talents and to enjoy Maastricht as a fashion city.

For more information about the program and designers: www.fashionclash.nl
 

Tickets: FASHIONCLASH Festival is accessible for everyone and anyone and is mostly free of entrance, with the exception of the fashion shows on Saturday. Tickets for the fashion show are for sale from €12,50 (pre-sale online) and €15, -/ students €7,50 at the door. Tickets are available from May 1st 2018 via www.fashionclash.nl - and during the festival at the SAM-Decorfabriek.

Dorota Sak

Theme: Fashion My Religion!
The overarching theme Fashion My Religion! boldly dives into one of the most current themes of the moment; religion. Specifically, the relation between religion and gender, hair style and clothing. FASHIONCLASH dares participants and visitors to research, highlight or break existing religious traditions and taboos by way of using fashion. A call to activism that hopefully inspires a new generation of fashion- makers and lovers to fulfil their role as meaningful as they can.

‘’The meeting between fashion and religion isn’t a new one. Religious idioms and luxury have been used for decades by many within fashion. Sometimes just for ethical motives, other times with a dose of criticism. With ‘Fashion My Religion’ we are placing the audience and the designer in an interesting area of tension; fashion versus religion or cutting-edge versus tradition. We take a closer look at cultural expressions of personal, modern meaning and more traditional ones. We place historical absolutes opposite from modern-day fluid truths by really going in on social matters such as, feminism and human rights. Through (fashion)design we dissect the ever-changing awareness around the relationship we have with our environment and come up with new stories and approaches to ‘fashion and religion’.’’ -FC Team

FASHIONCLASH Festival 2018 x Das Leben am Haverkamp

Fashion My Religion! Campaign project in cooperation with Das Leben am Haverkamp 

FASHIONCLASH presents Fashion My Religion! (FMR), the 10th edition of the international & interdisciplinary fashion festival in Maastricht. During this three-day festival over more than 100 emerging designers and (performing)artists from all over the world get the opportunity to show their work to a diverse, international audience. The multidisciplinary program contains fashion shows/presentations, exhibitions, installations, awards, fashion theatre and dance performances.

The overarching theme of the festival is “Fashion My Religion!” (read ‘fashion’ as a verb). The campaign image is developed in collaboration with the Dutch fashion collective Das Leben am Haverkamp, ​​consisting of Christa van der Meer, Dewi Bekker, Anouk van Klaveren and Gino Anthonisse. Following the theme for this edition ‘Fashion My Religion’ they made cakes from the favorite garments of, among others, FCF-founders Nawie Kuiper, Branko Popovic and Laurens Hamacher and of themselves.

Campaign photographer is Lonneke van der Palen and graphic designer Ivo Straetmans (Studio Noto).

As a collective, we see less and less relevance in making more clothes. As a result, our previous projects were all about exploring an alternative role for ourselves as fashion designers. With this project we want to celebrate your favorite clothing pieces, instead of making new ones. For us (like religion, sport and art) fashion is a way of giving meaning, a social context, something to look forward to, creation and identity. Unfortunately, the value people attach to clothing is subjected to inflation because increasingly more is becoming available for less.
That is why we present a ‘new religion’(with a wink) that can replace fashion: baking cakes in the form of clothing. The hobby-like character, the personal commitment and the disarming image of cake baking in a fashion context, we find an exciting contrast with the elitist image that fashion can have.’
www.daslebenamhaverkamp.com

http://fashionclash.nl

Sangue Novo - ModaLisboa LUZ

Filipe Augusto

Sangue Novo (New Blood) is a platform for young Portuguese designers who get the opportunity to show their work within a collective fashion show. Nine Portuguese designers where selected to show their collections. At the end of the show several awards where presented.
Winner of the FASHIONCLASH / Sangue Novo ModaLisboa LUZ edition is Filipe Augusto.
His prize is participation at Fashion My Religion! The 10th edition of FASHIONCLASH Festival (June 15 -17).

Filipe Augusto, born in Peso da Régua, is currently based in Porto. He graduated from Modatex Porto, in October 2016.
7 skirts is the starting point of this collection. Seven: from the seven Nazaré skirts, the traditional Portuguese costume that represents the seven virtues, the seven days of the week, the seven colors of the rainbow, among other related uses of the number. Elements as skirts and aprons, sometimes emulated in a deconstructed way into more masculine pieces, are distributed throughout seven models, each of them will tell a different story for a different skirt. Crochet is a hidden reference in the skirts and represents the fishing net’s nylon.  

Federico Cina, winner of FASHIONCLASH Festival 2017 Talent Award has been selected to take part at Sangue Novo show. He showed his Polimoda graduation collection VACUUM.

Winner of the ModaLisboa Award is David Pereira. The Feeting Room Award went to Rita Afonso who impressed The Hanged Man, a collection that is both creative and has commercial potential.
Rita Afonso was previously successful with her collection she presented at SangueNovo in March, she took part at FASHIONCLASH Festival 2017.

http://modalisboa.pt/sanguenovo