KABK The Hague Fashion Show 2019

Stella Kim
photo: Nosh Ipenburg, Lumi Tuomi and Melissa Schriek

Exposed - The show of the fashion and textile department of the KABK, The Royal Academy of Fine Art The Hague took place on 14th of June. The show featured work of bachelor students and fashion and textile graduates of 2019.

The Keep an Eye Textile & Fashion Award 2019 went to textile graduate Stella Hyunju Kim who impressed with her project 'Artificial Calm', exploring the contemporary symbolic meaning of fire.

'My project consists of 2 single beds and a curtain. The bed and curtain symbolises our daily life whilst harbouring the most textiles in our rooms. I researched the patterns of how fire can destruct, deconstruct and decay the structures of daily objects and how it creates layers containing a story. I am introducing a new way of preserving burnt objects by placing it in a room context just the way it is, telling its untold story and values.'

Trumaine Huijts translated his irritation over large fashion brands that are taking over the elements from the skate culture. By experimenting with knitting techniques, he wanted to give something back to the skate community, by showing what else skate clothing can be.  The fashion graduate Lina Lau researched on the meaning of term 'luxury' and translated this in a rich and layered collection, namely the 'A Premium Mediocre Collection'. She mixed historical references from the Renaissance with contemporary sportwear. Vincent Wong impressed with the stunning and well tailored menswear collection 'Juvenile Oddity', exploring traditional tailoring and the influence of technology on our lives.
The theme of technology also occured in the work of Otilia Vieru, exploring speculative virtual reality and the potential impact and influence of technology on mankind. 'Welcome to the Braindrain'  is based on a world in which technology plays a major role, and the humanity does not know how to deal with it. Shijia Hao got was inspired by large cities that are suffering from urbanization and industrialization showing a imaginative working class in a futuristic dystopia.

Take a look at the picture report below. All images unless mentioned otherwise are by brankopopovicblog

KABK The Hague Fashion Show 2017

Roos Boshart

The Fashion & Textile department of the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague held their annual Fashion show on Saturday June 17.
The class of 2017 is a rather small class of four graduates, however all four profiled themselves in their own authentic way.

Roos Boshart presented the collection 'I am a slave of your perception, you are a slave of mine'. With this collection she explored the interaction between the body, the self and the other. 'By taking iconic and recognizable fashion pieces, which I presentwithout any context, I show the pure core of clothing in relation to the body.
Questions I investigated were, amongst others, how do we perceive each other and how can we influence this? How does fashion play a role in how we see ‘the other’?

Rachael Cheong presented an intruiging proposal titled 'We Know What You Are Hiding',  a collection that is build around the idea of dolls as the keeper of secrets. 'They sit in your room, watch everything you do, know what you mutter in your sleep and know your deepest, darkest secrets. Taking my obsession with dolls to another level, the body of a doll is seen as a surrogate body onto which we project ourselves.'

Thalojna Slui
'Out of Touch is based on schizophrenia and the sense of losing reality. Also, I got intrigued by Jean Dubuffet and Outsiders Art, and used that as inspiration to create my own installation. I hope to convey a message that although you might be suffering from a mental illness, the world you experience is still complete. It’s all a matter of perspective.'

Veronika Konvickova showed a romantic womenswear collection 'Silent Wonderlust' inspired by the relationship between silence and sound. 'It involves the search to escape the constant motion of a busy life and never-ending noise. I would like to inspire people to seek more silence in their life and surroundings, to slow down and take more time to reconnect with their inner self'.

In addition to the graduates the show also featured experiments by first year, ethnical and historical costumes. The stand-outs in the 2nd year where Lina Lau, Trumaine Huijts and Vincent Wong and the in the 3rd year students promising proposals where displayed by Laura Snijders, Nina Dekker, Yuki Ito and Nina Dekker.
Next to the shows there was an exhibition 'Exposed' where also the textiles students such as Joana Schneider and Min Gweon presented their work.

Take a look at the show highlights below
All images by brankopopovicblog

KABK Fashion Show 2016

Woody 's-Gravemade

The Fashion Show 2016 at Royal Academy of Fine Art The Hague (KABK)
In recent years the KABK has delivered multiple talented designers, such as Bastian Visch, Marije de Haan and Nikki Duijst who all won the prestigious Lichting Award.
Under leadership by the avant-garde designer Jurgi Persoons, the fashion and textile department of the KABK has become the show to scout talents. What stands out the KABK is the expressive approach not only with design and material but also with narrative. 
Perfect example is the graduate Woody 's-Gravemade who made a poetic statement with his collection 'Dutch' Culture. In his collection he mixed Western and Middle Eastern culture, exploring the culture clash by blending street wear with islamic garments such as the burqa and niqab with typical Western garments such as shinny wadded jacket. Returning in the collection is the 'Turkentas', Dutch word for the cheap plastic bags mostly related to the stereotypical image of migrants.

Woody 's-Gravemade

Woody 's-Gravemade