Karim Adduchi - Ode to the Berber woman

Karim Adduchi SS18 collection as ode to the Berber woman 

Moroccan designer Karim Adduchi presented his new collection "She Has 99 Names" in the Dove in Amsterdam on Wednesday, November 8th . In addition to Karim himself an immigrant, he works with his collections together with Syrian, Russian and Eritrean laborers and artists, who recently found their home in Amsterdam. He specifically aimed at workers whose work you do not often encounter on the catwalk.

In "She Has 99 Names" Karim has given an oath to the women he had around when he lived in Imzouren as a child; the Berber village where he was born too. Adduchi shows these women in their distinctive complexity: beautiful and confused, sad and sad, furious and fragile.
Adduchi dives in the rich heritage of Morocco prior to each collection. He designs woolen fabrics, hand-woven by local laborers. Adduchi: "I want to revive local crafts, and transform them into contemporary looks." 

Even though Adduchi is not a political artist, he tries to map social problems with his art. Immigrants and refugees invite him to work with him in his collections. At first, these people were all unknowns, but their shared passion for craftsmanship and design brought them together. Adduchi does not like the title refugee :"It's very limiting. I work with two Syrian tailors, a woodworker from Aleppo, an Eritrean embroiderer. They bring all the skills. " 

" It was a crazy mix of people. We had a Syrian tailor who cut patterns at a table, five Moroccan women embroidering and chatting at another table and a half naked model dressed in the middle. Total culture shock. Yet the people all returned. A Moroccan elderly lady prepared cooked chicken tajine for all who we ate together between the substances together. " 

About Karim Adduchi 
Illustrator, painter and fashion designer Karim Adduchi was born in Imzouren, Morocco, in 1988. He grew up in a family of tailors. He moved with his family to Barcelona at age five. For the first time, Karim enrolled into primary school. After seeing his drawings, his school mentor advised him to attend art school. He did, and during the next ten years Karim developed his technique in Italian painting and drawing. Karim continued his studies for two years at the Pompeu Fabra Academy where he developed his personal style, which he later refined at the Fine Arts University of Barcelona. In 2010 he moved to Amsterdam to continue his training at the fashion department of the Gerrit Rietveld Academie. His graduation collection She Knows Why the Caged Bird Sings received international press coverage. The collection combined traditional Berber craftsmanship with sharp tailoring. In 2016 Adduchi presented She Lives Behind the Courtyard Door in which he once more confirmed his talent as a designer. As in his previous collection, he used the rich cultural heritage of Morocco as a foundation on which to build. He draws the fabrics away from connotations such as exotic and oriental and presents them in a present-day style, on equal footing: design, couture.

http://karimadduchi.com

photography: Team Peter Stigter

Mo­de­mu­ze@OBA

dress by Fong Leng

From March 17 until Juli 2 Modemuze is guest at OBA in Amsterdam.

The exhibition Modemuze@OBA provides the enthusiasts the richness of fashion, costume and accessories that are in Dutch museum collections.
From historical clothing to contemporary creations of young designers like Jef Montes and Luca Kemkes, you can discover it at this special exhibition. 

Modemuze is a cooperation of twelve Dutch museums with a unique fashion and costume collection.
Under the name Modemuze the museums are collaborating to permanently present these collections online. They aim to connect a growing amount of Dutch fashion and costume collections and present them as a source of inspiration for fashion lovers, professionals and fashionistas.
The thousands of garments and accessories in these museums represent many stories about their creators and wearers, about the changes in taste, about imagination and identity. These collections are very vulnerable because of their frigile textiles and therefore not permanently visible to the public. www.modemuze.nl gives you 24/7 the opportunity to wander through centuries, get inspired and share the beauty of costume heritige.

www.modemuze.nl

Alya Hessy at FASHIONCLASH Festival 2016

Alya Hessy, graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in 2015, operates in the world between the body and textiles.

Born in Ukraine, living in the Netherlands and fascinated by Japan, Alya explores the realms of politics, philosophy and physicality through making objects, writing and performing. She seeks emptiness as a way of letting go of the pre-defined and allowing multiple interpretations.

At the Heritage exhibition at FASHIONCLASH Festival 2016 she presented a 'knitting performance' with aim to explore the physicality of knitting.

"The work explores knitting as a concept, whereby this heritage craft becomes a model of human relationships. 
Two entities, working together, create a material. Two human bodies start moving to become knitting needles, the choreography of knitting unfolds into space and materialises into a story of two people collaborating"

Q&A with Alya Hessy

In what projects are you involved at this moment?
I am exploring new possibilities through collaborations with inspiring people. I am resear ching the meaning of craft through history and now. And I am still trying to figure out life, ha-ha!

Who are your artistic influences or inspirations and why? 
Louise Bourgeois: incredibly consistent, stubborn and mischievous. Kenya Hara about the concept of emptiness as an opening of possibilities. Japanese spaces, gardens, poetry. Roland Barthes “ The Empire of Signs” – a collection of refined witty essays on various aspects of emptiness in Japanese culture.

Finding your own voice is difficult, where and how do you find your personal creativity (before you start designing; during the design process)? 
I use my background in computer programming for collecting, analysing and dissecting data, extracting the essence. I combine it with an intuitive approach to feel the quality of the material and find a way of shaping it.

What do you want to communicate with your designs in general?
Make space.
Take your time.
Look. Listen.
Feel.

Can you tell us something about the project you presented at the FASHIONCLASH Festival? Together with a choreographer and my co-performer Pavlos Marios Ktoridis we will explore the physicality of knitting. It is a durational performance, which we performed during the Heritage Exhibition.

"A seemingly simple action, a whole range of human emotions, growing material: human relationship as a garment."

Why have you decided to participate at FASHIONCLASH Festival?
The topic Heritage triggered me, as for the performance (that will be shown on the festival) I work with an old heritage craft of knitting. In my work I strive for emptiness (multiple possibilities). It is exciting to place this work in yet another context, that of fashion.


More about Alya and her work here: http://www.alyahessy.com

Karim Adduchi - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Amsterdam

'She lives behind the courtyard door' is a poetic and personal; story behind the collection of Karim Adduchi who was put on a big stage at the FashionWeek in Amsterdam.
Just one year after the graduation from Rietveld Academy, his striking approach to mix his Berber heritage with fashion design, got him favoured by the audience.
Inspired by the traditional clothing of the Berber culture Karim showcased a beauty of the multicultural world, providing a new proposal for the contemporary women with a somehow forced strive for modernity.
It is exactly his approach that makes him one-to-watch in the Dutch fashion scene, expressing perhaps what is missing sometimes in the Dutch fashion scene; the richness of the multicultural society.
My problem is only, although this was a beautiful opening show, is it responsible to give young designers such a big stage in the very early phase of their carreer. We have seen often designers overdesigning and multiplying the collection to provide enough content. Most of them vanish after one or two seasons. Perhaps a smaller collection with more focus would have given him more attention for his talent? Eventually we wish for the talented designer not only to jump but to fly from the springboards we provide.

http://karimadduchi.com

Ethnographic Museum Belgrade

If you are planning a trip to Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, than a visit to the Ethnographic Museum Belgrade is highly recommended. Providing a broad selection of ethnographic objects and costumes this museum gives an insight to a rich Serbian heritage and diversity of cultures.

From 13th of June until 19th of June the exhibition New Spirit of Heritage will display a contemporary interpretation by Serbian fashion designers. A selection of this work will be exhibited during FASHIONCLASH Festival July 1 and 2 in Maastricht.
New Spirit of Heritage is orginized in relation to 25th anniversary of the Belgrade based Click, a fashion agency responsible for organisation of Belgrade Fashion Week. 

The Ethnographic Museum in Belgrade was founded in 1901, when the Ethnographic Department was separated from the National Museum to become an independent institution. The proposal to establish a museum that would study folk life and the conceptual and theoretical framework for such a museum were drafted by the historian Stojan Novaković, the Secretary of the Serbian Learned Society and subsequently a full member of the Serbian Royal Academy (presently the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts).

Various ethnographic objects, including some earthenware and metal vessels, jewellery, amulets, glass and textile items, weapons, tools, Easter eggs and other museum items were transferred to the Foundation Stevča Mihajlović – the house that Mihajlović bequeathed by his will “to the Serbian nation” for his “eternal memory with the purpose of converting it into a museum for the Serbian Kingdom”. Sima Trojanović, PhD, was appointed as the guardian (director) of the museum, whereas Nikola Zega was subsequently appointed as its first curator. The inauguration of the first permanent exhibition of the EthnographicMuseum was organized on September 20, 1904, on the occasion of the centennial of the First Serbian Uprising.
During the first years of its work, the activities of the Ethnographic Museum were focused on the purchase of museum items and the presentation of the Kingdom of Serbia abroad. Items to be included in museum collections were collected during field research throughout the then territory of Serbia and the neighbouring countries where the Serbs also lived.

 In World War I, a large number of museum items were destroyed, as well as the documentation and the library. After the war, new field research campaigns were undertaken with the aim of filling the gaps in the collections. During that period, guest exhibitions organized abroad were less frequent. The museum library was re-established in 1920. Today, its holdings contain about 60,000 publications: 33,000 books and about 27,000 journals dealing with ethnology, anthropology and related scholarly disciplines. Between the two world wars, the New Inventory and the Alphabetical Catalogue of all museum objects were compiled, the Department of Musical Folklore and the Department of Illustration were established, while the museum objects were classified according to materials from which they were made.
During World War II, museum objects were packed and removed from the building in which the museum was housed at that time. After the war, the museum was moved into the building of the Belgrade Stock Exchange at No. 13 Studentski Trg (Square).
The museum collections currently contain about 200,000 items, 56,000 of which are ethnographic objects.
Since its founding until the present day, the museum has been dedicated to professional collecting and the study of museum objects and ethnogenetic processes, traditional material culture, social relations and family life, customs, beliefs and folklore. It has also been involved in the study of the features of Serbian culture, as well as those of other ethnic groups living within the region. In addition to collecting artefacts, since the 1960s, team research into the ethnographic areas of northeastern and western Serbia was introduced as a permanent activity of the museum. Research results are published in professional and academic journals and catalogues.

The EthnographicMuseum in Belgrade organizes temporary and permanent exhibitions. Eight permanent exhibitions and several hundred temporary exhibitions in the country and abroad have been organized so far. The eighth permanent exhibition, titled The Folk Culture of the Serbs in the 19th and 20th Centuries, was set up in 2001. Over the past twenty-two years, the International Festival of Ethnographic Film has been a regular programme organized by the museum. The museum also organizes workshops for children and adults, lectures, book presentations and concerts.

 http://etnografskimuzej.rs/en/

Klaudia Mariewicz FW 2016/17

Łodz based designer Klaudia Mariewicz brought the world to the catwalk of the FashionPhilosophy Fashion Week Poland. Inspired by the globalization she clashed various local traditions throughout the collection. Traditional African aesthetics are mixed with influence of the European and American culture, creating a new nomadic tribe for the contemporary globe trotter. Colours are inspired by Maasai and Dogon tribal costumes. Images of African ethnical tribes are applied to the coats and jackets almost like pamphlets. Furthermore, the collection is enriched with handcrafted pieces, oversized knitting’s and crochet, but also with materials such as Polish wool paying a tribute to the local heritage. Brave proposal that stands out from the obvious Polish fashion design aesthetics.

http://klaudiamarkiewicz.com

Exploring Inspirations

Presented during Belgrade Fashion Week in April, Exploring inspirations supported by Stimulering Fund Creative Industries Fund Netherlands, will be on display during FASHIONCLASH Festival 2016.

Exploring Inspirations project took place in 2015 with Dutch and Serbian designers participating in three stages: clothing, jewelry and shoe design. All designers took part in workshops with experienced craftsmen. Clothing items based on knitwear technique, onsite, with knitters demonstrating the patterns and possibilities of the wool material.
Jewelry design phase was centered around a filigree masterclass workshop with experienced goldsmith from Macedonia, Biljana Klekačkoska who explained the technique so that the designers mastered it in just four days of intense work and produced their own prototype jewelry designs in silver.
Shoe design workshop focused on opanak shoe (the traditional Balkan type of shoe) as an inspiration. The craftsmen from Kiri manufacture of traditional costumes held a demonstration of opanak assembling and leather preparation before the designers, enabling them the insight of the stages and method of constructing the details that are involved in their drawings later.

The results: sketches of contemporary garments and shoes and jewelry. The production of which involves the application of an appropriate technique that was chosen at the workshop. These designer pieces, in addition to being modern, first of all preserve the crafts that are inspired by: traditional patterns of knitwear from Sirogojno, traditional opanak techniques of knitting leather and filigree embroidery in silver with outstanding detail. Therefore, each piece has the aura of cultural heritage as an added value.
Conny Groenewegen, Sanne Jansen, Irina Somborac, Nina Sajet, Nhat-Vu Dang, Nenad Sojaković, Amber Ambrose Aurele, Deniz Terli, i Jan Jansen designed together a mini collection, which has nothing to do with trends, but is somehow transferring capsule legacy of the past into the modern era. It is a capsule collection themed around the craftsmanship techniques from the Balkans.

In addition, the special guest during the exhibition in Belgrade was the brand Afriek, also from Amsterdam whose methods are very similar to the project. Brand Afriek produces a very small series of men's clothing made from traditional African fabrics with vibrant color prints and also employ African workers in making the clothes. The long-term objective of the project Exploring Inspirations is certainly production of this collection and its accessories, networking new guest designers who will be inspired by other traditional crafts and complement this collection in the future.

Exploring Inspirations is supported by Stimulering Creative Industries Fund Netherlands.

http://www.gradbeograd.eu

FASHIONCLASH Festival 2016, the HERITAGE edition

Save the date for FASHIONCLASH Festival 2016, the HERITAGE edition 
June 30 – July 3, various locations in Maastricht

The 8th edition of the international and interdisciplinary fashion festival takes place June 30 – July 3 in Maastricht (The Netherlands).
The 4-day festival program with Fashion Shows, Exhibitions, Performances, Designer Market, Fashion Talks, MAFAD Academy Graduation, Awards and Parties gives more than 150 designers and artists from all over the world the opportunity to show their work to a diverse international audience and industry professionals.

The 8th edition of the festival is curated around the theme of HERITAGE, consisting of a theme related and general programme. The festival is a reflection of what is going on within the international fashion scene in the new generation of designers; imagination of the zeitgeist of contemporary fashion design through the eyes of the new generation of designers and artists. FASHIONCLASH Festival is an unique opportunity to discover new talent and to get inspired by the art of fashion.

FASHIONCLASH Festival is accessible to everyone. Most of the program is accessible for free, to attend the Fashion Shows there is a ticket sale starting beginning of May. Since the first edition in 2009 more than 900 talents from 50 different countries have joined FASHIONCLASH Festival and were given the opportunity to show their talent and work. Some of their careers really took of from there! Take a look at fashionclash.nl for an impression of the event and the activities of FASHIONCLASH throughout the world.

HERITAGE Edition 
FASHIONCLASH Festival 2016 looks to the future along the theme of ‘Heritage’.
‘Like no other fashion knows how to renew itself again and again by creating a new atmosphere each season, using the past as an infinite source of inspiration and by selling and presenting the past as the new future. Designers look back to the past but also dare to speculate about the future. From this perspective designers are shaping the future of the shape of things to come. What is the role of our cultural heritage in a constantly changing world? How are new generation designers dealing with their cultural heritage (ancestry and traditions) in a globalized world where everything seems to be reachable and in which fashion is dominated by Fast Fashion chains and mass-production? Where do you come from, where do you go?’ 

Campaign Launch
In relation to the theme of Heritage a campaign is created with an editorial and fashion film in collaboration with Lonneke van der Palen, Studio Noto, M.A.C. Cosmetics, KEVIN.MURPHY and WEDOVOODOO.TV In this editorial work of emerging designers is included such as Merel Bos, Jivika Biervliet, Noir Near Future and Minou Lejeune.

FASHIONCLASH Festival 2016 campaign credits
Photography: Lonneke van der Palen Make-up: M.A.C. Cosmetics
Hair: KEVIN.MURPHY
Graphic design: Studio Noto
Styling & Art direction: FASHIONCLASH
Assistants: Pia Walter, Nienke Creemers, Sem Shayne
Models: Isabella Provaas @ CJ Models, Mara Kasanpawiro and Isa Nilwik @Models Rock Agency, Bert Snaterse, Jessica Irabor, Annoury Belaraj
Designers: Merel Bos, Joelle Boers, Judith van Vliet, Noir Near Future, Renate Cuiper, Jivika Biervliet, Minou Lejeune, Jennifer Droguett, Michał Wójciak, Julia Aumann, Maarten van Mulken, Nawie Kuiper, Branko Popovic and Brenda Prins.

Partners
FASHIONCLASH Festival 2016 is made possible thanks to generous support of partners and sponsors, funds, friends and voluneers. FASHIONCLASH is structurally supported by the Province of Limburg and The Municipality of Maastricht. FASHIONCLASH Festival is part of Fashion Maastricht.