FashionClash is an exhibition centered on the ‘art’ of fashion, in the most liberal sense of the word. The creativity, and the fusion of works by artists from different disciplines has made the event a reference for leaders in the fashion sector. This year’s eighth edition of FashionClash took place in Maastricht, as always, from the 30th of June to the 3rd of July.
FashionClash Festival is an independent, multicultural event that calls on young designers from around the world to present their work with fabric, jewelry, performance arts and dance.
And for the second consecutive edition, So Catchy! Where Fashion Begins was there. During the event, our team had the opportunity to see the evolution of new talent in the field, and to get a closer look at the ideas behind each part of the show, share our experiences with other professionals and discover, as a part of the festival, the heritage of the clothes we wear.
For So Catchy!, one of the best meet-ups at FashionClash was #speedmeeting, an informal sit-down with different designers and an opportunity to find out more about the creative process behind their work. Especially interesting was the designer Noora Pajari’s telling of how her designs are inspired by the different symptoms caused be mental illnesses such as schizophrenia. The subtlety of the pieces in Ellen Roijakkers’ collection was also a treat.
The leitmotiv of this edition was “Heritage”, and it was present throughout the different shows and performances. The concept was discussed in “Heritage Show + Talk” by different designers who explained their ideas about what Heritage means to them.
The diversity present in the shows was also reflected in the wards. The jury recognized the work of Alessandro Trincone (Polimoda Fashion School, Florence) who took home the Fashionclash Festival 2016 Talent Award. The prestigious Kaltblut Magazine award went to the German designer Hermione Flynn (Berlin) and Domino Vugts (Academy of Fine Arts and Design Maastricht), won an award from Chapeau Magazine.
Once again, the event was a perfect mixture of creativity and new talent who are sure to make waves in the future. This is only a brief overview of everything we experienced at FashionClash 2016 and we’ll have more soon.
Our deepest thanks go to Maxime Van Der Aa and the team at FashionClash for the wonderful reception we received. We loved the program and events organized for the special guests. We’ll be seeing you again soon!
Images courtesy of Lola González
Translation and Layout by Michael Padilla
