Mode 4

The four girls graduating this year from the Fashion Design track of the Maastricht Academy of Fine Arts and Design (MAFAD) will be presenting their graduation collection during the FASHIONCLASH Festival. Gelena, Dusty, Lara and Milou are now experiencing a rather stressful period as they have to wrap up everything before the end of June. With all this work, they were nice enough to take the time to answer our questions. Thank you girls!

From left to right: Dusty, Milou, Lara, Gelena

Daniel Ramos Obregon

Photographer: Jorge Perez Ortiz / Model: Lukasz Przytarski

Today we have the pleasure to introduce you to Daniel Ramos Obregon. Daniel is a Colombian artist and designer who has specialised in body ornamentation. He will present his work at the FASHIONCLASH Exhibition.

Hello Daniel! What is your field of specialisation?

Hi! I specialise in body ornamentation; jewellery, sculptural pieces and performance props.

Where are you based?

I’ve currently moved back to Colombia from London for a couple of months, but I have some upcoming projects around Europe so I think I will be moving around for a while.

What inspires you in general?

Human behaviour, the embodiment of the different facets of the ‘self’ and their expression on the way we move, act and express our selves.

What place or city do you find inspiring?

Any place that has a rich culture and warm-hearted people will always be inspiring to me. When I was on my early teenage years I was fascinated by Japanese culture and had the opportunity to travel around Japan. I can’t wait for the opportunity to go back.

What is it like to be a young artist in your city/country?

Colombia is undergoing an exponential growth in many different ways and I think there are many spaces opening within fashion and other creative fields. It’s very exciting as a young artist/designer to be part of it.

What attracts you about the FASHIONCLASH platform?

I consider my last collection as “wearable art objects” that sit somewhere in between the context of fashion, sculpture and performance. I think FASHIONCLASH is exploring this convergence of disciplines within the fashion realm and it feels like the exhibition space has been tailor made for people like me to show our work.

"Plùs que ma vìe" by Andrea Lazzari, menswear from Italy

Preview of the Labyrinth collection

Meet Andrea Lazzari! He is 22 years old and comes from Venice, Italy. He specializes in menswear and his brand, Plùs que ma vìe, is based in Mestre, next to Venice. Andrea Lazzari will be presenting his collections during the fashion show and the designer market.

What inspires you in general? 
My inspiration starts within myself. All the things that come through my mind are then assimilated with art and the world that surrounds me.

What place or city do you find inspiring? 
If I were to say a European city, I’d say Copenhagen. On another continent, it would have to be New York. If I were to say a particular place, I would say my room and its silence.

What is it like to be a young designer in your city/country? 
People that surround me are very curious and interested in what I do. My work and the choices I make are often regarded as a reference point.

Mirte Engelhard + Nikki Giling = FASHIONCLASH Maastricht Fashion Show

1. Please introduce yourself to our readers. (Who are you, where do you come from and what is your field of specialization?) 

Hi, we are Mirte Engelhard (fashion designer) and Nikki Giling (accessory designer) and we are both from Arnhem, Holland. 

Mirte Engelhard: I graduated in Fashion Design at the ArtEZ Institute of Arts in Arnhem in 2009. Since then I’ve been running my own store in the Arnhem Fashion District and did several jobs for theater and dance companies and some collaborations with different disciplines. My style is characterized by nonchalantly falling shapes with sportswear details. A little Tomboy-ish. Most of the time I design women’s wear, but now and then I also like to design for men. 

Nikki Giling: In 2008 I graduated in Product Design at the ArtEZ Institute of Arts in Arnhem. During my study I specialized in designing fashion accessories. To learn the craftsmanship of making leather bags I followed an extra education. After my study I cooperated with several kinds of fashion designers and at the same time I was creating my own collection for my label Nikki Giling. I now own a shop in the fashion district of Arnhem were you can see me work on new items and buy my work. 

“Elders” by Femke Agema

1. Please introduce yourself to our readers. (Who are you, where do you come from and what is your field of specialization?) 
My name is Femke Agema, I am a fashion designer from Amsterdam. I’m running my own fashion label called Femke Agema.

Ulrik Martin Larsen for the second time at FASHIONCLASH Maastricht

CHOREOGRAPHED- sketch

What is your name? Ulrik Martin Larsen

What is the name of your label? Ulrik Martin Larsen

Where did you study and when did you graduate? At the Danish Design School, graduated in 2008 and currently I’m a PhD student in Fashion at the Swedish School of Textiles

What inspires you as a designer? I would rather answer what drives me as a designer, I´m driven by and interested in ideas, and how to accomplish, realize, visualize and communicate those.

Who is your favorite designer? Why? There are a number of people I admirer for different reasons…no one mentioned, no one forgotten…

What can you bring to FASHIONCLASH Maastricht 2011 Could you also tell us how do you recall the last edition of the event, since to took part in it as well? Any surprises? What did you learn maybe? This year I will bring a series of films that deal with the ritual of getting dressed or undressed and how to elevate and challenge this familiar action through performance and choreography/movement. I am collaborating with dancers from the Royal Danish Ballet and the talented filmmaker Dimitris Vulalas. The working title of the project is: THE CHOREOGRAPHED GARMENT.

I was fortunate enough to participate in FASHIONCLASH Maastricht 2010, and I was really impressed with the professionalism and quality level of the event. The location was spectacular and I met a lot of interesting people who work in the same field.

CHOERORAPHED -sketch

What do you expect from the FASHIONCLASH Maastricht 2011? I expect to see a great selection of designers and artists and to discover the work of established people but also new unseen talents. The combination of exhibitions and fashion shows is great.

How did your experience with fashion started? When did you decide to be a (fashion) designer? I decided to be a designer many years ago, I have always enjoyed creating and making things and somehow fashion seemed to connect to a lot of different areas that hold my interest.

I believe that interesting fashion only exists if there is a certain degree of artistry involved and ”good” art in my opinion includes a level of craftsmanship. I don´t need to put a label on my profession but I aspire to include aspects of craftsmanship and artistry in my work.

What are your goals concerning your career? What are your ambitions? Where do you see yourself in the future? I hope be able to show my work in different contexts, continue my collaborations and develop my research into new methods, processes and expressions that hopefully will be a valid contribution to fashion/art…and last but not least to have fun while doing it!

Ulrik's studio.

Edited by Natalia Serwanska

Meet Anna Dudzińska

Preparations for FASHIONCLASH Maastricht 2011 are in full swing but in the meantime, we’re going to present participants’ profiles on the FASHIONCLASH blog so that you could get to know them better. Follow FASHIONCLASH blog ‘cause from now on, each week another participant will be presented.
First in the row is a Polish fashion designer Anna Dudzińska:

What is your name? Anna Dudzińska

What is the name of your label? DUD.ZIN.SKA

Where did you study and when did you graduate? I studied at Cracow School of Art and Fashion Design in Poland and I have graduated this year


Anna's inspiration

What inspires you as a designer? I treat fashion as a form of experiment. I like to combine different subjects and materials, usually from the opposite sides ( new vs. old, beautiful vs. ugly, tasty vs. disgusting etc). But mostly I'm inspired by modern architecture and interior design including structures, non-standard materials and shapes. It gives quite an appreciable background to my projects. Furthermore I'm a big fan of avant-garde in different fields.



Who is your favorite fashion designer? Why? I'm absolute fan of Martin Margiela. His unconventional and simply novel attitude towards fashion gives me an impression that there's still something to do in this kind of art. Besides interesting clothes, he has created totally new existence by mixing fashion design with other fields of art. Altogether it gives quite unique brand with a coherent marketing background. I also admire Japanese fashion designers.

What can you bring to FASHIONCLASH Maastricht 2011? Avant-garde in ready-to-wear version

Do you expect from the FASHIONCLASH Maastricht 2011? First of all good fun and positive vibes. It's also an ideal moment for making new and interesting acquaintances. And last, but surely not least, it's a great occasion to promote my collection.

How did your experience with fashion started? When did you decide to be a fashion designer? Actually, I did my first fashion sketches when I was a child. Maybe it sounds banally, but from that time I wanted to become a fashion designer. And the final decision was made after I graduated in psychology. Then I staked everything on one card :)

What are your goals concerning your career? What are your ambitions? Where do you see yourself in the future? The perfect situation would be designing for some fashion houses for a while and after that expanding my own brand, preferably in Paris or London. But the most important is to go with the flow, no matter what happens.

Anna's new collection in progress

One of the outfits from Anna's collection to be presented during FASHIONCLASH Maastricht 2011

Photo by Rafał Wojczal































For more information on Anna and her collections check:

Anna's blog and website