Stefanie Barz

Meet Stefanie Barz, a young fashion and costume designer from Berlin. She studied at the School of Art Berlin-Weissensee. She will be presenting her collection at the exhibition.

Audio > Vision, Stefanie Barz
Picture: Florian Penke/ Model: Dina

Hello Stefanie! What inspires you in general? 
It can be anything, but I am particularly interested in phenomena of culture and environment, so mainly people and nature. The source of inspiration is very important, as it is the starting point of my working process. I develop the whole concept around it. Theoretical aspects and thoughts are associated with pictures that provide me with ideas for the colours and the forms. My latest collection is in that sense an unusual experiment: I got inspired by music and by my favourite songs that I then transformed into fashion – seeing by listening.

What place or city do you find inspiring? 
I feel really drawn to places I haven’t seen yet, places that we could not even imagine. That’s why I would love to travel to South America and Asia. But sometimes, it takes only an attentive look at your everyday surroundings to get surprised.

What is it like to be a young artist in your city/country? 
Berlin is the perfect place to feel free in what you do, to meet different people and to get inspired. It is easy to survive, but at the same time, there are hardly any jobs in fashion. Plus, the Germans don’t invest much money in clothes.

Stefanie Barz

What attracts you about the FASHIONCLASH platform? 
That it gives the opportunity to newcomers and that it is young, dynamic and interdisciplinary. The connection of art and design is especially interesting.

The FASHIONCLASH Exhibition is curated under the theme of “Age.” How does your creation related to this year’s theme?
Two outfits of my collection “Audio > Vision” are inspired by “aged” pop/rock songs from the 60s and 70s. The result questions whether music can grow old at all, and how modern people perceive, understand and listen to it years later. Music is a language that we all understand no matter where we come from and how old we are.

How and why did you become an artist? 
I couldn’t help it. To be creative means that you have to build ideas based on yourself and on the impressions of the world you live in. Fashion is in a way a bodily experience that determines social interaction and that isn’t limited to 2D and 3D or any type of material. And that’s perfect for me. Actually, everybody is an artist since Joseph Beuys. It’s just that not everybody can make a living out of it.

What kind of feeling do you want to transfer with your creation? 
Any feeling that turns into interest, I guess. When it comes to my music-inspired collection, if it creates a feeling that is similar to the feeling created by the song then it is even better! And if it gives the feeling of drifting away like when you get lost in melodies, then wow!

What is on your playlist when you are working? 
When I work and I don’t need to be too concentrated, I turn on the volume and listen to the albums of Fever Ray, Cat Power, the Beatles or Mystical Communication Service. Depending on the mood or the work, I put on more dreamy sounds or the pushing rhythms of alternative rock, electro pop, or even jazzy blues.

What book shaped you? 
In matters of shaping, I think back of my teenage days. Jostein Gaarders’ “Solitaire Mystery,” Hesse’s philosophical questions in “Siddharta” and Orwell’s dystopian future in “1984” fascinated me deeply.

Who is your favourite artist/designer? 
I would say Belgian designer Ann Demeulemeester, but also more colourful collections of Dries van Noten and Japanese avant-garde designers Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo. I also love the paintings by Gustav Klimt, the figures of Egon Schiele and Rebecca Horns’ art of the human body. 

Stefanie's inspiration moodboard

What is the latest thing you bought for yourself? 
I went shopping not so long ago and found a nice blouse and red dress perfect for spring. Both vintage!

What is your favourite fairy tale and why? 
I have to admit it’s the Brother Grimm’s “Cinderella.” I will always support the disadvantaged and I like to see the plans of malicious people fail. Let’s forget about the prince!

If your life were a song what would it be? 
“Joy and Lessons”

What made you smile today? 
Thinking of what makes me smile.

Twitter or Instagram? 
Neither one.

What is your definition of style? 
To have your own and not to copy someone else's.

What has been the greatest experience in your career so far? 
That Lady Gaga recently wore my clothes on stage and in the streets of New York!

What can we expect from you in the future? 
A lot of unpredictable new ideas and concepts for fashion projects, and hopefully, also working closely with musicians.

Stefanie's website: www.stefaniebarz.com