Teun Seuren presents I Decline

God is a Woman!? project

Teun Seuren, is a 25 year old Dutch designer from Limburg. Last year he graduated from HKU University of the Arts Utrecht as a Fashion Designer specialized in men's fashion. His work gives of a message by posing questions with different perspectives such as homosexuality gender and vulnerability. For this collection, 'I Decline', he has been inspired by the theme of the FASHIONCLASH Festival 2018, Fashion, My Religion!.
His collection explores the relationship between religion and gay power, making a statement about being gay and having faith.

TEUN's collection will be presented at the Show Program on Saturday the 16th of June. Get your tickets here.


You can also see Teun's work at Centre Céramique as part of God is a Woman!? project exhibition.
More information about the project:here 


What made you realize that you wanted to work in (fashion) design?
I realized that I wanted to work in fashion after making the mistake to study electrical engineering. This wasn't the right career for me and I had to make a radical change. One of my teachers gave me the recommendation to visit a fashion school. When I stepped inside that school I knew thas was the place for me and it felt like I was home.

Why did you choose fashion?
As a child I always loved to dress up and play around in my grandma's workspace. Once I made an entire collection for my nieces, made from old fabrics and curtains. This was my first experience with fashion and I loved it. I can definitely say that I got the sewing skills from my grandma, and I am really grateful that she let me help her all the time, even when I was always standing in her way because of my curiosity.

What would you say are your main achievements in your career?
After I graduated I was selected for the "Lichting Show" at Amsterdam Fashion Week, this was definitely the icing on the cake after 4 years of hard work. I didn't win but being part of this amazing event was worth all the hard work.

What are your sources of inspiration?
Mostly I get inspired by things that frustrate me. I want to highlight these frustrations and transform them into something good.

Giulia Farencena Casaro - Sacrifiction

Giulia Farencena Casaro is an Italian menswear and knitwear designer who defines herself as a silent observer, who constantly likes to discover new things and loves to analyze the human behaviour. Her new collection 'Sacrifiction', in line with the theme of 'Fashion, my religion!' explores the idea that through the rise of the digital world, a lot of traditional religious values have been lost, particularly that of sacrifice. In Christian faith, God sacrificed himself for us to be saved. It is this appreciation for humanity, and the gestures of kindness and authenticity that she is exploring in her collection. By using authentic and traditional materials, she is studying this theme through the lens of her home region, South Tyrol.

Her collection will be showcased at the Show Programme on Saturday the 16th of June at the SAM-Decorfabriek. You can get your ticket for the show here. 

What made you realize that you wanted to work in (fashion) design?

I always knew somehow that I wanted to work in fashion but I thought that something so beautiful could only exist as a hobby. I only realized that it was a real profession when I was 9 years old.

Why did you choose fashion?

I was unsatisfied of many things starting from the human’s interpersonal communication and ending with socio-political and environmental issues. I felt that fashion can silently give you something that becomes part of your body and therefore maybe become part of your mentality.

What would you say are your main achievements in your career?

If I look back, I think that my main achievement is the intellectual consciousness I developed throughout this period of studies. The first year I won the Polimoda scholarship in collaboration with Class which gave me the opportunity to pursue my studies. I recently have won the Polimoda talent, a one year start up incubator program.

B E K H O M O R E H E N A by Zahra Hosseini

'Take a minute to respect others faiths, now take a minute to respect my faith, instead of destroying it, let us take a minute to listen to the vibrational frequencies and how they can affect our mind, body, and souls. Let''s listen to the effects it can have upon us' 

Photography: Brooke Roberts-Islam, Aurelia Anomalie

Zahra Hosseini, also know as Sooty, is a young Iranian designer committed to using her talent to do something good in this world. Her mission is to bring back the beauty of Islam, fighting against the misconception of Muslims in the media and today's society. She aims to do this by focusing on the peacefulness of 'Azan',  the Islamic prayer call, recited by the Muezzin. This prayer is recited, three times a day;; at dawn, noon, and sunset, from the speakers of mosques in Muslim countries. Azan, meaning 'to hear, to listen, and to be informed about'. 'Allahuakbar'' meaning 'god is great', is repeated during this. This beautiful word has been destroyed and begins to distort our perceptions in the media. She urges to to  not be fooled by what is being shown through media and let us only judge with our own minds after being shown the truth.


As a young Iranian woman, she stands before us to be the voice of young Muslim girls and to share her story, a story of ones journey of self-discovery through her own faith and culture.  It is this research, combined with scientific explorations that allowed her to unfold a deeper meaning into a journey we all share. In her performance/collection,  'B E K H O M O R E H E N A'  she has created garments that young Muslim girls can wear to make themselves feel connected to modesty decreed by their faith while allowing for the opportunity clothes provides for expression and connections to the modern world. Her work is about young Muslim women defining for themselves how they want to dress and how they want to be seen.  The original chador was a way to protect woman from prying eyes of men in a patriarchal society, therefore it completely covered the body and didn't expose the feminine shape. Her clothes express the struggle for the new Muslim female identity. One that expresses the values of their traditions but that also keeps the essence of their faith and identity, in a world that may perceive to be undersiege, by other cultures and within. She is keeping what is positive about being a young Muslim woman, emerging from the shadow of the patriarchal.

Photography: Brooke Roberts-Islam, Aurelia Anomalie

She tells us: 'I hope to open people's eyes, away from bias and stereotype. I ask to give it the respect it deserves. Don't judge it by what has been shown through the media. Look at it with a fresh perspective. I'm not trying to convert or persuade anyone, I'm only sharing my personal story. I hope people can be respectful, positive, and supportive. We are at a time in our society where the real truth is being overshadowed by the lies we are fed. Let us be proud of our faith and where we all as individuals come from and let the beauty show you the truth.' 

You can discover Zahra Hosseini's performance during the Show Programme at the SAM-Decorfabriek on Saturday the 16th of June (get your tickets online here). To learn more about her, visit her website at www.zahrahosseini.com or follow her on instagram @ZS.HOSS. 

Pu Tianqu presents Office Boy

photo Fang Bohung

Pu Tianqu is a Chinese fashion designer, graduated from the Insituto Marangoni, specializing in patternmaking, print and graphic design. His menswear collection, 'Office Boy', explores the balance between 'following the rules' and freedom. Our individual desires inevitably, to different extents, go against societal rules. Pu Tianqu explores whether there is a balance to be found. What would we wear to work if we could wear whatever? Can we combine that with what we should wear?

Pu Tianqu's collection will be presented at the Show Programme on Saturday the 16th of June at the SAM-Decorfabriek. Get your tickets here.

What made you realize that you wanted to work in (fashion) design?
Fashion has always been a part of my family. My mum is a very elegant lady. She has a super big wardrobe full of dresses. And I love to realize my creation since I was really young. I don’t see any reason why not to become a designer.


Why did you choose fashion?
 Ohh, that's a funny story:). I always like to wear something unique and interesting. And I always like to realize my ideas of design as I said. So when I was thinking about my future career at the first time. FASHION just appeared in front of my eyes. I still haven't had a bad feeling about it. So I will probably keep going:)

Sangue Novo - MODALISBOA LUZ - SS 2018

Sangue Novo (New Blood) is a platform for young Portuguese designers who get the opportunity to show their work within a collective fashion show. Nine Portuguese designers where selected to show their collections. At the end of the show several awards are presented. Winner of Sangue Novo ModaLisboa LUZ edition is Filipe Augusto. His prize is participation at Fashion My Religion! The 10th edition of FASHIONCLASH Festival (June 15 -17).
Federico Cina, winner of FASHIONCLASH Festival 2017 Talent Award has been selected to take part at Sangue Novo show.

This was a very strong edition of Sangue Novo with talents such as Rita Afonso who took part at FASHIONCLASH Festival 2017 and promising new discoveries such as Carla Campos and David Pereira.

http://modalisboa.pt/sanguenovo

Filipe Augusto

Filipe Augusto