Announcement // UdK’s ‘SCHAU16’ Annual Runway Fashion Show

Article by Beatrix Joyce in Berlin // Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2016

On October 21st, the fashion design program at the Universität der Künste will present their latest work at their annual fashion show SCHAU16. This year’s students, both undergraduate and masters, will premier their final collections at Estrel for the public and a selection of fashion industry professionals.

Clothing by Gesine Försterling, Nicolas Fischer, Friederike Stanitzek. Models: Victor/Seeds, Cissel, 2016 // Photography by Aaron Wynia

The runway presentation will showcase the collaborative project between UdK and their media partner Novembre, titled ‘Beauty by Novembre’. Novembre is an online and biannually printed magazine challenging cultural trends and the accepted notions of beauty in the overlapping terrains of art and fashion. Under the direction of Novembre’s creative director Jeanne-Salomé Rochat, a series of video clips will be presented displaying the students’ work as staged by Novembre.

Furthermore, with support from the Goethe Institute and in collaboration with Kunsthochschule Berlin Weissensee and BUFT Dhaka, UdK facilitated a creative exchange project between Germany and Bangladesh. Students had the opportunity to engage in an intercultural dialogue and their final works reflect a deeper cross-cultural understanding, promoting ideas of positive social design and sustainability.

An international approach to design is also evident in the ‘Denim Otaku’ project by the 3rd semester students, supported by Vincunha Denim. ‘Denim Otaku’ explores traditional Japanese clothing and the role that denim plays as a Western product appropriated into a Japanese context.

The eclectic mix of themes and styles at SCHAU16 provides for a range of new perspectives, resulting in a dynamic show with cross-cultural collaboration and experimental design at its core.