Seefashion24: An overview of the incredible work displayed at this year’s annual Weißensee Kunsthochschule Berlin graduate fashion show.

Seefashion24 : On the 11th of July, the department of Fashion Design at Weißensee Kunsthochschule Berlin presented 14 Bachelor and Master graduate collections from the winter semester 2023/24 and summer semester 2024. The fashion show, Seefashion24, collaborated with the Kunstgewerbemuseum am Kulturforum in Berlin to utilise the space as the backdrop for these innovative, forward-thinking creations.

The final concepts reflected the graduates’ individual at Seefashion24 perspectives on the meaning and design of fashion in today’s world. The different approaches of each designer became clearly visible in the variety of work on show. From conceptual and analytical design, to free form-related experimentation; All whilst taking into account their desired social, ecological and historical context. With these complete collections, the graduates clearly reflected on the importance of their role and attitude as designers in today’s society and taking an active part in it.

‘The bachelor collection “TIDE” deals with the fragmentary character of memories and describes how they change their form and truth by looking into the past. Structures on the beach that emerge and remain behind when the water recedes at low tide serve as a visual starting point. The idea of foam remnants, which after the disappearance of the water only remind us of something that was there, can be found again in the work in forms and surfaces and their relationship to the body. Thus depicting how principles of nature can function as a metaphor for human sensations and the experience of loss.’

Designer: Frieda Kamphues @mitfrieda

‘The master collection “Perfect World” by Helen Eisen deconstructs gender-specific stereotypes and the associated notions of gender and clothing. It aims to celebrate individuality and diversity in all its facets. Wearers are encouraged to embrace their individual beauty, self-confidence and non-conformity.

The concept of the collection combines unconventional and gender-critical thinking with traditional and sophisticated craftsmanship. In her master collection, she presents innovative techniques and materials, extravagant silhouettes, strong contrasts and the zeitgeist of Berlin. Eisen uses these techniques to create a unique aesthetic that attracts attention and transcends traditional gender thinking.

In a world still dominated by backward and discriminatory ideas, Helen Eisen’s collection invites the public to take a stand together and bring about change.’

Designer: Helen Eisen @heleneisen_

With “Layered Narratives”, Clara Sander presents her master collection, which combines the principles of fragment-like Bauhaus textiles with abstract painting. She uses creative approaches in different ways using various methods such as knitting, embroidery, digital printing and screen printing. The collection plays with the transparency and opacity of the wearer. Strong, present colours connect the individual garments and creates a relationship between them. The collection as a whole is seen as a fragment that can be put together in different ways and thus retains its dynamism, flexibility and wearability.

Designer:  Clara Sander @clara__sander

For her bachelor collection “le marin et la sirène”, Johanna Marie Busch explores the realm of sailors, fishermen and their mystical deep-sea counterparts, drawing inspiration from historical photographs, classic nautical crafts and techniques, the intricate shapes and textures of marine life, as well as people and experiences from her personal life.

Through her designs Johanna Marie Busch blurs the lines between opposites such as rustic and delicate, soft and rigid, masculine and feminine.

Designer: Johanna Marie Busch @joe.mari_design

The bachelor collection “Vernissage de confort” by Jule Aurelia Artz is inspired from the visit to a vernissage, where elegant clothing and high-quality art come together and enter into a dialogue.

The collection is based on various aspects that have always influenced the designer’s work: family craftsmanship, fine sewing, a love of high-quality materials, elaborate workmanship and a connection to style and art.

The clothing gives the wearer a feeling of strength and conveys a sense of well-being, which is supported by the choice of materials. Just as the guests and their clothing enter into a dialogue with the art on display at a vernissage. Colours, surfaces and materials also come together in this collection to create a new, moving image.

Designer: Jule Aurelia Artz

The “Eating my Desire” master collection by Kaja Busch tells new stories of female desire, bodies read as female and the representation of bodies. An intensive examination of feminist positions in art and literature, personal experiences and pop-cultural moments characterised the research for this work. These are depicted in various ways throughout the collection – whether in graphic text or more abstract associations. Classic dress forms are combined with legible symbols such as bodily fluids, status symbols and a wink. The collection aims to trigger specific moments and feelings, thus opening up the possibility of rewriting female bodies via the topic of fashion.
The shoes that are part of the collection were developed and realised by Vaia Tatopoulou as a continuation of her collaboration with Kaja Busch.

Designer: Kaja Busch @kadjscha

With his master collection “I share my bed with dreams”, Marvin Mülleck explores the areas of tension between man and nature, city and countryside and past and present. With his self-named Neofolklore, the designer combines childlike imagery with uncompromising topicality, drawing on his painting skills alongside a variety of manufacturing techniques. However, the aim of the collection is not to find an autobiographical narrative, but to search for universally valid symbolism and clothing that is closer to real life.

Designer: Marvin Mülleck @marvinmuelleck

Kaja Busch and Marvin Mülleck dare to attempt a joint collection, which was created in parallel to their own master collections. The bodies wearing this collection and their movements become part of the clothing before they even step onto the catwalk. Their shadows and the skin underneath become textile prints, their poses become imprints in the knitwear, their hair alienated and incorporated, their extremities translated into silhouettes and pockets. The perpetual dialogue between body and clothing, including their wear and tear, is an important aspect of the collection. Above all, the designs are created with a twinkle in the eye, with the aim of making wearers and viewers smile.

Designers: Kaja Busch @kadjscha & Marvin Mülleck @marvinmuelleck

In her bachelor collection “Breaking Uniformity”, Kristina Nikonov deconstructs the classic trench coat to create a playful, flowing aesthetic. Since her training as a bespoke tailor, she has been interested in strict garments that follow clear rules. The trench coat, an easily recognisable and classic garment, served as the starting point for the design of the collection. Nikonov deconstructed the trench coat into its component parts to transform it into a lighter and more playful silhouette. Her collection plays with the balance between uniformity and femininity and ends in flowing shapes that only show fragments of the original coat. The colourful interplay of fabrics, colours and patterns is another essential characteristic of the collection.

Designer: Kristina Nikonov @designed_bykristina

Using objects that look like props left behind, Leo Prevaes creates a menswear master collection inspired by concepts of the masculine ideal and childhood memories. He creates playful silhouettes that combine draped garments with hard shapes and various accumulated objects. Thanks to his professional experience as a flou designer at CELINE, Prevaes was able to apply his skilful craft in an interdisciplinary way: he not only works with silk, but also drapes leather and jersey qualities.

Follow the girl among a crowd of other people at the airport who are urgently leaving the country. In her master collection “One-Way Journey”, Masha Shumilina reflects on her personal experience as part of the Russian community fleeing a growing dictatorship. By modifying these forms, blowing them up and fixing the folds of the garments blowing in the movement, Shumilina tries to capture both the fragility and the dynamism of the moment. The designer was inspired by the movie “Run Lola Run” and running female characters in movies and in the art. During her studies, Masha not only worked on the graduation collection but also used her skills to assist Thorbjørn Uldam on knitwear garments for 032c, MISBHV, Lala Berlin and COOGI.

Designer: Masha Shumilina @shumilina_maria_

“The mean reds are horrible. You’re afraid and you sweat like hell, but you don’t know what you’re afraid of. Except something bad is going to happen, only you don’t know what it is.” (Truman Capote, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, 1958)

Saraa Kröpelin’s master collection is driven by the idea of anxiety as a creative force and is questioning the gap between reality and a typical fashion statement. Whilst power symbols are a common subject on the runway and in the industry, only few are talking about their fears, being sensitive or vulnerable. It is often misunderstood as the opposite of strengthand referred to as a weakness. The collection is showing how these are actually connected – fuelling each other and the overall creative vision. 

Working as an intern at Mugler and Acne Studios has strongly influenced Saraa in her way of working and aesthetics. Setting a focus on materials such as metal, jersey, upcycled leather and printed fringes her garments are very expressive in shape and are rather a deconstructed memory of the classic idea of clothes and their common use. 

View an image beyond things through a frame in the garden. With the frame as the drawing paper and the heart as the boundary, a scene gives birth to ten thousand scenes. The frame connects and separates the space. Whether inside or outside, the scene is dynamic and changing.

In her master collection “Inside and outside”, Xiaolei Xu interprets a personal understanding of garden philosophy. The oriental garden has its naturalistic introspective philosophy with an expression of Yin and Yang. A multi-layered space for the dynamic and subtle imaginary is created by reconstructing Chinese traditional window shapes and using a mix of fabrics wrapping, twisting, and overlapping on the body.

With her work experience as intern in Couture houses, Xiaolei Xu goes back to the essence of clothing aesthetics by using delicate fabrics and fine finishing sewing techniques.

]What you will see in her garden? A window frame, a flower, a vase…? Or poetic femininity combined with the strength of a woman?

Zan Zalif – A’ Rebours

“Immersed in solitude, he would dream or read far into the night. By protracted contemplation of the same thoughts, his mind grew sharp, his vague, undeveloped ideas took on form.” – Joris-Karl Huysmans in “Against Nature”

The master collection “A’ Rebours” is inspired by author Joris Karl Huysman’s 1884 novel of the same title and is based on the idea of going against tradition and rules, and creating a modern interpretation of a reclusive maximalist aesthetic. Zan Zalif’s approach to the creation of this collection is through immersing himself as the protagonist of the novel: Des Esseintes. In doing so, Zalif imagined what Des Esseintes’ life would be like nowadays, while also creating the characteristic maximalist aesthetic described in the novel.

The collection narrates the idea of period garments juxtaposed with contemporary silhouettes and tailoring that goes against the rules of traditional dress making. The notion of creating organic shapes, through collaging various different ideas, fabrics, or manipulating and recreating textiles from existing recycled fabrics, follows Huysman’s literary concept of creating an artificial identity through the manipulation of the natural. And whilst the application of textiles, and cuts goes against the rules of dress making, the collection contradicts the method of creation by producing classical silhouettes through unorthodox methods.

Designer: Zan Zalif @zanzalif

The Department of Fashion Design also invites you to the Open Days at the Weißensee Kunsthochschule Berlin on the 20th-21st July 2024 from 12 pm to 8 pm on the university campus. The Open Days will conclude with a live presentation of student fashion designs from the 2023-24 academic year on Sunday, 21 July at 5 pm.