By Zhuo Wang
ACF London is delighted to host some of the most innovative and creative talents representing Austria at the International Fashion Showcase in Somerset House. Between 19 – 23 February, their collections will be showcased alongside the works of other creatives from 24 countries. In joyful anticipation of the opening today, we have taken a closer look into the work of three young fashion designers, who are staying with us during the time of the festival. Along with two other designers, Roshi Porkar and Isabel Helf, curator Claudia Rosa Lukas also invited animation artist Kris Hofmann to conceptualise the collections under the theme “Another Austria: Utopia”.
Pia Bauernberger developed a conceptually interesting body of work by looking into the wants and needs of the future wearer. She explores workwear from different angles, playing with its reality, mundaneness, but also its unlimited possibility and freedom. The designer’s work is very conceptual and interdisciplinary. Her goal is to link fashion to design, art and craftsmanship, and to pursue everyday problems. In her latest collection, she explores the work routines of other industries and combines them with her own way of working and designing.
Flora Miranda’s collection focuses on the human being, one’s body, senses and perception in an actual or virtual reality. Fashion as a form of escapism plays an important role in her work. To Flora, fashion does not only describe garments, it involves a whole aesthetic world that we surround ourselves with and that we believe in. The designer strives to create deep dreams, desires and motives. Fuelled by a friction of intellectual concepts and intuitive, instinctive production, she challenges the obsolete idea of high couture and explores techniques that are detached from design tradition or history.
Dimitrije Gojkovic presents his graduation collection “New Wool”. The designer works with wool, turning it to a completely versatile material, far from its heavy winter connotations. Transforming it into elegant, flowing, and innovative designs, he plays with the muteness of colour, as well as the subconscious. Dimitrije thinks if of his collection as “a summer wool winter collection, the mood is introverted and follows the dream logic, where the individual symbols are based in collective archetypes.”
ACF Digital Salon 