KABK EXPOSED / the Fashion Show 2023
Report by Branko Popovic, Artistic Director FASHIONCLASH
EXPOSED / the Fashion Show took place on Saturday 10 June at Olympic Stakepark in The Hague.
Exposed is the annual presentation of the Fashion and Textile department of KABK – Royal Academy of Art The Hague, showing the work of all classes, from the first investigative steps of the freshmen, to the outspoken and personal collections of the fourth-year students. This year, however, for the first time without the work of textile students, these will be presented in September.
‘Keep an Eye Textile & Fashion Scholarship’ was awarded to textile student Xiaoyu Wen after the show.
As usual, fashion collections are rich in material development and form research. In the graduation year, the different qualities came together well in nine highly varied proposals. The show started strongly with Jose Marie Sta. Iglesia’s collection inspired by Imelda Marcos, then Tevin Blancheville showed a statement on geopolitical strife that is divisive with propaganda worldwide, Casey Hefferon emphasised the importance of play with a playful sports collection literally created from method of playing with the clay.
Youngshik Yoon made a performative statement with his Political Shamanism project and Dayna Nooy did so by using waste and cheap materials with an empowerment-charged cast of models to create a party.
Towards the end, dancing resurfaced, but very differently Louise Noordam showed a rich collection inspired by happy childhood memories, which ended abruptly with the struggle against autoimmune diagnosis of eczema. She reclaims the fragile open-mindedness of her younger self with this collection, to empower her current self.
Annalie van Doorn honoured the show’s conclusion with ‘Après Nous, Le Déluge’ (After me, let the deluge come). Inspired by her grandmother’s strong character and extravagance. What drives her to keep up with her looks? What drives humanity to look good? Against the backdrop of the delusion of the day, contrasts of the world and the ironic nature of man that despite everything seeks self-expression as a way to survive perhaps?
With these questions and feelings, you will leave the show, which is a strong translation of the current generation of designers where the personal stories and struggles are placed in a broader social context.
Graduating fashion class 2023: Tevin Blancheville, Annalie van Doorn, Athena Eleftheriou, Casey Hefferon, Louise Noordam, Youngshik Yoon, Danya Nooy, Jose Marie Sta. Iglesia and Di Wang.