“The Last Sunset”, a collection inspired by Łódź at the end of its industrial power, made the biggest impression on the jury at this year’s Diploma Gala of the Clothing Institute of the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź. Its author, Dominik Żyża, received the award of the Rector of the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź for the best diploma. A show of all final collections crowned the first day of Łódź Young Fashion – one of the most important fashion events in the country.
The first day of the Łódź Young Fashion, a festival of young fashion taking place in Łódź, was crowned by the Diploma Gala of the Clothing Institute of the Łódź Academy of Fine Arts, during which fifteen graduates of the Clothing Institute presented their collections: Filip Borządek, Marlena Gielecka, Milena Jakóbiec, Alina Karol, Paweł Konopski, Michalina Kowalewska, Natalia Kowalska, Joanna Lasecka, Artur Majka, Wiktoria Pietrzak, Dominika Sykta, Maja Tumaniec, Sofiia Veselska, Zuzanna Wilczyńska and Dominik Żyża.
All the collections were intriguing in their originality, level of craftsmanship and precision of execution, which is why the competition jury, composed of Przemysław Wachowski, Ph – rector of the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź, Adam Pustelnik – First Deputy Mayor of Łódź, Agnese Narnicka – Director of the Fashion Department at the Academy of Fine Arts in Riga, Stella Runnel – lecturer at the Estonian Academy of Arts in Talline, Martyn Roberts – founder and creative director of Fashion Scout, Karolina Limbach – stylist and head of the ELLE video department, Magdalena Kacalak – fashion editor of “Wysokie Obcasy”, Joanna Mroczkowska – director of Best Fashion Media, Karolina Sulej – fashion journalist and sociologist, Magdalena Matuszek – fashion editor of Glamour magazine and Kacper Krajewski – editor of K MAG magazine.
After a long discussion, the jury decided that the Award of the Rector of the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź, with a value of PLN 10,000, would go to Dominika Żyża.
– The Last Sunset collection impressed us with the designer’s desire to translate the world around him – architecture, painting, history – into new forms that are provocative and take us on a journey, including on the catwalk. Her original theme, grounded in locality, is key here. It is the story of Łódź, referring to modernist ideas of the city-machine or the woman-machine who works and creates, evoking associations with weaving mechanisms. There is also no shortage of references to the architecture of Łódź, its Art Nouveau character and metalwork details,’ emphasises Karolina Sulej, chairwoman of the jury. – Dominik Żyża is a designer who has been creating for some time now – and he is definitely not the star of a single collection, but a creator who consistently develops his own language, is not afraid to experiment and search. He is also a designer whose work is deeply embedded in the Polish context, but not in an obvious or patriotic way – rather, he is someone who draws on this context on many levels, she adds.
The competing collections also found recognition in the eyes of the event’s partners – companies and institutions that funded their prizes, offering support to young creatives at the start of their careers:
- Special award from Ferrero, owner of the Duplo brand: Marlena Gielecka for her collection “Whispermeld”,
- Special award of LPP: Dominik Żyża for the collection “Last Sunset” and Filip Borządek for the collection “Rewind”;
- Orchard Brothers special brand award: Zuzanna Wilczyńska for her collection “Trail”,
- WhiteMad special award: Marlena Gielecka for the “Whispermeld” collection,
- ELLE special award: Maja Tumaniec for the “Traces of weakness” collection,
- MIUMAG, FashionBiznes and LAMODE.INFO special award: Milena Jakóbiec for the “Frequency” collection,
- K MAG special award: Natalia Kowalska for her collection “Sommeilia,”
- Wysokie Obcasy Extra special award: Zuzanna Wilczyńska for her “Trail” collection
- Glamour special award: Zuzanna Wilczynska for the “Trail” collection,
- Special award of the Association of Polish Textile Workers: Dominik Żyża for the collection “Last Sunset”
- MOOD SCENT BAR special award: Paweł Konopski for his collection “Myth of the Hero”.
The Graduation Gala, organised since 1995, promotes the graduates of the Fashion Institute. Over the years, the event has acquired an extraordinary setting – today it is a visual spectacle in the form of a world-class show.
Łódź Young Fashion is organised by the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź and the Design Fields Association; the main partner is the City of Łódź. The event is also co-financed by the budget of the Local Government of the Łódź Province. The second day of ŁYF featured the Fashion Film Festival, and the three-day event ended with the Saturday finale of the Golden Thread competition.
Detailed information about other events of this year’s edition and a rich programme of workshops and exhibitions can be found at www.lodzyoungfashion.com.
photo: Sebastian Glapiński
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