Łódź Young Fashion is one of those events which open doors to the career of young talents and set the directions for the Polish fashion industry. The programme includes the finals of competitions Złota Nitka and the Graduation Gala of the Łódź Academy of Fine Arts, a special show of Mariusz Przybylski’s collection and screenings of the Fashion Film Festival. The whiteMAD magazine is a media patron of the event.
This year’s edition will be held on 27-29 November at the Academy of Fine Arts’ Fashion Promotion Centre in Łódź, and its slogan, ANOTHER DIMENSION, encourages us to look at fashion more broadly: as a space for experimentation, courage, but also responsibility.
We want to talk about the challenges that are shaping the industry today all over the world – in artistic, social and business aspects. On the one hand, we have new technologies expanding the area in which the designer moves today. On the other, aspects related to the responsibility of fashion, such as closed circulation, recycling, attentiveness to the viewer, sustainable economy, ” emphasises Katarzyna Wróblewska, Ph.D., university professor and artistic director of Łódź Young Fashion.
Written in fabrics
The event gives space to young designers to present their original visions in front of a wide audience. The core of the ŁYF consists of three competitions – including the legendary Złota Nitka, for over three decades regarded as one of the most prestigious reviews of design creativity in Poland. Every year, its finale attracts the attention of the most important figures in the fashion industry, such as the duo Rafał Michalak and Ilona Majer – the creators of MMC Studio – or Kasia Sokołowska, the director of the shows, who this year will sit on the competition jury. It is in front of them that twelve young designers will present themselves, hoping for a great career and awards – the Golden Thread statuette and PLN 30,000 funded by the City of Łódź: Maria Antonina Bętkowska, Bartosz Borowski, Dawid Brzeziński, Gabriel Data, Aleksandra Dłutowska, Magdalena Grolik, Martyna Konieczny, Elliott Kubiak, Hubert Pelc, Dominika Rozkrut, Justyna Rożek and Konrad Sumera. Their collections are a story about the search for identity and roots – from the deconstruction of classical forms to the reinterpretation of folk traditions.
At the threshold of their career
No less exciting is the Graduation Gala of the Fashion Institute of the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź, held continuously since 1995. It, too, gathers the industry’s authorities, and this year’s jury includes: Przemysław Wachowski, Ph. d. – Rector of the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź, Adam Pustelnik – First Deputy Mayor of the City 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 the K MAG.
The list of this year’s Gala finalists, who are vying for the 10,000 zloty Rector’s Award at the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź, is opened by Filip Borządka with his ‘Rewind’ collection. Silhouettes inspired by oversized children’s clothes, streetwear elements and motifs from Łódź graffiti are the result of the artist’s confrontation with his lost sense of identity and his own childhood. Dominika Sykta also reaches back to the past . Her ‘Grand Prix’ series draws on sporting aesthetics, the designer’s family history and John Frankenheimer’s film about car racing. Dominik Zyza goes even further back, creating ‘Last Sunset’, a collection inspired by Lodz at the decline of its industrial power. Nine silhouettes combine the details of the late 19th century with a minimalist, contemporary form.
A strong commentary on today’s reality is presented by Sofiia Veselska. Her ‘Perversity’ is a reflection on the seven deadly sins, which the designer interprets through the prism of human emotions and behaviour. Joanna Lasecka also turns towards current trends, asking in ‘Amore Traditore’ the question of the validity of their creation.
The focal point of Marlena Gielecka ‘s ‘Whispermeld’ is the whisperer – a figure who combines rural everyday life with the sphere of the sacred. The folk motifs and materials used in the collection, marked by time, restore the meaning of what has been forgotten. Natalia Kowalska, on the other hand, creates a character who is the personification of nature. Drawing on Slavic folklore and the art nouveau style, the ‘Sommeilia’ collection symbolically depicts her successive inner states. The theme of transformation, but also of crossing one’s own boundaries in search of meaning, is taken up by Paweł Konopski. “Myth of the Hero” is a journey through the archetype of the legendary hero, set in the aesthetics of antiquity and fetish.
The transience of moments is explored by Wiktoria Pietrzak in ‘Rain-Kissed Letters’, a personal story about infatuations, unfulfilled promises and never-sent letters. An intimate portrait of human vulnerability has been created by Maja Tumaniec, combining its corporeal and emotional dimensions with the fairytale motif of the ‘Princess on a Pea’. The ‘Traces of Weakness’ series consists of six female silhouettes composed of richly decorated, varied lingerie forms. The devastating feelings of longing and grief were the focus of Michalina Kowalewska, who used knitting techniques, artistic fabric and sculptural elements in the form of jewellery accessories to create the oneiric ‘Yearning’ collection. Artur Majka ‘s series ‘Abomination of the Mind’, meanwhile, explores the boundaries between the real world and the creations of the psyche. Tight corsets, straitjacket-like constructions and bulky belted coats reflect inner turmoil on the one hand and tame it on the other.
In “At the last moment”, Alina Karol explores the phenomenon of procrastination. Airbrush-painted patterns and metallic accessories emphasise the austere nature of the collection, in which each silhouette reflects a different moment in the working process. Milena Jakóbiec ‘s ‘Frequency’, on the other hand, combines elements of science, music and art. The designer found their common point in frequencies – sounds, colours, textures – to then bring them out in the minimalist forms of the outfits. The last of the final collections – TRIAL by Zuzanna Wilczynska – is a synergy of wearable fashion and memories of a journey to the mountainous regions of the post-Soviet part of Asia. Forms of outdoor clothing are intertwined here with elements of design, architecture or traditional costumes, characteristic of that region.
Fashion goes beyond the catwalk
But Lodz Young Fashion is not only about showcasing competition collections, prepared by artists who are responsible on a daily basis for productions for the most acclaimed designers. Its youngest brand, the Fashion Film Festival, combines fashion with film and new technologies. The fifth edition of the event, will be realised in cooperation with the Łódź Film School in the form of an international competition for the best fashion film and screenings open to the general public. The winner of the €3,000 grand prize will be decided by a jury of industry experts – including Benoît Delhomme, French cinematographer working with Dior, Gucci and Chanel, among others, and Branko Popovic, artistic director of the FASHIONCLASH Festival.
This year’s programme will also include exhibitions that will make Lodz a true fashion capital. In the MEMO Library (5 Moniuszki Street), you will find the exhibition “Minimalism. Małgorzata Czudak’, dedicated to the work of an outstanding clothing designer, a respected lecturer and mentor to many generations of young artists. The works on display: designs, sketches, clothing realisations and archival materials will allow us to look at the artist’s oeuvre as a record of thinking about fashion as a spiritual reflection.
In turn, the Academic Design Centre (13/15 Księży Młyn Street) will host an exhibition from the ‘AFTER’ series, which has become a permanent feature in the calendar of events associated with Łódź Young Fashion. The finissage on Thursday, 27 November at 5 p.m. will provide an opportunity to see the collections of the graduates of the 2024/2025 academic year of the postgraduate course in fashion design, which were created as a result of a year of creative work. Among the diverse interpretations of fashion as a medium of expression, exploring the relationship between body, identity and culture, will be seen five collections that had their world premiere during Milan Fashion Week.
The last of the exhibitions, Refreme, is the fruit of collaboration between students of the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź and the Cinematography Department of the Łódź Film School. The meeting of two perspectives – based on movement and the frame, and one focused on materiality and form – can be observed through the author’s collections and the corresponding photographs, which seek the unobvious in textiles – the play of light, shape and texture. The finissage of the exhibition, which can be seen until the end of the month at the Academy of Fine Arts Gallery (ul. Piotrkowska 68), will take place on Friday, 28 November at 6 p.m.
Traditionally, Łódź Young Fashion is also a space for meetings, talks and inspiration. The accompanying events include workshops, lectures and panels that will allow us to look at fashion from many perspectives – from practice to reflection on its future. Detailed information about them can be found at www.lodzyoungfashion.com.
The organisers of Łódź Young Fashion are the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź and the Association Pola Designu, the main partner is the City of Łódź. The event is co-financed from the budget of the Local Government of the Łódź Province. The partner of the Fashion Film Festival is the National Film Culture Centre, “EC1 – City of Culture” in Łódź and the L. Schiller State Higher School of Film, Television and Theatre in Łódź.
source: press materials
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