“Leadership is not about the next election, it’s about the next generation.” – Simon Sinek

 

We are not crazy, don’t worry. We don’t want suddenly to talk about politics, but the quote by the famous English motivator well suits a personal reflection that – born spontaneously a few days ago – is still buzzing in my mind.

On Saturday, March 18 I attended the Doing Graduate Fashion Show 2017 in the Swiss city of Basel. Young and talented, the fashion graduated presented their collections during a sort of night-therapy. A LOOK THERAPY, indeed, intended as a process of investigating our individual appearance and the respectively affiliated way we look and we want to be seen. Look Therapy as an everyday ritual, as a liberating aesthetic praxis before the morning mirror and the evening going-out (not all cats are black in the night).

Creative, real dreamers, excessive as well. These guys have managed once again to instill in me a sense of confidence in the future. A future of renewal, of change; a future that “must” belong to the new generations.

Once again, I have selected six names, six different visions, six faces to look out.

 

Timon Imveldt – Artistic

Through his collection, the allegedly unambiguous Biblical Exodus narrative obtains an unexpected interpretation. He worked metaphorically within the contrasting contexts of religion and sexuality with the aim of giving symbols and passages from the Bible multiple meanings. Exodus seeks to allow individual interpretations. The exodus of the Israelites opposes the process of detachment from any religious system, which excludes and even demonizes alter-sexuals and rejects their right for faith. This collection is an interplay of coding and decoding of symbols and signs.

Félicie Pythoud – De-Sartorial

SUIT YOURSELF is the name of the collection. Consciously and unconsciously, today’s society is imprisoned in a system generated by images. We lose our uniqueness and the ability to know what we really like. In our feminism-inclined society, Fèlicie aims to grasp the frazzled state of masculine identity. She stimulates the intuition, taste, and sensuality of the contemporary gentleman. Through the act of ripping and new interweaving, she gives the materials and the body the opportunity to let go and be redefined.

Andrea Selva – Romantic

Future Nostalgia is inspired by a young boy at the end of the 1990s, looking at his grandfather who, far away from all current trends, remains faithful to his precious uni-brown-beige bespoke wardrobe he collected in the 1970s and impresses the young boy with his mighty lapel, wide pants, and handbags. Future Nostalgia aims to transport a romantic, nostalgic feeling that still takes a position in the present while pointing to the future. A future, in which young men wear brightly colored clothing with eye-catching volumes and move assertively through their everyday life.

Olivia Lara – Material

Toothbrush, clipper, glass, moisturizer, kettle, helmet: components of An Everyday Squint collection. The pastiches of everyday objects and the artist own desire to break away from materialistic norms. This comes from her need to create more conscious understandings and systems. The overwhelming feeling of touching organic materials. This aspires to conceptual creations, the freedom of mind and the courage to live by your own needs and dreams. She’s drawing out spontaneity and humor.

Matea Lukic – Contaminate

The studio_concept_00 collection of the Studio ITCH by Matea Lukic liaises the western formal and informal dresscode with Japanese pottery craftmanship “kintsugi”. Matea develops her very own textile interpretation of the Japanese technique and launches a new European Japonism era.

«Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo showed us their interpretation of Western dresscodesin the 80s. Where’s our answer?», Matea points out. Here’s her answer. Late? Maybe… but present!

Lina Ruble – Pop

MICROWAVE YOUR RAVE collection is born from a clear idea. Everybody knows those bodybuilders staying on night club entrances, checking your bag with a flashlight and slapping your pockets, right? This project was aimed to become another “parallel reality”, where on the parties there is not only a dancing line waiting for a free toilet cabin but also a dancing line waiting to microwave their night-lunchboxes and tupperware. That’s authentically pop.