27 April 2017

Vienna Insight: Clothing, textiles and music & art seen at the official opening of Take Festival 2017

On 26 April, Fashionoffice followed the invitation to the opening of the Take Festival which started already on 25 April with the Austrian Fashion Awards at Alte Post in Vienna. Yesterday on 26 April, Olga Okunev (image right) from the Federal Chancellery of Austria as representative of the government and Daniela Enzi, speaker of the real estate developer Wertinvest and quasi lady of the house (Wertinvest develops the building Alte Post) were introduced with a general speech about the festival by moderator Sonja Kato-Mailath-Pokorny. Okunev explained the intentions behind the event and pointed out that art, design and media are important for the culture of Austria. Enzi welcomed the guests at the Old Post Office (Alte Post) where soon apartments and a hotel will be established. Both expressed their interests in further collaboration.

The Take Festival for Independent Fashion and Arts (inclusively the Austrian Fashion Awards) is currently the country's most important fashion event. The view on fashion happens from various perspectives beginning with exhibitions of experimental creations by students of the Viennese fashion school Herbststrasse, over art installations with parachutes and fashion to ready-to-wear such as the one by Volgger, the label by the sisters Jasmin Volgger und Regina Volgger. fig. below, left: Regina Volgger is on view at the image below. She explained that the designs (denim and black leather-like laminated cotton trousers, leather jackets in motorcycle style;...) are for both sexes the same - only the cuts differ for male or female bodies. The label's mission is to express gender equality through design. The fabrics and clothes are produced in Europe. The label is absolutely brand new - last year, the Volgger sisters founded officially the company. Regina Volgger told Fashionoffice that the shop at volgger-studio.com will open soon.

fig. above, right: Another interesting booth at the Take Festival is the one by Indigo Punk aka Andrea Kovar. Indigo Punk was recently founded by textile designer Andrea Kovar who produces with partners fabrics with printed as well as woven patterns. For the presentation at Take, the whole room (image on Facebook) was covered by the spiral print of an original illustration with dynamic arrows by Tonto Comics (image on Facebook) which was reworked for an endless series of spirals. Even Andrea Kovar was dressed in a jumpsuit made of the spiral fabric. The jacquard woven fabric can be used on both sides. It is produced in red or blue at a manufactory at Waldviertel in Austria. Fashionoffice asked for the price: around 36.- Euros per meter; a very fair price for a jacquard with special art dessin.

fig. right: At the 'Playground AV' at the third floor (2nd upper level), audio-visual art projects such as by 'Klangatelier' are located. At the image, Florian Kofler of the Klangatelier duo is on view standing in front of the writing 'Pick A Sound' at the installation-room which is filled with ambient sound and a network of knit yarns which appear in the ultraviolet light in fluorescent colors. Six of the yarns are extensions of a guitar; and in a similar way they can be played by visitors. The room's walls are black; only at the ceiling, it appears as if the sky is on view. It's the first art project by Klangatelier - one of many premieres which can be witnessed at this year's Take Festival (until 29 April).

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