9 October 2025  Vienna's ball season meets new design talentFashion.at took a look at the press images of the designers who received the Startstipendium Mode 2024, presented by the Austrian Fashion Association (AFA). Several of the presented looks evoke the elegance of eveningwear — fittingly, as Vienna's traditional ball season begins on November 11, marking the start of Carnival (Fasching).New designers for the appearance at a Viennese ball are always of interest, especially when they have already drawn attention from specialists and the professional fashion community. Black sculptural elegance by Sans ContrefaçonsAmong the showcased pieces is a black floor-length gown by Sans Contrefaçons, the label of Japanese designer Jun Takeuchi, based between Vienna and Tokyo. The dress features a striking architectural silhouette with voluminous drapery folding around the body like sculpted fabric petals, creating an interplay between structure and movement. Takeuchi's professional experience includes design work for Ottolinger in Berlin, Acne Studios in Paris, and Sacai in Tokyo. With Sans Contrefaçons, he explores fashion as a field of ambivalence, precision, and artistic expression.Poetic red and pink by Pouran ParviziIn contrast, a red and pink ensemble by Pouran Parvizi, an Iranian designer based in Vienna, translates emotion and reflection into fashion. The layered piece combines a vivid red base with sculptural pink fabric elements, paired with long black gloves — a composition that feels both intimate and experimental. Parvizi's work understands clothing as a medium of dialogue rather than spectacle. According to the Austrian Fashion Association (AFA), her collections often emerge from questions rather than fixed themes, exploring the relationship between body, geometry, and lived experience. Through subtle gestures and minimal yet complex constructions, she proposes an alternative view of beauty and identity.New perspectives at the Austrian Fashion Awards 2025These two examples represent part of a new generation of Austrian-based designers whose works will be featured at the Austrian Fashion Awards 2025, organized by the Austrian Fashion Association (AFA). The event will take place on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, at the VHS Veranstaltungszentrum Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus in Vienna and will celebrate innovation, artistic courage, and cross-disciplinary thinking in contemporary fashion.Images, from left: Model in a sculptural black evening gown by Sans Contrefaçons, photographed by Oskar Ott. Make-up/Hair: Gigi Ngoya Kanyinda, Model: Tina Viktor. Photo: © Oskar Ott Right: Model wearing a red and pink layered dress by Pouran Parvizi, photographed by Elif Gündüz. Photo: © Elif Gündüz. |