2 September 2022

Highlights of the Vienna Fashion Calendar September with insights into the MAK '(Con)temporary Fashion Showcase' exhibition of art and fashion by Jojo Gronostay

The Viennese are back home and the city is kicking off autumn with fashion and design events.

2 September
Today, the first Long Night of the Viennese Markets with participation of musicians, fashion designers and artists will happen. (Fashion.at article with a selected market preview.)

3 September - 4 December (exhibition opening on 3 September with kids workshop, talk, performance)
Tomorrow, the 3rd edition of the '(Con)temporary Fashion Showcase' exhibition series will open at the MAK Museum of Applied Arts branch Geymüllerschlössel in Vienna with art and fashion by Fashion Prize of the City of Vienna winner Jojo Gronostay who explores interdependencies between Africa and Europe. Fashion.at announced the new exhibition in August with information about the artist and the topic (article). Today, Fashion.at visited the press preview in the Biedermeier rooms of the summer castle and dived into the immersive culture experience through the portal-like installed screens. The video screens of the installation 'Magic Cannot Cross The Sea' referencing African believe are surrounded by a music composition by Sofie Fatouretchi from sound footage which was recorded during the performances of the sapeurs in their dandy looks on the streets in Brazzaville. The installation has its own magic and beams visitors with the reversed black-white film overlaid with photo-negatives of pictures of fashion artifacts from museum collections into a ghostly nexus-like territory where Eurocentric connotations, meanings of fashion items such as clothes, shoes or accessories are questioned.

Image: The picture shows Jojo Gronostay in one of the rooms of the MAK exhibition '(Con)temporary Fashion Showcase' during the press preview on 2 September 2022 at the Biedermeier palace Geymüllerschlössel, a branch of the MAK Museum of Applied Arts Vienna. The original inventory - Biedermeier clockworks - of the room becomes part of the video installation showing the performance of a sapeur in slow motion and enforces the impression that clocks work differently and that time stands almost still or changes happen very slowly. The video is one of five shown on vertically installed screens through the palace.

The makers of the '(Con)temporary Fashion Showcase' exhibition series organized for tomorrow 3rd September a matching kids programme with designer Nathalie Pelet who will print together with the young 'artisans' via the photographic technique cyanotype (uses sunlight) images developed from collected leaves or objects on fabric bags. At 17:00, the talk 'Decolonizing Fashion' starts, at 18:00, fashion by Jojo Gronostay will be presented with the performance by Camilla Schielin. Details about the programme are published at mak.at.

12 - 17 September
The next fashion highlights happen in less than two weeks when the annual MQ Vienna Fashion Week starts with the opening shows on 12 September (article).

16 - 25 September
One event that attracts each year people with interest in design is the Vienna Design Week which focuses on innovative approaches to a new consumption culture and circular economy for saving resources with formats like the 'Dare to Share and Wear' project for a fashion swap (article).