7 June 2024  Fashion.at visited the show Modeklasse 2024 yesterday. The evening began with a speech by Petra Schaper Rinkel, the new rector of the University of Applied Arts Vienna, in the multi-story auditorium of the university's relatively new building. The speech was appropriately formal and well thought out for the final semester of students, until it was suddenly interrupted by a political statement, complete with hissing of a flag, throwing of flyers, and a loudly read but acoustically incomprehensible proclamation. The guests, who had already tuned in to the rector's message about the impact that designers can have on our society and the protection of the environment, had to wait with the rector until the students on the upper floors had finished their high-volume interruption. The rector's speech was a kind of ritual, similar to ceremonies in other fields of study that mark the end of student life and encourage young people to reflect on their responsibilities as academics in a particular field. In addition to the six graduate collections, the first, second, and third year students - a total of 38 students and graduates - of the four-year academic fashion design program presented their collections that evening, all of which had one thing in common: the expression of individual style. From art-inspired experimental body sculptures to ready-to-wear pieces tailored from patterns that enhance natural body shapes, each told their own personal story of style expressed through fashion. Unfortunately, there was no program or flyer with more information about the students' works distributed to the guests. Only the sixth graduate collections are described in detail in the press release published today at https://dieangewandte.at/en/press/presse_detail?presse_id=1717641733760 (fast checked today by Fashion.at). Images: The picture shows the Rector of the University of Applied Arts Vienna, Petra Schaper Rinkel, and the moderator of the evening, Monica Titton, lecturer in cultural studies and fashion. On the right: View of the catwalk with a video screen showing the designer's name, year of study and in some cases a short statement, as in the example of David Hopp, 3rd year. The writing on the screen read: "Yes, but could we also try to separate it from that object and con.sider it by itself" |