United Fashion Festival

From 1 April until 6 June, MAD Brussels gives the stage to 40 forward looking designers and their creations during the United Fashion Festival. Through an exhibition, an experimental fashion collection and a set of talks and workshops, the festival examines what fashion can be.

THE EXHIBITION

In the United Fashion Festival expo 40 designers examine our relationship with clothing through recent and archival artworks. The list of designers, creators, and researchers based in 9 different countries includes names such as Tom Van der Borght (BE), Marina Yee (BE) and Amélie Pichard (FR).

They don’t merely propose new products to buy. After all, overconsumption and the entities that influence our shopping behaviour are key in understanding the unsustainability of the system. Instead, they all use fashion as a means to reflect on our industry and the context in which we create and consume. Rather than a pragmatic detailing of the value chain, this exhibition uses the power of fashion to delight, engage and surprise. It confronts visitors with their own limits and understanding of fashion.

The exhibition is a co-creation between Bénédicte de Brouwer (MAD) and Aya Noël. The scenography is realized by Marie Douel.

‘DAILYMENU’ COLLECTION

In the framework of the festival, designers Doriane van Overeem (BE), Karolina Jurikova (CZ) and Maximilian Rittler (AUT) took up the challenge to co-create a sustainable and affordable fashion collection. Out of their extensive research and development came a collection titled ‘DailyMenu’, consisting of six versatile and made-to-last pieces, suitable for both men and women with different body-types. Transparently made out of second-hand garments and deadstock materials as close to home as possible, ‘DailyMenu’ aims to combine a minimum of resources with a maximum of human interaction and knowledge exchange. The three designers were mentored by three fashion experts - Veronique Branquinho, Niki de Schryver (Cosh!) and Peggy Acke (MAD). The collection will be on sale in the shop of the exhibition as well as on www.dailymenufashion.com.

TALKS & WORKSHOPS

During the exhibition, talks and workshops will be organized. You can find the full programme on www.unitedfashionfestival.eu.