5^th Edition of the Competition

The aim of the project was to showcase youth artistic trends based on a review of students’ sketchbook art. The inspiration lay the foundation for the design of fabrics and fashion profiles, as well as a performative fashion show.

 

The project attracted the interest of a large group of students, whose participation began with a study visit to Łódź and a tour of the “CITY - FASHION - MACHINE” exhibition at the Central Museum of Textiles in Łódź. The students were given a quick overview of the history of weaving, textile design and clothing in the Łódź province. This was followed by a fashion workshop at the Academic Design Centre in Łódź, led by young generation designer Tomasz Armada. The workshop theme was “Fashion for the Future”. During the classes, the students got to know the designer’s creations and working methods. The practical part of the workshop involved the preparation of a fashion profile using the available materials – a process which required a great deal of creativity. The workshop classes broadened the participants’ competence and design skills, which enabled them to pursue their own creative concepts and enhanced their artistic awareness. The students also had the chance to learn about the professional benefits of working as a clothing designer. A workshop on fabric printing (screen printing, sublimation) was held at the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź. During the workshop, the students learnt the ins and outs of the technique, thus gaining a better understanding of the craftsmanship in the search for their own artistic expression. They toured the Fabric Printing, Media and Fabric Decoration, and Unique Fabric Studios. The trip expanded the students’ artistic horizons and motivated them to continue their creative pursuits.

 

The students proceeded to design and print fabric and then used it to manufacture a collection of original clothing; the clothing was presented at a fashion show in Łask, concluding the project.

 

The event was complemented by an exhibition featuring the fabrics and fashion shoot photographs. Additionally, students from other courses had created animated visuals that accompanied the event. The show attracted a large audience, who were able to see first-hand the young artists’ work and the preoccupations of the clothing design studio.

 

During the school’s open days, the dressmaking studio organised a photo shoot as part of the project. The photographs taken during the shoot served as the basis for a catalogue, which became a tool to promote the project, the fashion show and the school.

 

The studio was refitted with equipment and materials necessary for the project implementation, including: two sewing machines, an overlock machine, a hot knife fabric cutter, a riveting press machine, a graphics tablet, a professional scanner and a photographic background for the photo shoot, the results of which can be seen in a catalogue designed by the students.
The participants printed exhibition fabrics, fabrics needed to sew the collection into existence, exhibition photos from the shoot, postcards featuring fashion profiles, a “Young Fashion” catalogue and promotional posters.

 

 

 

 

Preliminary designs 

 

 

 

Preliminary designs

 

 

A performative fashion show of the students’ own collection was presented at the Łask Cultural Centre on 12 June 2024 as part of the educational-artistic project titled “I draw what I feel – collages from a student’s diary – a collection of printed fabrics with original patterns and a collection of clothing inspired by them”, prepared by the K. Kobro State Secondary School of Fine Arts (SSSFA) in Zduńska Wola, awarded in the 5th edition of the “Wena” Grant Program Competition entitled “What’s new in art?”, organised by of the Starak Family Foundation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The show was a kind of performance and incorporated elements of a dance spectacle performed by the “Wena” dance troupe from the Łask Cultural Centre. The participating students served as models. The performance was augmented by animated visuals. A total of 26 fashion profiles, 10 exhibition fabrics and photographs from the photo shoot were presented.

 

 

 

 

“Young Fashion” created by the students brings together a variety of art disciplines in one project – illustration, drawing, textile and garment design, along with the presentation of the finished result in a show with elements of dance theatre. Through their participation in the project, the young people learned teamwork and task-oriented work. This was the first fashion-specific project in the history of concepts awarded in the “Wena” Grant Program Competitions.

 

The project owes its impressiveness to two aspects. The first is the conception of a collection, one based on fully original ideas, from the design of the fabric patterns, through the creation of the 26 profiles, to the performative fashion show of the young generation staged at the level exceeding that of a secondary school. The second aspect is the inspiration for the fabric patterns; this was taken from the students’ intimate, private sketchbooks that are often inaccessible to anyone or even hidden at the bottom of a drawer. The symbols sketched and the emotions depicted there were translated into fabric patterns, like a mirrored record of the young designers’ lives. The resulting profiles make for unique, one-of-a-kind designs, with a focus on creating garments in the spirit of “Slow Fashion” – as a unique art form.

 

We were dazzled by the level of the showcased clothing design works, as well as by the fashion show itself – well thought out, script-based, featuring choreography, lights, music and special effects.

 

Congratulations to the stars of the "Young Fashion" show: Rozalia Kurek, Joanna Szewczyk, Zofia Tarka, Wiktoria Filipczak, Kornelia Jarosławska, Michalina Kotlarek, Zofia Kubiak, Gabriela Mikołajczyk, Julia Jarecka, Karolina Makówka, Aleksandra Matusiak, Julia Owczarek.

 

Kudos to the students who prepared the photo shoot, catalogue and animated visuals: Lilianna Słaby, Matylda Strzelczyk, Barbara Lisiecka, Kuba Garbaciński, Kira Gołąb, Aniela Przybyłek, Julia Wojtas. Congratulations and thanks to Agnieszka Świstek and Angelika Brzostowska-Pociecha for their excellent guidance of the students.

 

During talks with the young people, we heard that the project let them experience the comfort of design over a one-year period and genuine creative freedom; they also appreciated the professional adjustments suggested by the lead teacher. The students link their future career paths with fashion, design and make-up.

 

Participation in the project spurred their creativity. They had the chance to test themselves in the professional preparation of a fashion show. The venture entailed a great deal of stress, which is also a feeling associated with this type of professional activity. But, as the students said, in this case the stress had a mobilising effect.

 

Workshop at the Faculty of Design of the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź: textile printing, garment design and sewing greatly expanded the students’ knowledge, proving a huge educational value of the project. The day in Zduńska Wola and Łask with “Young Fashion” was well spent. There was no shortage of reminiscences about the previous award-winning project of the SSSFA in Zduńska Wola, namely “School recording studio – with passion for sound”.

 

During our visit to the school we dropped by the recording studio and felt gratified that it had already been in operation for five years, giving young people the opportunity to make professional recordings used in film shorts and workshop. Next to the recording studio there is a film and photography studio and a clothing design studio. A superb conglomeration for young people’s education in arts.

 

Following the success in Łask, the design team was invited by the Starak Family Foundation to set up an exhibition of fabrics and profiles and carry out a fashion show at the Starak Family Foundation’s “Wena” Gallery in Warsaw.
We present a spot and a documentary on the “Young Fashion” fashion show (directed by Magda Matwijow), which took place in September at the Starak Family Foundation’s “Wena” Gallery in Warsaw. The fashion show is a crucial part of the educational and artistic project of the State Secondary School of Fine Arts in Zduńska Wola, carried out by 12 young designers – students of the SSSFA, led by clothing design teacher and artist Agnieszka Świstek.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LEAD TEACHER

Agnieszka Świstek - teacher of clothing design, drawing and painting, active artist, educator. Conducts art classes at the Łask Cultural Centre.