Fashion Stage 2023
The Fashion Stage is an inseparable part of the Open'er program, after a huge success during last year's edition, the transparent tent will turn into a space again, the leitmotif of which will be the idea of upcycling! We invited young creators of the Polish fashion scene who, thanks to their designs, give clothes a second life.
During the four festival days, we will make it possible to get to know the invited exhibitors. Their projects can be seen in specially prepared showrooms and at the impressive catwalk. This year, the Fashion Stage program will be enriched with upcycling workshops in which all festival goers will be able to participate. The end result will be decorations that will enrich the interior of the tent.
Patrons:
Projektanci
Ciemiega Trash Couture is a brand of original unique clothes designed and made of100% textile trash in Poland’s lab. Customers of the brand are representatives of radical upcycling and circular fashion. People who don’t want to support Fast Fashion industry, overproduction of clothing and exploitation of employees. They choose second-hand clothing because of valuing unique projects and local production. They don’t afraid of walking in KOMUNIA2000 or Funeral Collection on the polish streets. They want to manifest their views by original clothes. Since the beginning of the brand, all products have sold out. A fashion designer of a brand is Dominika Ciemięga based in Łódź. She has been collecting vintage clothes for years from thrift stores and from family and friends. She is looking for materials in abandoned textile factories too. She is responsible for every stage of production: from sewing to talking with customers who order clothes via Instagram message.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ciemiega_trash_couture/
DENOISE was born from the need for comfort, style and quality. It is addressed mainly to people whose life/work rhythm is not limited by time or space. For all open minds who value good craftsmanship and care about detail. DENOISE is not a fashion, it is an attitude/idea of rational filtering of the surrounding reality, not allowing anything that clutters our space. Everything, from the design to the final product, is created in small quantities by local producers.
WWW: https://denoise.pl
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denoise.pl/
The brand was created from the desire to oppose the current trends of minimalism, uniformity and schematism in fashion. It is a manifestation of color, freedom and courage in self-expression. All clothes are made in Poland, from carefully selected fabrics, in accordance with the SLOW FASHION principle. A significant part of the collection consists of hand-made unique pieces, which are an unobvious combination of forms and structures, fabrics and metal elements, creating a coherent whole.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dorotamazurczyk/?hl=pl
ISONME is a brand for people who value individuality, to experiment with fashion and are looking for products in the zero waste spirit. We create fashion out of pieces found on the secondary market. We create unisex, oversized jackets, suits and sets, tops, headwear and accessories. All clothes are hand-made in Poland. We identify with the style of the streets of Berlin, Tokyo and Paris, where you can also find our projects. We get inspired from these places, and when creating, we care about the practicality and comfort of our products.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/isonme__/
KUTA HOUSE is an independent, avant-garde and experimental brand founded by artist Robert Kuta.
The mission of Kuta House is to promote artistic manifestations of creativity, unique design, and especially sustainable fashion. In the designs proposed by KUTA HOUSE, there is a strong emphasis on simple forms which, through experimentation with deconstruction, give the clothes a new and expressive character. The hand-painted clothes are peculiar works of art that can be worn on yourself or hung on the wall.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kutahouse/
The MAJA PILAREK brand was made of love for colors and fascination with knitting. It is characterized by an original and experimental approach to knitwear, combining usability with original technological solutions. The clothes are created by the designer and they are made in small quantities from high-quality yarns and fabrics. The brand is created by a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź, winner of the Debuts Gala 2021 and the Diploma Gala 2022 and finalist of competitions: The Golden Thread, OFF Fashion, and Fashion Designer Awards. Maja Pilarek has been repeatedly mentioned among the most promising Polish young designers and appreciated by magazines such as Vogue, Elle, Wysokie Obcasy, Fashion Magazine. This year she was nominated for the Elle Style Awards in the Discovery of the Year category. The designer translates into collections observations about her surroundings, social and cultural phenomena, for which she is looking for an attractive visual form, combining inspirations from many fields in her projects.
WWW: http://www.majapilarek.pl/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maja.pilarek/
Tomasz Armada - fashion designer, visual artist, costume designer and lecturer.
His debut collection, inspired by patriotic clothing and polish Sarmatian costumes was on the Opener Fashion Stage in 2017. At the beginning of August 2021 he was featured in American Vogue magazine as one of the 27 young, most interesting and independent fashion designers. He accomplished projects for the most important cultural institutions, museums, theaters, festivals, television programs and celebrities in Poland. In 2021 he started a brand in which he creates functional versions of his artistic and unique projects. He makes them from carefully selected materials, with various recycling methods in a premium edition. He is inspired by the history of multicultural and avant-garde Łódź, where he lives and where his studio is located. He has an online store tomaszarmada.com.
WWW: https://www.tomaszarmada.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tomaszarmada/
The brand was born out of the need to create clothes that carry nostalgic stories written by Polish art and culture. It is characterised by a brave use of colours and unconventional designs inspired by the world of painting and design of the 1970s. Colours combined with classic forms create an unobtrusive combination of simplicity and extravagance. The collections are created in the spirit of sustainable fashion, which is why each design is thoughtfully and carefully made in Poland. The selected fabrics are natural, organic, certified and sourced mainly from stocks.
Wiktoria Łaskawiec gained her design education at the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź and the Weissensee Kunsthochschule in Berlin. She sees clothing design as a visual language through which she can tell stories with the help of forms and colours. In her works, she makes nostalgic references to the past and to Polish culture. Finalist of the Golden Thread 2021 and 2022, winner of the second place in the Off Fashion Kielce 2021 competition, scholarship holder of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage 2021.
WWW: https://wiktorialaskawiec.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wiktorialaskawiec/
VOLGA is a brand that is just starting to take its first steps, but a great future awaits it. The essence, soul and mainstream of the brand is the inner world, taste, worldview, life experience, tragedies, fears, and dreams of the author. Things are dedicated to dreamers, stubborn, strong people who do not fit into social stereotypes and are often perceived as "weird". Rebellious, a little avant-garde, playful, multicolored clothes that contain also depth, seriousness, intelligence, darkness, bitterness. The crisis of adolescence turns into youthful maximalism, which turns into dissatisfaction with missed chances, opportunities, unfulfilled dreams. The designer wants to support all people who, like her, continue to struggle with the harsh reality for their dreams and sacrifice their comfort and safety. These clothes fulfill the main task-self-expression, identification.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/by_volga/
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Olivier Janiak, Editor in Chief of Elle Man, was the host of several discussions. During Elle Man panels, we talked to young designers about the hottest fashion topics, authenticity, truth and the role of Instagram in today’s fashion world. Robert Kupisz and Michał Rejent, the zone’s special guests, have also shared their fashion industry experience.