Alise Sutova. Photos – Art Academy of Latvia archive ©
This Wednesday, on August 26th everyone is welcome to join the Art Academy of Latvia (AAL) student fashion show on the virtual platform virtuaal.lma.lv. Entering its 27th year, the annual show has grown into one of the most anticipated cultural events in the Baltic country. Otherwise known as an invite-only event, this year’s show will be streamed online and open to the public for the first time.
“We will try to create a vivid visual experience and avoid the garments being felt as flat, both for the manner of presentation and the way it’s viewed,” Mara Binde, Head of the Fashion Department of the AAL, comments. “The choreography, as well as scenography are built to benefit a distant concept, always keeping in mind the viewer at home. It’s a demanding process and whole new direction that in a way also is a creation of a new path and purpose of a catwalk as we know it.”
Anna Gulbe
Anna Jurjane
Elina Silina
A total of 20 fashion design students, selected by a panel of AAL lecturers, will present the work they have created during the last academic year. Garments will describe fashion as a versatile form of expression and represent both functional and trendy ready-to-wear clothes, as well as the eccentric avant-garde style. The central theme of the show is the interaction of fashion, art and space, and it will serve as a symbolic return to the core values – treasures of the academy. To highlight the eclectic fashion pieces, talented Latvian models, including the globally well-known Paula Pasite and Alise Daugule, will make their entrance on the catwalk throughout the evening.
Ilze Mucina
Karline Anete Naglina
Laura Birsa
The collections have been majorly inspired by historical evidence, memories of the past, the legacy of generations and the idols of childhood. Several provocative themes such as feminism, mutations, boundaries between the living and the dead, as well as stereotypes of beauty, have been tackled through the prism of fashion. In terms of forms, the garments feature massive and abstract silhouettes, asymmetrical cuts, fine details and flowy lines that go hand in hand with bright and monochrome tones and prints in a variety of styles, textures and materials.
Loreta Asermane
Madara Indriksone
Milena Emilija Serzante
“In the process of generating ideas and searching for themes, young generation fashion designers have somehow predicted the future – in their collections we will see visual manifestations of a social-distancing caused crisis such as loneliness, personality doubling and reminiscences of the past, captured in trendsetting garments and accessories,” Mara Binde comments.
Sanita Kapeika
Sigrija Mintika
The Art Academy of Latvia is the leading institution of higher education and scientific research in art and design in Latvia. Established in 1919, it offers knowledge and skills to anyone interested in becoming an independent and accomplished artist. Over the years it has become an important industry player regionally and across Europe with the main goal to provide globally competitive quality education to the young talents in art and design. The first AAL student fashion show took place in 1993 and it has become a significant and highly anticipated cultural event ever since.
