LMA Student Fashion Show to Be Streamed Online for the First Time This Year

At the end of the month, on 26 August, one of the most eagerly awaited events in Latvia’s cultural life—the Latvian Academy of Art’s (LMA) student fashion show—will traditionally take place. This year, it will be streamed online for the first time, allowing everyone interested to experience it for themselves. The central theme of the fashion show is the interaction between fashion, art and space, and it will serve as a symbolic return to fundamental values, or the academy’s treasures. Accordingly, the Latvian Academy of Art has been thematically chosen as the venue for the presentation of the collections, as it is unique for its expressive architecture and artistic interior.

The LMA student fashion show will present clothing collections created during the past academic year, representing both functional ready-to-wear garments and an eccentric avant-garde style. They portray fashion as a multifaceted form of artistic expression and highlight current future trends. The fashion show will feature collections by students of the bachelor’s and master’s programmes in the subfield of Fashion Design whose work has been recognised by a committee of academy lecturers as the most striking and promising.

The young fashion artists drew inspiration for their garments from historical evidence, memories of the past, the heritage of generations and childhood idols, interwoven through the prism of fashion. The garments also vividly address a number of provocative themes, such as feminism, the dominance of the alter ego, ugly beauty, mutations, the boundaries between the living and the dead, stereotypes, as well as the especially topical fashion of the post-Covid-19 era, characterised by style elements such as gloves and masks. In terms of form, the garments emphasise massive and abstract silhouettes, asymmetrical cuts, delicate details and flowing lines, accompanied by combinations of vivid or, conversely, monochromatic shades and striking prints.

“This year, we want to reveal the academy’s treasures to viewers of the virtual fashion show—the inspiring, creative environment, the work of talented students and the creative process—highlighting the interaction between art and fashion, evoking emotions and reflection, and answering the question, ‘Who are we?’ In generating ideas and exploring themes, the young fashion artists have sensed the winds of the future. In the collections, we will see both visual expressions of identity crises intensified by isolation—the feeling of loneliness and a divided personality, whispers of conscience and reminiscences of the past—depicted through forms, materials, embroidery and patterns, as well as accessories relevant to the pandemic era,” comments Māra Binde, head of the LMA Department of Fashion Art.

“The LMA fashion show is a significant and highly anticipated event in Riga and throughout Latvia. Following young fashion designers has always been truly exciting, because fashion and art can overcome even viruses,” believes LMA Rector and Professor Kristaps Zariņš.