The Annual Student Fashion Show Held in Spectacular Fashion, Live from the Latvian Academy of Art
On Wednesday evening, 26 August, the annual student fashion show took place in the assembly hall of the Latvian Academy of Art (LMA), during which the most promising young designers showcased their striking clothing collections. In view of the restrictions on public gatherings imposed in the country, this year, for the first time in the 27-year history of the fashion show, it was presented via a virtual livestream, making it accessible to anyone interested in Latvia and elsewhere in the world. The new format of the fashion show was specially adapted for remote viewing, providing impressive and creative visual, scenographic and choreographic solutions centred on a symbolic return to the academy’s treasures.
This year, too, 20 young fashion artists surprised the audience with an original approach and, at times, provocative design solutions, presenting conceptual ideas about the experience and challenges of human identity through their personal interpretations of everyday ready-to-wear and avant-garde fashion trends. During the fashion show, the clothing collections created over the past academic year were presented one after another on the catwalk, inspired by such bold themes as feminism, the dominance of the alter ego, ugly beauty, mutations, the boundaries between the living and the dead, stereotypes, and fashion in the post-Covid-19 era.
The main unifying trends evident in the garments created by the students included massive and abstract silhouettes, asymmetrical cuts, delicate details, flowing lines, striking prints, three-dimensional forms, elongated fringes, mesh-pattern twists, decorative belts and headwear in various shapes. The collections also featured combinations of intensely bright and monochromatic hues, as well as textures and materials used separately and in layers. Nor were style elements such as gloves and stylised face masks absent; these have now become particularly sought-after accessories.
Their interpretations of fashion as a multifaceted form of creative expression were presented at the recent fashion show by first-year bachelor’s students Loreta Asermane, Madara Indriksone, Laura Kreivina, Milēna Emīlija Seržante and Alise Šutova; second-year students Odrija Buša, Anna Jurjāne, Sigrija Mintika, Laura Luīze Valtere, Laine Rozenšteina and Milana Felīcija Semjonova; third-year students Elīna Siliņa and Adele Norvele; fourth-year students Sanita Kapeika, Vitālijs Kondraščuks, Ilze Muciņa and Karlīne Anete Nagliņa; as well as first-year master’s students Anna Gulbe and Una Pūpola and second-year student Agnese Eiduka-Zīle. They introduced original and bold design solutions, further accentuated by colourful designs and complemented by musical accompaniment specially matched to each collection.
“Despite the various challenges, yesterday we were once again able to watch a parade of rising fashion stars together. I am truly pleased and believe that presenting LMA Fashion Show 2020 in a livestream format—which was an entirely new solution for us—achieved its goal and provided an opportunity to showcase the work of aspiring fashion artists to a much wider audience than ever before,” comments Māra Binde, Head of the Fashion Art Department at LMA.
The collections presented during the fashion show, as well as other LMA student collections, will also be available for visitors to view in the pop-up shop and showroom on the second floor of the Galerija Centrs shopping centre. Created in cooperation with the Butterman collective, it will operate from 4 to 20 September, offering visitors the opportunity each day to discover the creative work of a different designer and meet the young fashion artists in person.
A recording of the fashion show livestream is available on the LMA digital platform at virtuaal.lma.lv.
