KADK 2025: Between Heritage and Future

Anya Belitskaya

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

Inspired by my style icons – my grandmother Lubov’ and her girlfriends – this collection explores their eclectic style and love for celebration through the narrative of a market seller birthday party in a southern Russian village. By highlighting their presence and taste, I wanted to challenge Eurocentric ideals of good taste and expand on who is seen and valued in contemporary fashion. By amplifying underrepresented voices, I wish to show that good taste is tied to cultural perspectives rather than universal truths.

What materials, colours and techniques did you utilise in the creation of this collection?

This collection combines vibrant florals, shine, and embellishment to translate the spirit of these women into a tactile language. Flowers – central to their wardrobes and culture – appear through laser-cut appliqué, foil prints, photographic prints, prints on sequins, and beading. Market bags inspired both silhouettes and materials, with plastic-coated textiles, shiny “tacky” surfaces, and kitchen tablecloths used to hold the voluminous shapes. I wanted to evoke the sensory richness of markets and banquet halls – spaces full of abundance, texture, and joy that celebrate community and togetherness.

What’s next?

After completing my master’s, I want to continue exploring fashion through the lens of my culture and further question the idea of “good taste” as shaped by cultural perspective. The inspiration behind my MA collection still feels rich with untapped potential, and I’m eager to expand on it. I also see opportunities to commercialise elements of the collection and develop the concept further. Before starting my own brand in the future, I hope to gain experience collaborating with other designers and creative teams to expand my skills and design approach.

@anyabelitskaya

Brigitta Tímea Szekernyés

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

Where the Sun Rises Twice is inspired by my childhood summers in Torockó, Transylvania, where memory, folklore, and family rituals intertwined. Each look encapsulates a distinct fragment of that time – cloud gazing, flower picking with my grandmother, playful dress-up, crafting from nature, and the softness of home – transformed into garments as wearable time capsules. Anchored in Hungarian folklore, the collection embraces duality: joy and fear, light and shadow, presence and loss – reflecting both the shifting nature of memory and my family’s layered heritage as part of the Hungarian minority in Romania.

What materials, colours and techniques did you utilise in the creation of this collection?

Upcycling, digital knitting, and crochet became ways of translating memory into form. A secondhand fur jacket was reworked with hand-painted edges, while viscose and monofilament panels were digitally knitted and sculpted directly on the mannequin, leaving no waste behind. Crochet in leather cords recalled childhood rituals of tying flowers and grasses, while sheer silk organza and mohair unfolded into cloudlike volumes. The palette draws from my grandfather’s tale of a man climbing Székelykő mountain to poke the clouds and call the rain: muted purples, storm greys, and soft tones where nostalgia holds both warmth and melancholy.

What’s next?

I would like to continue developing my project solær (@solaer__), focusing on yarn experiments and upcycling, while expanding it through new collaborations. My aim is to keep building narratives around the value of time and the memories embedded in material and craft – especially in today’s fast-paced environment, by holding onto the importance of care, durability, and emotional resonance. Alongside this, I am also seeking opportunities within fashion and knitwear design, where I can contribute creatively and expand my practice in dialogue with others.

@solaer__

Maria Clara Pontes Leça

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

This collection was inspired by my upbringing in Madeira Island, where Catholic rituals and local traditions coexisted with the playful, feminine world of childhood. It explores how memory, identity, and heritage can be reimagined through a playful lens, merging cultural symbols such as embroidery, traditional ways of dressing, and head coverings with pop culture aesthetics of colour, layering, and exaggeration. Ultimately, this collection proposes new ways of engaging with tradition while preserving its emotional depth.

What materials, colours and techniques did you utilise in the creation of this collection?

The collection focuses on textile manipulation, with most fabrics knitted from scratch using cotton, viscose, and wool. Trompe l’oeil was used to recreate the flat layers of Polly Pocket clothing, capturing the sense of multiple layers within a single piece. Shadow knits play between concealment and revelation, carrying motifs of traditional storytelling and recalling the heritage that shaped my childhood and cultural identity. Padded textiles bring the foam-like volume of Polly Pocket garments into fabric, while laser-cut appliqué draws from Madeira embroidery, layering contrasting fabrics to translate familiar motifs into new tactile expressions.

What’s next?

I would like to continue exploring the balance between tradition and culture, bringing digital tools into dialogue with ancestral knowledge. My aim is to collaborate with artisans and contribute to a better understanding and recognition of crafts, while experimenting with new techniques and materials. I want to develop narratives that highlight memory, heritage, and the value of care in making, connecting the past with contemporary possibilities. I hope to dive into projects in fashion and knitwear that let me experiment, learn from others, and discover new ways of working.

@clarapleca_

Clémentine Ollivier

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

“What Do We Hold?” is inspired by femininity as shaped by personal heritage, explored outside the constraints of the male gaze. The collection began with an intimate study of the women who shaped me – my mother and two grandmothers – and the ways their expressions of femininity shifted and evolved throughout their lives. From this research, three symbolic elements emerged: polka dots, hair, and pearls. Mundane yet profound, they became central motifs, transformed into tools of storytelling. Together they form an ode to memory, lineage, and strength, creating space for femininity to be celebrated in its multiple, personal expressions.

What materials, colours and techniques did you utilise in the creation of this collection?

This collection combines materials such as hair, wool, leather, and jersey, each explored through distinct treatments and embellishments. Hair and pearls inspired the development of textiles, reinterpreted in unexpected ways and layered with polka dots to push the motif beyond its familiar form. Deadstock fabrics were carefully sourced and transformed through embroidery, printing, bonding, and laser cutting, extending their narrative potential. Techniques including structural layering, boning, and backing created sculptural silhouettes. Collaborations with specialists in 3D printing, jewellery, and metalwork enabled new details, merging innovation with craftsmanship to produce garments that are both tactile and meaningful.

What’s next?

After completing my master’s, I hope to continue exploring fashion, women, and their narratives, working alongside professionals whose experiences and perspectives can enrich my own. I want to keep learning and deepening my understanding of how to create a more thoughtful and responsible fashion that truly considers women. My goal is to begin this journey in collaboration with others – absorbing their knowledge and contributing my own – before eventually developing a vision and practice that I can carry forward within my own company.

@clementineollivier

Jan-Niklas Jessen

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

“Roses are Red, Violets are Gay” reflects on queer identity, memory, and masculine codes. Inspired by hidden childhood moments – curtains as gowns, tassels as toys – it reclaims spaces where softness had to remain secret. Growing up in a conservative environment meant concealing parts of myself; this work transforms shame into pride and invisibility into form. Each piece offers a quiet but deliberate counter-narrative to masculinity, aiming to make queerness visible not through spectacle, but through sincerity and presence.

What materials, colours and techniques did you utilise in the creation of this collection?

The collection merges tailoring with experimental textiles, balancing structure and fluidity. Architectural base shapes are softened through drapery, folds, and layering. Silk chiffon pleated into outerwear recalls fragile drapes, while vegetable-tanned suede and polished leather contrast strength and tenderness. Oversized tassels and abstract florals appear as recurring motifs. Materials – pure silk, suede, and leather – were chosen for their symbolic weight and texture. Hand-finishing, invisible hems, and selective bonded linings ensure durability without sacrificing softness. The result is a synthesis of technical precision and emotional narrative.

What’s next?

I want to carry forward the narratives within my work – challenging gender codes and offering new visions of masculinity for future generations. My goal is to collaborate with, and work for, companies that share these values, so I can grow within professional contexts while contributing my own perspective. For me, fashion is not only about creating clothes, but about creating meaning – shaping culture through sincerity and care. I want my practice to stand for something I deeply believe in, proving that change in menswear, and in the industry itself, is possible when authenticity drives both design and collaboration.

@jnjessen

Leonie Winterhalter

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

“She Took Her Room” draws inspiration from the bedroom as a deeply personal space – one of intimacy, chaos, and transformation. Rooted in women’s lived experiences, the collection explores identity, vulnerability, and resilience. Duvets and pillowcases informed fluid draping, while handwritten notes and love letters were reimagined as embroidered details, weaving memory into fabric. Underwear becomes a central motif, symbolising the tension between concealment and exposure, questioning boundaries of private versus shared. Designed from the inside out, the collection translates raw honesty into wearable narratives, forging emotional resonance and lasting connections between garment and wearer.

What materials, colours and techniques did you utilise in the creation of this collection?

The collection employs natural materials such as mohair, silk, cashwool, silk organza, cotton jersey, and elastic yarn. Techniques include analog knitting, hand-dyeing, embellishment, textile manipulation, and burn-out processes, all emphasising craftsmanship. Draping, inspired by duvets and pillowcases, established the foundation of silhouettes, while embroidery translated intimate artefacts like handwritten notes into textiles. The colour palette reflects honesty and vulnerability, evoking the atmosphere of a private bedroom. Structural elements such as boning and layered backing shaped surfaces, reinforcing storytelling while balancing fragility with strength, making each garment poetic yet grounded in tactile expression.

What’s next?

I would like to continue working with women’s clothing, focusing on women’s stories, learning more about their narratives, and using them as a basis for developing garments from a female perspective. My goal is to deepen this research by collaborating with experts and growing through their expertise and knowledge. I aspire to work for a large fashion house in order to refine my skills while continuing to develop my own practice. Ultimately, I want to establish a brand that builds a strong community and creates a universe around storytelling, intimacy, and a unique personal approach to fashion.

@leonie.winterhalter

Mengjie Hui

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

“Twist Structures, Twist Perspectives” explores clothing as a medium for narrative – a mediator between the body, identity, and cultural memory. Inspired by artists who redefine form and narrative – Gijs Bakker’s reinvention of body and object, Marta Pan’s fusion of sculpture and movement, Stefan Wewerka’s disruptive deconstruction, and Ernesto Neto’s exploration of organic tension – the collection questions the traditional relationship between clothing and the body. Here, clothing becomes both critique and proposition: a vehicle through which identity is constantly twisted, transformed, and reimagined.

What materials, colours and techniques did you utilise in the creation of this collection?

Across six looks, pleated stretch fabrics unfold as explorations of tension, movement, and cohesion – each piece becoming a unique form in flux. Sculptural geometries meet dynamic pleats, creating a dialogue between structure and softness. I used laser-cutting on metal to achieve precise shapes, while reusable thermoformable materials opened new ways of shaping and reshaping volume. Red – deeply rooted in Chinese symbolism – is reimagined through an avant-garde lens, becoming a medium of dialogue that highlights a fashion philosophy both subversive and inclusive.

What’s next?

Looking ahead, I want to step into the industry with curiosity, seeing fashion as a passion that keeps evolving. I hope to work at a large fashion house with a diverse, energetic team where I can share skills, keep learning, and grow my vision. For me, fashion is a journey of exploration – one that allows creativity to stay alive and continuously pushes me toward new possibilities.

@mjiehui

Polina Feddersen

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

This project is rooted in the cultural construction of the “monstrous feminine” and the recurring portrayal of women as hybrid, animalistic, or abject beings. I approached the hybrid as a metaphor for resisting patriarchal binaries, drawing on Slavic folklore where princesses shed their human form for animal bodies. These stories frame transformation as power rather than curse, and I wanted to reclaim the idea of the hybrid – less as a sign of monstrosity, more as a symbol of agency, a body that refuses to be contained within fixed categories of identity.

What materials, colours and techniques did you utilise in the creation of this collection?

My research drew heavily on comparative anatomy atlases, which I used as reference for patterns that follow muscular lines, while corsetry served as a skeleton to expand and distort the shape. Each look is built on the physique of a particular existing (or mythological) creature. Prints were inspired by “unnatural” reptile colourations seen in selectively bred animals, alongside laser-cut textures reminiscent of the raw process of skin shedding. These combined to create a visual language that is at once uncanny and empowering.

What’s next?

I’m eager to continue refining my skills, whether in ready-to-wear or adjacent fields like costume design – but what excites me most is the chance to work as part of a team. This collection was a very independent process, and now I’d like to experience how ideas evolve in dialogue with other designers, technicians, and creatives. Collaboration feels like the natural next step, offering a space where hybridity in thought and practice can be as powerful as the garments themselves.

@polinafeddersen

Sofia Adell i Parramon

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

This collection is rooted in my Catalan heritage, inspired by my grandparents’ home as a living archive of textures, rituals, and objects. It reflects how memory and tradition can evolve into contemporary forms. In designing, I explored my own identity, merging feminine sensibility with men’s patternmaking. This approach creates silhouettes that are sensitive yet strong, flowing yet structured. Eclectic fabrics, prints, and textures embody both roots and intuition, resulting in garments that are playful, effortless, and beyond gender – transforming heritage into movement and personal expression.

What materials, colours and techniques did you utilise in the creation of this collection?

I worked with a mix of draping fabrics for softness and stiffer textiles for structure, creating contrast and fluidity. Inspired by Catalan scarves, shirts, and architectural motifs, I used laser-cut techniques to distort fabrics visually and manipulate stiffness, shaping how they drape and move. Knotting, overlays, and structural manipulations enhanced dimension and movement. Neutral tones combined with eclectic prints reflect a heritage-informed yet experimental aesthetic. Merging men’s tailoring with feminine draping, the silhouettes balance sensitivity and strength. Sustainability guided geometric pattern cutting and manipulation, making each material a storyteller of memory, movement, and identity.

What’s next?

This Master’s program has helped me understand my identity as a designer: my femininity, when merged with men’s patternmaking, generates sensitive, flowing silhouettes that resist conventional gender categories. My roots and heritage fuel my “taste,” allowing me to contrast fabrics and prints into eclectic yet effortless looks. Moving forward, I aim to expand this language into new, sensitive menswear that flows between bodies and identities. By embracing intuition and heritage, I hope to continue creating garments that honour memory while offering space for play, transformation, and contemporary expression.

@sofiaadell_

Sofia Munk

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

“Waves Whisper” is inspired by the ocean’s mysteries, movements, and depth. I translate spiralling flows, coral textures, and deep-sea creatures’ elusive glow into textile and shape. The collection reflects on revaluing textiles as living, precious resources while weaving together mysteries with biology and mathematical science. Through six digitally knitted looks, I aim to evoke wonder, foster care, and encourage deeper connections between humans, nature, and garments. The ocean whispers its fragility, resilience, and interdependence – inspiring a poetic interplay of technical exploration, myth, and critical reflection on sustainability and textile value.

What materials, colours and techniques did you utilise in the creation of this collection?

I worked with extra-fine merino wool for softness and weightlessness, and a nylon-lycra blend for sculptural stretch and luminous drape. Inspired by marine life, I used digital knit techniques: texture knit for coral-like surfaces, and shadow knit for glowing, bioluminescent effects. Shapes emerged through short-row circular panels spiralling around the body to echo the Fibonacci Spiral. Motifs draw on Ernst Haeckel’s surreal marine illustrations. Colours mirror magical deep-sea creatures, glowing with iridescent intensity. Together, materials and techniques form weightless, sculptural garments that feel alive, reflecting the ocean’s brilliance and the transformative, precious nature of textiles.

What’s next?

I aim to deepen my knowledge in the fashion and textile industry while remaining critical of its fast, seasonal structures. My goal is to find spaces that prioritise responsibility, education, and appreciation rather than overconsumption. I hope to share the knowledge I’ve gained, highlighting the time, effort, and resources behind every textile, even synthetics. Long term, I wish to contribute to local textile production in Denmark and collaborate on projects that reframe textiles as precious resources. My vision is to inspire care, reconnect people with lost knowledge, and build more sustainable, respectful relationships with materials.

@sofiamunk_design

Niels Frederik Krogh Petersen

What are the key inspirations behind this collection?

My collection is an attempt at enabling and pushing menswear dressers to engage with their garments on a deeper level. By reverse-engineering elements from tailored suiting into a modular system, I use functionality as a basis for exploring form and silhouette, aiming for users to take more agency in design. The concept emulates toys like Legos or wooden bolt constructs, though with a sharper emphasis on recognisable tailoring elements and positioning. It is about making interaction part of the design language, encouraging playfulness within the structured framework of menswear.

What materials, colours and techniques did you utilise in the creation of this collection?

The collection mainly consists of wools in different weights, alongside a polyester stand-in mimicking a heavy-draping wool. Inside, garments are lined with acetate and viscose. Colours were chosen to fit into normative commercial menswear but carefully balanced to create equilibrium across the collection, making mixing and experimenting less daunting. Techniques such as directional quilting, pick stitching, and subtle surface embossing on selected modules guide the wearer’s sense of placement and direction. Function and detail are fused to highlight the modular system, creating garments that are both versatile and narratively engaging.

What’s next?

Looking ahead, I want to simplify colour and material palettes further, focusing deeply on technique and surface while keeping a clear line in my modular work. I am excited to continue with this project’s button-on system, allowing past and future garments to interact both physically and in design direction. My goal is to establish a simpler baseline, which will give me space to experiment with more complex and unpredictable design outcomes. Ultimately, I aim to refine this modular approach into a sustainable, evolving practice that makes menswear more interactive and adaptive.

@nfkp_portfolio